Indian Journal of Ophthalmology

COMMUNITY EYE CARE
Year
: 2004  |  Volume : 52  |  Issue : 4  |  Page : 331--5

Quality of life after community-based rehabilitation for blind persons in a rural population of South India.


V Vijayakumar, Rajesh K John, D Datta, Ravilla D Thulasiraj, Praveen K Nirmalan 
 Aravind Medical Research Foundation, India

Correspondence Address:
V Vijayakumar
Aravind Medical Research Foundation
India

This study aimed to determine the impact of community-based rehabilitation on the quality of life of blind persons in a rural south Indian population. We performed a population-based survey followed by clinical examinations to identify blind persons in a rural south Indian population. Pre-and-post rehabilitation quality of life of 159 blind persons aged 15 years or above was ascertained through a questionnaire previously validated for use in this population. Post-rehabilitation quality-of-life scales showed some improvement for 151 (95.0%) subjects. The additional benefit from rehabilitation was greatest for the self-care and mobility subscales, ranging from 24.6% to 30.0% for the self care subscale and 37.6% to 44.3% for the mobility subscale with effect sizes of 21.5 and 2.38 respectively. Overall quality of life scores were not significantly different between those who did and did not receive economic rehabilitation (P = 0.1). Blind persons in this rural population benefited considerably from rehabilitation services even if economic rehabilitation is not provided. Initiatives against blindness need to consider rehabilitation of the blind as a priority.


How to cite this article:
Vijayakumar V, John RK, Datta D, Thulasiraj RD, Nirmalan PK. Quality of life after community-based rehabilitation for blind persons in a rural population of South India. Indian J Ophthalmol 2004;52:331-5


How to cite this URL:
Vijayakumar V, John RK, Datta D, Thulasiraj RD, Nirmalan PK. Quality of life after community-based rehabilitation for blind persons in a rural population of South India. Indian J Ophthalmol [serial online] 2004 [cited 2024 Mar 28 ];52:331-5
Available from: https://journals.lww.com/ijo/pages/default.aspx/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2004;volume=52;issue=4;spage=331;epage=5;aulast=Vijayakumar;type=0