Quality of Life of Patients with Low Vision Attending Korle-Bu and Eastern Regional Hospitals
Date
2013-07
Authors
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Publisher
University of Ghana
Abstract
According to the World Health Organization report in 2012, 285 million people are
visually impaired worldwide. Of these people, 39 million are blind and 246 have low
vision. Ninety percent of these visually impaired live in developing countries. In
Ghana the prevalence is reported to be 2%.
Visual impairment is reported to cause a limitation in performing usual duties of the
individual. Visual impairment hampers normal activities such as eating, writing,
dressing, travelling from place to place and interacting with others. Although low
vision caused by some disease complications like glaucoma and cataract can be
avoided, insufficient education and unavailability of low vision services in all health
facilities lead to long waiting periods resulting in complications.
The purpose of the study was to describe the causes of low vision, to document the
intervention devices given to low vision patients and to assess the quality of life of
low vision patients.
A cross sectional study assessed the quality of life of low vision patients attending
Korle Bu and Eastern regional Hospitals. The 25-item National Eye Institute Visual
Function Questionnaires (NEI VFQ-25) was administered using telephone interviews
to 101 patients who visited the two clinics within the previous one to two years.
The independent variables the study measured were age, occupation, monthly income,
marital status, level of education and duration of vision loss.
The causes of low vision were mainly posterior segment diseases with glaucoma
being the major cause (23%). Most low vision patients received interventions such as
telescopes and magnifiers which assisted them in reading and distance spotting and
spectacles were for mobility.
The NEI VFQ-25 subscale scores with the greatest deficit were near activities (mean
score 46.9), distance activities (mean score 45.62), mental health (mean score 43.01),
Role difficulty (mean score 40.97), dependency (mean score 44.97) and peripheral
vision (mean score 47.03).
The NEI-VFQ demonstrated that low vision patients perceive marked impairment of
functional status and quality of life.
Description
Thesis (MPH) - University of Ghana, 2013