Sharon A. Bentley

In-home monitoring of older adults with vision impairment: exploring patients', caregivers' and professionals' views

OBJECTIVE To develop a conceptual framework for the design of an in-home monitoring system (IMS) based on the requirements of older adults with vision impairment (VI), informal caregivers and eye-care rehabilitation professionals. MATERIALS AND METHODS Concept mapping, a mixed-methods statistical research tool, was used in the construction of the framework. Overall, 40 participants brainstormed or sorted and rated 83 statements concerning an IMS for older adults with VI. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis were employed to construct the framework. A questionnaire yielded further insights into the views of a wider sample of older adults with VI (n=78) and caregivers (n=25) regarding IMS. RESULTS Concept mapping revealed a nine-cluster model of IMS-related aspects including affordability, awareness of system capabilities, simplicity of installation, operation and maintenance, system integrity and reliability, fall detection and safe movement, user customization, user preferences regarding information delivery, and safety alerts for patients and caregivers. From the questionnaire, independence, safety and fall detection were the most commonly reported reasons for older adults and caregivers to accept an IMS. Concerns included cost, privacy, security of the information obtained through monitoring, system accuracy, and ease of use. DISCUSSION Older adults with VI, caregivers and professionals are receptive to in-home monitoring, mainly for fall detection and safety monitoring, but have concerns that must be addressed when developing an IMS. CONCLUSION Our study provides a novel conceptual framework for the design of an IMS that will be maximally acceptable and beneficial to our ageing and vision-impaired population.

How Australian and New Zealand schools of optometry prepare students for culturally competent practice

Background This study is an investigation of how Australian and New Zealand schools of optometry prepare students for culturally competent practice. The aims are: (1) to review how optometric courses and educators teach and prepare their students to work with culturally diverse patients; and (2) to determine the demographic characteristics of current optometric students and obtain their views on cultural diversity. Methods All Australian and New Zealand schools of optometry were invited to participate in the study. Data were collected with two surveys: a curriculum survey about the content of the optometric courses in relation to cultural competency issues and a survey for second year optometry students containing questions in relation to cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity and attitudes to cultural diversity. Results Four schools of optometry participated in the curriculum survey (Deakin University, Flinders University, University of Melbourne and University of New South Wales). Sixty-three students (22.3 per cent) from these four schools as well as the University of Auckland participated in the student survey. Cultural competency training was reported to be included in the curriculum of some schools, to varying degrees in terms of structure, content, teaching method and hours of teaching. Among second year optometry students across Australia and New Zealand, training in cultural diversity issues was the strongest predictor of cultural awareness and sensitivity after adjusting for school, age, gender, country of birth and language other than English. Conclusion This study provides some evidence that previous cultural competency-related training is associated with better cultural awareness and sensitivity among optometric students. The variable approaches to cultural competency training reported by the schools of optometry participating in the study suggest that there may be opportunity for further development in all schools to consider best practice training in cultural competency.This study is an investigation of how Australian and New Zealand schools of optometry prepare students for culturally competent practice. The aims are: (1) to review how optometric courses and educators teach and prepare their students to work with culturally diverse patients; and (2) to determine the demographic characteristics of current optometric students and obtain their views on cultural diversity.

Advancing low vision services: a plan for Australian optometry

Every optometrist in Australia has been trained to provide primary low vision services. However, many do not. Now is the time to change this. The Optometrists Association Australia Low Vision Working Group (OAA LVWG) presents a plan to advance low vision service provision by optometrists. The plan comprises four main priority areas for action: i) developing evidence-based policy; ii) supporting low vision education; iii) engaging with key stakeholders, and; iv) improving remuneration. It is the view of the OAA LVWG that no patient with low vision should be left without support and that all optometrists, together with all eye care practitioners and providers, have a central role in advancing low vision service provision in Australia.

Developing an instrumental activities of daily living tool as part of the low vision assessment of daily activities protocol.

PURPOSE To determine the validity, reliability, and measurement characteristics using factor and Rasch analysis of the Very Low Vision Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL-VLV) in persons with severe vision loss. METHODS From an initial pool of 296 tasks, 25 were shortlisted after conducting a Delphi survey with persons designated legally blind. Using further input from occupational therapy and low-vision professionals, 11 activities were chosen to be pilot tested. Forty legally blind participants (better eye visual acuity < 20/200) underwent clinical assessments and functional tests as well as the 53 IADL tasks related to the 11 activities. The task pool was refined and condensed using factor and Rasch analysis. RESULTS Based on iterative principal component analyses, tasks were grouped together into the following domains: reading signs/information access, signature placement, clothes sorting, shelf search, gesture recognition, clock reading, and table search. A final selection of 23 tasks yielded satisfactory measurement characteristics, differentiated between at least four different levels of IADL performance (person separation of 3.8), and had adequate task difficulty for the tested sample (person mean -0.61). In multivariate analyses, only visual acuity (VA) and percent of remaining visual field (VF) were associated with IADL performance. CONCLUSIONS Using a large item pool, participant, and expert input, as well as factor and Rasch analysis, we designed a valid and reliable assessment to measure vision-related IADL performance in persons with severe vision loss. This assessment tool can be used in clinical sight restoration trials.

Rasch Analysis of the Independent Mobility Questionnaire.

Purpose The Independent Mobility Questionnaire (IMQ) assesses participants’ perceived ability for independent mobility. However, it has not been validated in a severely visually impaired population. The aim of this study was to explore the IMQ’s psychometric properties in participants with severe visual impairment. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 40 participants with retinitis pigmentosa (better eye visual acuity <20/200 and/or visual field <10%). The key psychometric properties of the IMQ were examined using Rasch analysis, including precision, targeting, and item fit. Construct validity was assessed by testing the correlation between the IMQ and the Mobility and Independence subscale of the Impact of Vision Impairment questionnaire (Pearson correlation coefficient, r). Criterion validity was also assessed. Results The IMQ had excellent precision (Person Separation Index, 3.01) with the capacity to distinguish at least four strata of participant ability, and item difficulty was well targeted to participant ability (difference between mean person and item measures, −0.21). Items 34, 35, 21, and 14 displayed misfit (infit MnSq >1.4); however, given our sample size restrictions, these items were not removed from the analysis. The IMQ had good construct validity (moderate correlation with the Impact of Vision Impairment Mobility subscale, r = 0.595, p < 0.05) but did not demonstrate criterion validity. Conclusions The psychometric properties of the IMQ were promising. Our findings are useful for researchers evaluating the effectiveness of novel treatment technologies on mobility in a severely visually impaired population from the participant’s perspective. However, further validation studies in larger samples are required to confirm our results.

An update on the characteristics of patients attending the Kooyong Low Vision Clinic.

Since 1972, the Australian College of Optometry has worked in partnership with Vision Australia to provide multidisciplinary low‐vision care at the Kooyong Low Vision Clinic. In 1999, Wolffsohn and Cochrane reported on the demographic characteristics of patients attending Kooyong. Sixteen years on, the aim of this study is to review the demographics of the Kooyong patient cohort and prescribing patterns.

Image processing for visual prostheses: A clinical perspective

Recent advances in the field of visual prostheses or “bionic eyes” have shown that it is possible to use electrical stimulation to produce basic phosphenised vision to patients who are profoundly vision impaired or blind. In particular, retinal prostheses have been implanted in a number of clinical trials for a degenerative eye disease known as retinitis pigmentosa. To date, the visual improvements in these trials have been small and not easily quantified. The aim of this paper is to highlight the inherent complexities in the assessment of visual function in the profoundly vision impaired, and discuss the potential for improvement in outcomes using image processing technology.

Developing a Very Low Vision Orientation and Mobility Test Battery (O&M-VLV).

Purpose This study aimed to determine the feasibility of an assessment of vision-related orientation and mobility (O&M) tasks in persons with severe vision loss. These tasks may be used for future low vision rehabilitation clinical assessments or as outcome measures in vision restoration trials. Methods Forty legally blind persons (mean visual acuity logMAR 2.3, or hand movements) with advanced retinitis pigmentosa participated in the Orientation & Mobility—Very Low Vision (O&M-VLV) subtests from the Low Vision Assessment of Daily Activities (LoVADA) protocol. Four categories of tasks were evaluated: route travel in three indoor hospital environments, a room orientation task (the “cafe”), a visual exploration task (the “gallery”), and a modified version of the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, which assesses re-orientation and route travel. Spatial cognition was assessed using the Stuart Tactile Maps test. Visual acuity and visual fields were measured. Results A generalized linear regression model showed that a number of measures in the O&M-VLV tasks were related to residual visual function. The percentage of preferred walking speed without an aid on three travel routes was associated with visual field (p < 0.01 for all routes) whereas the number of contacts with obstacles during route travel was associated with acuity (p = 0.001). TUG-LV task time was associated with acuity (p = 0.003), as was the cafe time and distance traveled (p = 0.006 and p < 0.001, respectively). The gallery score was the only measure that was significantly associated with both residual acuity and fields (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). Conclusions The O&M-VLV was designed to capture key elements of O&M performance in persons with severe vision loss, which is a population not often studied previously. Performance on these tasks was associated with both binocular visual acuity and visual field. This new protocol includes assessments of orientation, which may be of benefit in vision restoration clinical trials.

Temporal changes in contact lens comfort over a day of wear

Contact lens discomfort continues to be reported as the primary reason for soft lens discontinuation, regardless of new modalities and materials. The purpose of this analysis of comfort related data from a series of clinical studies was to review whether there was a difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic habitual lens wearers’ comfort responses over the course of the day.

Practitioner perspectives on extended clinical placement programs in optometry

Some universities are looking to provide a more diverse range of clinical learning experiences through extended clinical placement programs. This approach will potentially have a significant impact on practitioners. The aim of this study was to conduct a national survey of optometrists to ascertain their perspectives on participating in extended clinical placement programs.