Coping with Age-Related Vision Loss In Everyday Reading Activities

Abstract

The activity of reading is often threatened in later life by gradual vision loss due to age-related conditions such as macular degeneration. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 visually impaired seniors experiencing severe or moderate vision loss. Our aim was to clarify the role of reading for leisure in their lives and also to learn how they dealt with the reading required for instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Participants judged reading, both before and after vision loss, as extremely important to them especially for the purposes of learning and enjoyment. On average, the time spent reading remained the same, and the main decline in the types of materials read was for newspapers and magazines. Approximately 60% of the participants used talking books, while a quarter used computer technology for reading print. With regard to functional independence, the participants identified reading demands involving small print, dials, and currency for the separate IADL domains. Specific strategies reported for coping with these reading-related barriers were analyzed in terms of the selection-optimization-compensation framework of Baltes and Baltes (1990). Providing information in alternate modes and improving access to appropriate assistive devices could enhance older adults' ability to read for life.