Challenges faced by older adults with vision loss: a qualitative study with implications for rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an in-depth assessment of challenges faced by older adults with recent vision loss and to determine changes in the nature of these challenges over time for the purpose of informing the design of vision rehabilitation services.

DESIGN: Longitudinal, qualitative study with three time points.

SETTING: Vision rehabilitation agency.

SUBJECTS: Three hundred and sixty-four older adults aged 65 with significant vision impairment due to age-related macular degeneration.

INTERVENTIONS: In-person interviews conducted at baseline, one year and two years and coded using a qualitative analytical approach.

MAIN MEASURES: Open-ended questions assessing challenges faced due to vision loss in functional, social and psychological life domains.

RESULTS: Almost all participants reported a wide variety of challenges across all three domains with the most variety in the functional domain. Over a two-year period, functional challenges (e.g. using transportation) increased, social challenges (e.g. recognizing people) remained stable, and psychological challenges (e.g. negative affect) decreased overall.

CONCLUSIONS: Although functional challenges are predominant, social and psychological challenges are quite common and need to be addressed in vision rehabilitation. Rehabilitation planning should also consider that vision-related challenges can change over time.