Independency level in elderly blind war survivors: a cross sectional study

This study is aimed to investigate the independency status of the male elderly blind war survivors. Methods and Materials: The study was a cross sectional study on 312 male elderly blind war survivors over 40-year in Mashad city (Iran). The analysis compared among 3 age groups; 40-49, 50-59 and over 60 years old. Barthel index and Lawton-Bordy were used to assess activities of daily living (ADL). Data analysis conducted in SPSS_16 using ANOVA, cross tables and Pearson tests.

Participants were 312 people with mean age of 47.3(6.71) who 99% were male, all married while 82% unemployed. None of the participants were independent in all daily activities (IADL). There was a significant association between level of education and independency in some activities of daily living. Independency in telephone use, drug management, financial management, transfers on leveled surfaces and stepping in, over 60-year old group were significantly less than the other age groups. Coclusions: As the male blind war survivors got older,, their independencies in activities of daily living obviously decreased. The result of this study suggested that such changes may occur earlier among blind people. More researches in regars to different action plans for aforementioned elderly are required to postpone these changes in order to improve their qualities of life.