The relationship betweenimpairedvisualfunctionandquality of life of the blind

It is quite possible that people with low-vision and blind people have a severely affected quality of life due to the presence of their vision impairment. This study evaluated the relationship between visual function impairment and the quality of life in blind and low vision people.

In this descriptive- analytical study، conducted in Zahedan، Iran in 2012، 121 blind and low vision people with an age over 7 years who were registered in Zahedan Welfare Organization and had no other disabilities were sampled using a Census method. At first، visual examinations including visual acuity، visual field and stereopsis vision were carried out. The data of interest were then collected using a demographic questionnaire and a quality of life questionnaire، which was translated to Persian in a research conducted in Isfahan، Iran in 2007. The reliability of the latter questionnaire was assessed via test-retest method and reported to be 0. 89. The statistical analysis of the obtained data was performed using SPSS software version 20.

The mean score of the quality of life for women were significantly lower than that for men (P < 0. 001). The results of Mann-Whitney U test showed that the mean QOL score were significantly lower in participants without stereopsis in term of leisure (P = 0. 009) and social welfare (P = 0. 003) dimensions and also that those participants with tunnel vision scored lower than the others on mobility and self-care (P < 0. 001).

The results showed that defects of peripheral vision، stereopsis vision، gender and education level have significant effects on the quality of life of blind people resident in the studied region. According to the results of the study، providing educational، social and leisure programs for blind and low vision people، especially for women، and carrying out more research on this subject is necessary.