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Health-related quality of life following blind rehabilitation

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of residential blind rehabilitation on patients’ vision-targeted health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and general physical and mental function.

Method

The National Eye Institute 25-item Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ) plus appendix questions, the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), Hope Scale and Coopersmith self-esteem inventory were administered to 206 legally blind veterans prior to their entering a residential (in-patient) blind rehabilitation program and again to 185 and 176 of the original cohort at 2 and 6 months after completion of the rehabilitation program, respectively. Data on visual acuity, visual field extent, contrast sensitivity and scanning ability were also collected. The duration of the in-patient rehabilitation programs ranged from 11 to 109 days. Questionnaire scores were compared pre-rehabilitation and post-rehabilitation.

Results

Following rehabilitation there was a significant improvement in nine of 11 NEI VFQ subscales and in a composite score at both the 2- and 6-month post-rehabilitation intervals. Mental health (SF-12) and self esteem also improved significantly although physical health ratings declined over the course of the study (approximately 10 months).

Conclusions

Residential blind rehabilitation appears to improve patients’ self-reported vision-targeted HRQOL, self-esteem and mental health aspects of generic HRQOL.

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Abbreviations

ADL:

Activities of Daily Living

CESD:

Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

DVA:

Department of Veterans Affairs

HRQOL:

Health-Related Quality of Life

MCS:

Mental Component Summary

NEI VFQ:

National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire

O&M:

Orientation and Mobility

PCS:

Physical Component Summary

RP:

Retinitis Pigmentosa

SF-12:

Short Form Health Survey 12-item version

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank Johnna Wesley and Susan Mitchell for their excellent work on this project. This research was supported by funds from the Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service (C2240R), National Institutes of Health grant R21-EY14071, Research to Prevent Blindness Inc., and the EyeSight Foundation of Alabama.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Thomas Kuyk, Jeffry L. Elliott, Hartley E. Grubbs & Patti S. Fuhr

  2. Northrop Grumman—AFRL/HEDO, 2624 Louis Bauer Drive, Brooks City-Base, TX, 78235, USA

    Thomas Kuyk

  3. School of Optometry, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Lei Liu

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Cynthia Owsley & Gerald McGwin Jr.

  5. Department of Epidemiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Gerald McGwin Jr. & Russell L. Griffin

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  1. Thomas Kuyk
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Correspondence to Thomas Kuyk.

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Kuyk, T., Liu, L., Elliott, J.L. et al. Health-related quality of life following blind rehabilitation. Qual Life Res 17, 497–507 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-008-9336-3

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