Barriers and enablers of utilization of low-vision rehabilitation services among over-50-year-old people in East and Southeast Asian regions: a scoping review protocol.

Abstract

This scoping review aims to explore and describe the barriers and enablers of low-vision rehabilitation service utilization among people over 50-years-old in East and Southeast Asia. Vision impairment is strongly associated with aging. East and Southeast Asia are experiencing a rapidly growing aging population and the eye-related health burdens associated with this. Despite the benefits of low-vision rehabilitation services, they are extremely underutilized in the region. Identifying the barriers and enablers of service utilization could be a crucial first step in making the services more accessible and, ultimately, easing the burden of this health issue. This review will include published articles that examine the barriers and/or enablers of low-vision rehabilitation service utilization. Inclusion criteria are people aged 50 years and older living in East and Southeast Asia; low-vision rehabilitation services (defined as any kind of intervention that aims to mitigate the impacts of disability induced by eye-related health conditions); no comparator; and information on barriers and/or enablers for service utilization. A literature search of 4 databases as well as an additional manual search will be conducted to identify eligible articles. Two independent reviewers will assess the articles for inclusion. Data extraction will focus on general information of the study, demographic or descriptive information of the study population, eye condition being studied, means of low-vision rehabilitation, and the barriers and/or enablers of service utilization. The information will be tabulated to depict the categories of barriers and enablers that influence access to services. Open Science Framework https://osf.io/8y2wp.