Vision Impairment in Older Adults: Causes, Impact, and Solutions

This report provides a comprehensive overview of vision impairment in older adults, focusing on its impact and causes, especially in the Australian context. The report highlights the prevalence of visual impairment, emphasizing the increased risk among individuals over 50 years old and the various underlying causes, including glaucoma, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration. It also underscores the importance of early detection and treatment, as well as the role of healthcare professionals, particularly nurses and midwives, in providing multidisciplinary care and spreading awareness. The report references relevant studies and statistics, including the impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and emphasizes the need for accessible screening facilities and regular eye examinations to prevent permanent blindness and improve the quality of life for older adults with vision impairments.

Running head: VISION IMPAIRMENT IN OLDER ADULTS
VISION IMPAIRMENT IN OLDER ADULTS
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1VISION IMPAIMENTS IN OLDER ADULTS
The visual impairment has a detrimental impact when it comes to the disability
worldwide (Pan et al., 2016). According to the World Health Organization there are
approximately 1.3 million people in the world who are associated with some of form of visual
impairment (World Health Organization, 2019). Among these people majority of them who
have vision impairment are above 50 years of age. However, when it comes to the older
people the visual impairment is a major health problem in Australia.
The main cause of visual impairment with an advancing age is the loosening of tissue
and eye muscles which decreases the normal function of the eyes as well as ocular
movement. There is an increase of incidence of falls and fractures among the old people who
are visually impaired (Hong et al., 2014). This situation can be aggravated by the following
causes:
 Glaucoma
 Old age related ocular muscle degeneration
 Diabetic Retinopathy
 Cataracts
 Age related macular degeneration
 Uncorrected refractive errors
 Trachoma
 Corneal opacity and many more.
It is to be understood that the elderly people with visual impairment are exposed to
various types of social dependencies as well as isolation. Some of the vision impairments are
treatable and can lead to better quality of life among older people of Australia. According to
Fong et al., (2013), surgical correction in case of visual impairment can lead to long term
survival of elderly people of Australia.

2VISION IMPAIMENTS IN OLDER ADULTS
It is to be understood that people affected with the visual disability can affect a
person’s social, physical and emotional well-being. It is reported that the people belonging to
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have greater incidence and prevalence of
visual disorders (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019). From this, it could be
understood that the people especially the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can be
deprived or have the lack of accessibility to the medical facilities of the cities. Therefore, in
the areas special attention should be given to the people with visual impairment. Nurses and
midwives play an effective role in collaborating with other health professionals like
pharmacists, general physicians or GPs and other allied health workers in Australia. This
could help the situation by giving multidisciplinary approach and more people can be
involved in the field works to assist older people who have visual impairment and disabilities.
The nurses in collaboration with the Aboriginal Health Workers can also spread awareness
among different communities so that they feel comfortable and safe while addressing their
needs and problems.
There should be active screening facility so that the older people can available
without much expense. The older people who are above the age of 60 should be motivated
and encouraged to go for regular health examination as well as the eye assessment because,
untreated visual examination could lead to permanent blindness. Since, there are other health
problems which can be there in elderly people hence, they should be dealt with kindness and
empathy.

3VISION IMPAIMENTS IN OLDER ADULTS
References:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Vision Problems in older
Australians. Retrieved from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-
health/vision-problems-in-older-australians/contents/summary
Fong, C. S. U., Mitchell, P., Rochtchina, E., Teber, E. T., Hong, T., & Wang, J. J.
(2013). Correction of visual impairment by cataract surgery and improved
survival in older perso
ns: the Blue Mountains Eye Study cohort. Ophthalmology, 120(9), 1720-1727.
Hong, T., Mitchell, P., Burlutsky, G., Samarawickrama, C., & Wang, J. J. (2014).
Visual impairment and the incidence of falls and fractures among older
people: longitudinal findings from the Blue Mountains Eye
Study. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 55(11), 7589-7593.
Pan, C. W., Qian, D. J., Sun, H. P., Ma, Q., Xu, Y., & Song, E. (2016). Visual
impairment among older adults in a rural community in eastern
China. Journal of ophthalmology, 2016.
World Health Organization. (2019). Blindness and Vision Impairment. Retrieved
from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-
impairment