Naslov
Access to rehabilitation services for adults with late-onset visual impairment

Autori
Mašić, Valentina ; Femec, Luka ; Bilić Prcić, Ante

Izvornik
Hrvatska revija za rehabilitacijska istraživanja (1331-3010) 53 (2017), Supplement; 141-151

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
late-onset visual impairment ; access to rehabilitation services ; gradual vision loss

Sažetak
Rehabilitation services improve the quality of life of people with visual impairment. Therefore, urgent and prompt rehabilitation intervention is important in helping adults adapt to vision loss faster, especially those with late-onset visual impairment. The goal of this research is to determine differences in the access to rehabilitation services after vision loss (occurrence of a moderate or severe visual impairment, including blindness) between groups differing in the gradualness of vision loss, age when vision loss occurred and gender. Differences in the gradualness of vision loss between groups with respect to access to rehabilitation services were also explored. Information on adults with late-onset visual impairment who were active users of rehabilitation services from 2011 to 2016 was gathered (N= 42, 18F, 24M) from secondary data sources at the Centre for Education and Training "Vinko Bek" in Zagreb, Croatia. The results demonstrated statistically significant differences in access to rehabilitation services between groups who gradually lost their vision within 15 years from the initial symptoms and those who lost it over a period longer than 15 years, between groups whose vision loss occurred before and after 20 years of age, but not between men and women. Gradualness of vision loss differed between groups accessing rehabilitation services up to 10 years and more than 10 years. These results indicate that critical groups of people with visual impairment are not receiving prompt rehabilitation services that could prevent lowered quality of life. As the prevalence of visual impairment with age increases, so does the issue of quality of life for people with late-onset visual impairment. Further research is necessary in determining factors related to rehabilitation service access for adults with late-onset visual impairment.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

POVEZANOST RADA