J B Hassell, L M Weih, J E Keeffe
Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Ophthalmology, East Melbourne, Australia
Background: To quantify and describe the restriction to participation of people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) prior to rehabilitation.
Method: Eligible participants (<6/12 due to AMD prior to low vision rehabilitation) completed the Impact of Vision Impairment Profile (IVI). The 32 items of the IVI cover five life domains: household and personal care, mobility, emotional well being, leisure and work, and social and consumer interaction. The degree of difficulty of each item is rated on a six-point scale from none to unable. Domain scores are an average of ratings for the items included in a domain.
Results: The average age of the 107 participants was 81 years (SD 8) and 67% were women. Average duration of vision loss was 5 years (SD 7). Most people (60%) had moderate vision loss (<6/18- 6/60), 25% had mild (<6/12-6/18) and 18% severe (<6/60).
Average scores for IVI items were ranked in order of difficulty. The top five items were a mix of the five domains. Items with the highest average scores were reading related, participation in activities such as shopping, hobbies and pastimes and feelings of worry and frustration. Participation in home based activities were less of a problem. In multivariate models age, gender and duration of vision loss were unrelated to average scores for each domain. Average scores for the social, mobility and leisure and work domains were significantly higher than those for the emotional well being and household and personal care domains.
Conclusions: AMD affected participants across the range of domains of functioning, not just activities related to reading and fine detail.
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