Abstract
BackgroundThe prevalence of self-reported low vision (LV) and blindness, and their associated disabilities, handicaps and socio-economic consequences for individuals living in institutions are poorly documented.Methods2,075 institutions were selected at random and eight individuals were picked at random from the list of residents. Three groups of individuals were defined: blind, LV, and a control group (CG). These were compared after adjustment for age and co-morbidities. Of the 15,403 individuals, 14,603 interviews (94.9%) were completed.ResultsThe prevalence of blindness was 1.6% and the LV 13.4%. Blind individuals needed assistance more often (OR: 2.65 to 11.35) than CG members while the assistance required by LV individuals was similar to that for the CG. Blind individuals required institution adaptation (building and furniture changes) more often than the CG. Blind (57.9%) and LV individuals (35.4%) were more often registered for social allowances. Monthly social allowances were EUR 86 higher for blind than LV individuals. Monthly family incomes were found to be similar between the three groups (from EUR 782 to 797). Social and demographic data, institution description, income, handicaps, disabilities, social allowances and details of daily activities were collected interviewsConclusionThe results demonstrate the impact of self-reported blindness and LV on daily life for patients living in institutions.
Highlights
The prevalence of self-reported low vision (LV) and blindness, and their associated disabilities, handicaps and socio-economic consequences for individuals living in institutions are poorly documented
The results demonstrate the impact of self-reported blindness and LV on daily life for patients living in institutions
Almost no difference in need for assistance was found between LV individuals and individuals who declared no problems with vision (Table 3)
Summary
The prevalence of self-reported low vision (LV) and blindness, and their associated disabilities, handicaps and socio-economic consequences for individuals living in institutions are poorly documented. Aging creates policy challenges for most developed countries that increase pressure on social and care systems [1,2]. An institution is often the final care facility when older people have too many disabilities. It was estimated that 6.5% of individuals older than 65 years lived in institutions in 1994 [3] with an annual growth rate of 0.8%. French institutions will show an increase of 56.3% by 2020 mainly due to the aging of the population. Increases of up to 69.5% in the number of institutionalized individuals are expected by 2020 [4]
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