Vision Loss In Older Adults

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.

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.

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.

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.

Based on careful analysis of burden of disease and the costs ofinterventions, this second edition of 'Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition' highlights achievable priorities; measures progresstoward providing efficient, equitable care; promotes cost-effectiveinterventions to targeted populations; and encourages integrated effortsto optimize health. Nearly 500 experts - scientists, epidemiologists, health economists,academicians, and public health practitioners - from around the worldcontributed to the data sources and methodologies, and identifiedchallenges and priorities, resulting in this integrated, comprehensivereference volume on the state of health in developing countries.

Geriatric patients have unique responses to treatment and disease, often harboring co-morbidities that can impact evaluation, treatment, and prognosis, which can require specialized expertise or experience. Geriatric Ophthalmology, Second Edition draws upon the successful first edition by applying a competency-based approach to these patients, improving awareness, increasing understanding, and encouraging expertise about geriatric issues among eye care professionals. These intersecting conditions and their treatment are comprehensively discussed in this fully updated second edition, complete with additional high-quality illustrations and photos. Each chapter utilizes illustrative cases to exemplify the points of care encompassed by the competencies. Topics of special interest are included, such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, low vision, all diseases of aging, and the effect of vision loss on the geriatric patient’s quality of life. Medical students, residents, fellows, clinicians, and allied health personnel alike will find this to be a comprehensive resource and exceptional guide to the care of older patients with geriatric ophthalmology problems.

This overview of the service delivery systems in the aging and blindness fields covers the essential issues concerning vision loss among older persons in this country, the growth of visual impairment among the increasing number of elderly people in the United States, and the policy and service questions that will demand national attention throughout this and the coming decade.

Originally published in 1989, Day Brought Back My Night explores the lives of people who have lost sight in late life as a result of age-related visual disorders. As life-expectancy in western society has increased, the number of people who fall into this group has grown, yet little had been written on this plight. This major study filled the gap in the literature, and will still be of great value to practitioners, scholars, and students in the fields of social gerontology, medicine, social work, and nursing. Stephen Ainlay surveys the various etiologies of age-related visual disorders and establishes the medical framework of the problem. His primary concern, however, is to understand people’s experience of vision loss, and he makes use of extensive interview data to establish the ways in which people come to terms with their own aging. The stories told here reflect people’s responses to a changing body as well as shifting relationships with friends, family members, medical practitioners, and service providers. They reveal hopes and fears, lost priorities, and new initiatives, relationships that recede and relationships that are newly established. Above all, they comment on the drama that is involved in people’s struggle to find continuity in their lives. In this way, the book is as much an exploration into the problem of identity as it is a study of sensory loss in later life.

This book was first projected in 2004, when Author Hannah Fairbairn was teaching interpersonal skills at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts. The experiences of her adult students—and her own experience of sight lost—convinced her that everyone losing vision needs access to good information about the process of adjustment to losing sight and practical ways to use assertive speech. When You Can’t Believe Your Eyes is intended for anyone going through vision loss, their friends, and families. It will inform readers how to get expert professional help, face the trauma of loss, and navigate the world using speech more than sight. Each of the twelve chapters in the book contain many short sections and bullet-point lists, intended to facilitate access to the right information. It begins where you begin—at the doctor’s office or the hospital. Since vision loss takes many forms, there are suggestions for questions you might ask to get a clear diagnosis and the best treatment. Part One also has a description of legal blindness and possible prevention, advice about your job, and tips for life at home. Part Two is about believing in yourself as you deal with the loss, the anger, and the fear before you come up for air and consider training. Parts Three and Four describe using assertive speech and action in all kinds of settings as your independence and confidence increase. Part Five gives detailed information about everything from dating, and caring for babies to senior living, volunteering, and retaining your job. It is hoped that by reading and trying out the suggestions, the reader will recover full confidence, become a positive, assertive communicator, and lead a satisfying life. Because vision loss happens mostly in older years, the book is written with seniors particularly in mind. Professionals will also find it to be a useful resource for their patients.