Caring For The Visually Impaired Older Person

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.

In the context of an ageing population, visual impairment is having an increasing social and economic impact. This timely book will enable healthcare professionals in a diverse range of settings to enhance their expertise in assessing the ophthalmic conditions of the elderly, adopt a holistic approach to patient care, and improve their ability to deal with organisational challenges involving visually impaired elderly people. Sue Watkinson and her co-authors have used their broad professional and academic knowledge to analyse issues relating to the major ocular diseases affecting the elderly. These include cataract, age-related macular degeneration, chronic open-angle glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, herpes zoster ophthalmicus and dementia. In addition to describing the pathogenesis, clinical features and risk factors for each disease, they highlight the role of specialist ophthalmic nurses in informing and educating patients, managing ophthalmic treatment procedures, promoting safe environments and maintaining quality of life for elderly individuals suffering from age-related ophthalmic conditions. Above all, the authors show that providing the right care for this vulnerable group of people in our society will help reduce the economic and psychological burden of sight loss and re-establish a good quality of life for the older person with visual impairment. Contents include: Introduction: Ageing and the needs of older people Older people with visual impairment: Clinical management and care – an overview Current perspectives on managing older people with cataract Older people with age-related macular degeneration Older people with chronic open-angle glaucoma Older people with diabetic retinopathy Common external eye disorders in older people The older person with herpes zoster ophthalmicus Managing depression in visually impaired older people Dementia and visually impaired older people

Focused on the care of older adults, this easy-to-use handbook deciphers the complex area of vision loss by providing a valuable step-by-step guide to all aspects of nursing care management and prevention. Expert contributors instruct you on everything from prevention steps to the psychological and soical impact on vision loss on patients, families, and the community. This comprehensive and focused handbook covers the major causes of vision loss as well as important nursing care topics.

An easy-to-read manual on how older persons with visual impairments can pursue their interests and activities in community residences, senior centers, long-term care facilities, and other settings. Topics covered include signs of vision loss, recreation, personal care, orientation and mobility, and modifications in the environment.

As the number of older persons experiencing vision loss continues to soar over the upcoming years, all of us may find that a family member or friend we care about has become visually impaired. Aging and Vision Loss contains reassuring, supportive, and helpful information on meeting the needs of the older person and family caregivers as well.

It is estimated that by the year 2020 there will be 4.6 million persons who are elderly and blind or severely visually impaired. Vision loss in the elderly is a common problem but is frequently unaddressed. The affected often do not know where or when to go for help and care providers are sometimes equally uninformed. Vision and Aging responds to the needs of this growing population and provides the knowledge and tools necessary to increase the number and accessibility of services available to the visually impaired elderly. This comprehensive book addresses many areas of concern, including the current service network and its existing gaps and the public policy agenda necessary for better meeting the needs of persons who are elderly and visually impaired. With proper care and rehabilitation, many of these elderly can lead active, independent, and productive lives. Social workers and allied professionals will discover what resources are currently available and how to make sure their clients are able to explore the full range of opportunities open to them. Specific strategies to identify, reach, and serve the population are recommended, and changes to improve both public policy and the care system in general are addressed. With its thorough treatment of the subject, including chapters on measurement of rehabilitation outcomes, descriptions of service delivery models, a vision screening questionnaire, and elders'reactions to vision loss, Vision and Aging will be valuable reading for everyone involved in working with the visually impaired elderly. Students, agency administrators and staff, and public policy decision makers are among those from fields such as medicine, health promotion, aging, and rehabilitation who will find useful and practical information in this enlightening book.

This book is designed to help you achieve one specific goal. It’s not designed to give you the philosophies of conducting research. It’s not designed to give you a background in a specific academic discipline or a specific topic. It’s not designed to give you theory. It’s designed specifically to instruct you in the practicalities of the writing process used to create strong, thorough, and potentially bulletproof literature reviews. This book is the culmination of years of research experience. It’s also the culmination of several years of teaching writing and critical thinking to doctoral students. Although it began as a tool for doctoral students, it has been expanded to be useful for everyone from senior high school students through doctoral candidates working on developing their first literature review or a larger literature review than they normally develop. It has been created for everyone from academics to new business entrepreneurs with good ideas who are trying to write their first reviews to support the new idea they’re proposing.

Vision Loss in an Aging Society is a thoughtful and challenging overview that integrates practice and policy issues relating to aging and visual impairment. It reflects the perspectives of leading experts in the fields of vision rehabilitation and aging. This essential reference outlines the critical components of public policy changes urgently needed in view of demographic trends and is an invaluable resource for university instructors as well as for professionals in the fields of low vision, social work, geriatric medicine, rehabilitation, occupational therapy, and public health.