Issues In Aging And Vision

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.

Vision Loss in an Aging Society is a thoughtful and challenging overview that integrates practice and policy issues relating to aging and visual impairment. It reflects the perspectives of leading experts in the fields of vision rehabilitation and aging. This essential reference outlines the critical components of public policy changes urgently needed in view of demographic trends and is an invaluable resource for university instructors as well as for professionals in the fields of low vision, social work, geriatric medicine, rehabilitation, occupational therapy, and public health.

A new essential curriculum on aging and vision loss designed to provide vital information for university programs in gerontology and related areas, and in-service training as well. Seven clearly written, easy-to-use modules cover such vital topics as the eye and vision, psychosocial issues related to vision loss, impact on the family, community resources and services, collaboration efforts between the aging and vision fields, current trends, and in-service delivery. Issues in Aging and Vision is an invaluable information resource for university training programs and organizations and community agencies serving older persons.

As the number of older persons experiencing vision loss continues to soar over the upcoming years, all of us may find that a family member or friend we care about has become visually impaired. Aging and Vision Loss contains reassuring, supportive, and helpful information on meeting the needs of the older person and family caregivers as well.

This overview of the service delivery systems in the aging and blindness fields covers the essential issues concerning vision loss among older persons in this country, the growth of visual impairment among the increasing number of elderly people in the United States, and the policy and service questions that will demand national attention throughout this and the coming decade.

It is estimated that by the year 2020 there will be 4.6 million persons who are elderly and blind or severely visually impaired. Vision loss in the elderly is a common problem but is frequently unaddressed. The affected often do not know where or when to go for help and care providers are sometimes equally uninformed. Vision and Aging responds to the needs of this growing population and provides the knowledge and tools necessary to increase the number and accessibility of services available to the visually impaired elderly. This comprehensive book addresses many areas of concern, including the current service network and its existing gaps and the public policy agenda necessary for better meeting the needs of persons who are elderly and visually impaired. With proper care and rehabilitation, many of these elderly can lead active, independent, and productive lives. Social workers and allied professionals will discover what resources are currently available and how to make sure their clients are able to explore the full range of opportunities open to them. Specific strategies to identify, reach, and serve the population are recommended, and changes to improve both public policy and the care system in general are addressed. With its thorough treatment of the subject, including chapters on measurement of rehabilitation outcomes, descriptions of service delivery models, a vision screening questionnaire, and elders'reactions to vision loss, Vision and Aging will be valuable reading for everyone involved in working with the visually impaired elderly. Students, agency administrators and staff, and public policy decision makers are among those from fields such as medicine, health promotion, aging, and rehabilitation who will find useful and practical information in this enlightening book.

Originally published in 1989, Day Brought Back My Night explores the lives of people who have lost sight in late life as a result of age-related visual disorders. As life-expectancy in western society has increased, the number of people who fall into this group has grown, yet little had been written on this plight. This major study filled the gap in the literature, and will still be of great value to practitioners, scholars, and students in the fields of social gerontology, medicine, social work, and nursing. Stephen Ainlay surveys the various etiologies of age-related visual disorders and establishes the medical framework of the problem. His primary concern, however, is to understand people’s experience of vision loss, and he makes use of extensive interview data to establish the ways in which people come to terms with their own aging. The stories told here reflect people’s responses to a changing body as well as shifting relationships with friends, family members, medical practitioners, and service providers. They reveal hopes and fears, lost priorities, and new initiatives, relationships that recede and relationships that are newly established. Above all, they comment on the drama that is involved in people’s struggle to find continuity in their lives. In this way, the book is as much an exploration into the problem of identity as it is a study of sensory loss in later life.