Abstract
Purpose: While the impact of visual impairments on specific aspects of young adults’ lives is well recognised, a systematic understanding of its impact on all life aspects is lacking. This study aims to provide an overview of life aspects affected by visual impairment in young adults (aged 18–25 years) using a concept-mapping approach.Method: Visually impaired young adults (n = 22) and rehabilitation professionals (n = 16) participated in online concept-mapping workshops (brainstorm procedure), to explore how having a visual impairment influences the lives of young adults. Statements were categorised based on similarity and importance. Using multidimensional scaling, concept maps were produced and interpreted.Results: A total of 59 and 260 statements were generated by young adults and professionals, respectively, resulting in 99 individual statements after checking and deduplication. The combined concept map revealed 11 clusters: work, study, information and regulations, social skills, living independently, computer, social relationships, sport and activities, mobility, leisure time, and hobby.Conclusions: The concept maps provided useful insight into activities influenced by visual impairments in young adults, which can be used by rehabilitation centres to improve their services. This might help in goal setting, rehabilitation referral and successful transition to adult life, ultimately increasing participation and quality of life.Implications for rehabilitationHaving a visual impairment affects various life-aspects related to participation, including activities related to work, study, social skills and relationships, activities of daily living, leisure time and mobility.Concept-mapping helped to identify the life aspects affected by low vision, and quantify these aspects in terms of importance according to young adults and low vision rehabilitation professionals.Low vision rehabilitation centres should focus on all life aspects found in this study when identifying the needs of young adults, as this might aid goal setting and rehabilitation referral, ultimately leading to more successful transitions, better participation and quality of life.
Highlights
Visual impairment occurs mainly in older age and, in 2010, affecting over 200 million people worldwide
Since concept-mapping is a useful tool to clarify complex, diffuse and unclear concepts, such as participation, this study aims to elucidate which life aspects are affected by visual impairment in young adults aged 18–25 years using a concept mapping approach
This study shows that professionals and young adults value activities related to work and study
Summary
Visual impairment occurs mainly in older age and, in 2010, affecting over 200 million people worldwide. The estimates of visually impaired people aged 14–49 years >80 million) cannot be denied.[1] In the Netherlands, it is estimated that in 2009 $ 17,800 persons aged 14–49 years had low vision.[2] both global and national data on the prevalence of visual impairment in the youngest adults (e.g. 18–25 years) are lacking. The transition to adulthood is often accompanied by various challenges,[3] especially when dealing with disabilities.[4] Young adults face important changes related to study, work and housing.[5,6,7,8] Dealing with a disability during changes in important life transitions might result in psychological distress [9] and interfere with developmental tasks.[10] This may lead to a less successful transition to adulthood, which can influence the physical, social and psychological potential of young adults, and their full participation in adult life.[11]
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