OUTCOME OF LOW-VISION AID PROVISION - THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A LOW-VISION CLINIC

Purpose, Although there is an increasing need for primary low vision ( LV) care, few studies have considered the success rates of optometric LV rehabilitation. We considered the objective success and perceived b enefit obtained by 57 elderly LV patients. Method. Tests of reading sp eed and questionnaires were administered in the patient's home after i nitial and follow-up visits to a LV clinic. Additional information was taken from the patient's clinic record. Results. Benefits from attend ing the clinic were reported by 89.5% of patients and 81% of patients were regularly using low vision aids (LVA's). There was a discrepancy between ability to read 1M print in the clinic (75% of patients) and t he reported ability to read regular-sized print at home (35%). Perceiv ed benefit from visiting the clinic was strongly associated with the a bility to perform daily living tasks and to read 2M print. There was s ome association between perceived benefit and frequency of using the L VA's, but not with duration of use. Conclusion. The results encourage a change in emphasis during LV assessments from sustained reading to t he ability to perform daily living activities.