Vision Impairment, Use Of Vision Aids, And Eye Examinations Among Older Frail Adults Living In An Aged Residential Care

To provide a descriptive analysis of Vision impairment, use of vision aids, and eye examinations being used by frail older persons with vision impairment. 

University Hospital

This analysis was based on the most recent assessment of individuals who live in an aged residential care facility who have undergone the standardised interRAI assessment. Vision aids and eye tests are only available in the interRAI Long-Term-Care-Facility instrument. We derived descriptive data of the variable stratified by sex, assessment type, and impairments based on the individual’s most recent assessment in 2019 and 2020. 

We analysed (N=23,658) interRAI Long Term Care Facility assessments between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2020. The cohorts had a medium age of 83.8 (SD8.3) years and comprised 67.4% females. 32947 individuals 66.8% had ADEQUATE vision, 11557 individuals 23.4% MINIMAL DIFFICULTY, 3139 individuals 6.4% had MODERATE DIFFICULTY, 1547 individuals 3.1% had SEVERE DIFFICULTY, 117 individuals 0.2% had NO VISION. The use of vision aids ranged from 30.1% for people with no vision to 50.3% for people with moderate vision impairment; in total, 42.7 % of all individuals used vision aids. The average eye test examination of the last year across all impairment levels was 44%. 

This research examined vision among older adults in aged residential care facilities. It highlights the high percentage of patients with vision impairment, the lower amount of use of vision aids, and the low number of eye examinations performed. There is room for improvement in making a difference. Cataract is the main cause of vision loss in this population, and addressing surgery on time is critical.