focus on low vision

Patient Survey

Heather Walter

Three years ago, Eyecare Business interviewed 60 low vision patients in the western United States. Their average age was 68, and all had reported to their service provider that they had previously had difficulty obtaining help for their failing vision.

Over the past few months, we reached out to that same set of patients. While some had moved away, passed on, weren't reachable, or simply didn't sign on to participate again, we were fortunate enough to survey 34 of the original group of 60 patients. Most still frequent the practices they were going to three years ago.

DEVICE USAGE

RISE IN AMD

The average age of those 34 participants is now 75. Nearly one third said their vision is now stable, and another third reported increased vision problems, mostly due to age-related macular degeneration.

Many of the participants said, though their vision loss had been devastating, the doctors, devices, and training they've received have made all the difference. “My children and grandchildren tried to help,” 78-year-old Marleen told EB, “but it wasn't until the woman from my doctor's office came to my home that I felt like I could keep going. She helped rearrange things, changed lighting, and got me set up with my reading machine.”

Roseanne, an 81-year-old who said she was at a loss for 10 years before her son took her to a provider of low vision services in southern California, said the biggest help has been a support group the optometrist told her about.

Then there's George, who refers to himself as “an engineer type of guy,” and says he's amazed at the technology out there. “If it weren't for them [his doctor as well as a distributor of low vision devices], I 'd still be trying to read the paper with the scratched-up magnifying glass my uncle bought 40 years ago for his stamp collection.”

Instead, George says, he now uses five different low vision aids—a stand magnifier, a hand-held illuminated one, glare-control lenses, a CCTV, and a monocular telescope.

Q AND A

We asked survey participants several of the same questions they'd answered three years ago. Here are some of their answers, then and now.

1 PROGRESS. What's the most exciting thing you can do you that you couldn't do before?

■ THEN: 50% read; 17% recognize faces; 17% watch TV; 14% independence

■ NOW: 62% read; 15% watch TV; 12% overall independence; 6% recognize faces; 3% go out

I REMEMBER…

2 FUNCTION. Though you may use multiple devices, which one do you use most often?

■ THEN: 50% magnifier; 17% CCTV; 8% telescope; 8% specialty eyeglasses; 8% glare-control lenses; 6% other

■ NOW: 47% magnifier; 35% CCTV; 12% specialty eyeglasses; 6% other

3 SERVICES. Which of the following services has been the biggest help to you?

■ THEN: 58% answering questions about my condition; 25% in-office training; 13% in-home training; 4% no response

■ NOW: 38% answering questions about my condition; 26% in-office training; 24% in-home training; 9% support group/peer contact; 3% no response

Unlike three years ago, nine percent of our survey respondents now mention support groups and peer contact as critical in their rehabilitation. All but two of those individuals were referring to online, not in-person, support.

That is just one example of how the Internet can help not just educate patients and their families about low vision and available services, but can also help them stay connected. EB