The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term use of optical devices by individuals who participated in a school-based comprehensive low vision program focusing on use of devices, both near and distance. Thirty-seven participants (five non-users), ages 1828, completed phone interviews giving information on their personal characteristics, functioning with devices, and psychosocial responses to using devices. Thirty (81%) of the participants were enrolled in college or had graduated from college. Only 11 (29.7%) participants were currently employed. The most common near vision tasks were reading pages in a book and reading cooking directions, whereas the most common distance tasks were reading travel signs and viewing an activity in the distance. The 32 participants (86.5%) who reported using optical devices were positive about their experiences with optical devices, reported being comfortable when using the devices, and seemed to value their use of devices. They were less positive, however, about the use of devices to support independence. Confidence in using optical devices was associated with gender, central visual field, and years of device use.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03262013-102147 |
| Date | 16 April 2013 |
| Creators | Bachofer, Cynthia Susan |
| Contributors | Steve Graham, Deborah Hatton, R.A. McWilliam, Deborah W. Rowe |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03262013-102147/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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