Barriers to accessing low-vision care: the patient's perspective

Abstract

Objective: To review the literature regarding barriers that hinder access to low-vision (LV) care from the perspective of individuals with vision impairment.

Design: Literature review.

Methods: PubMed and Scopus were used to identify relevant cross-sectional studies of awareness of, and barriers to, LV rehabilitation. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (i) year of publication within the past 20 years (between 1992 and 2012), and (ii) participants of the study included individuals with vision impairment. Fourteen studies met the criteria for inclusion and were included in this review.

Results: Barriers to accessing low-vision service (LVS), from the perspective of individuals with vision impairment, included the following: misconceptions of LVSs, miscommunication by eye care professionals, lack of awareness, location and transportation, the need to appear independent, negative societal views, influence of family and friends, insufficient visual impairment to warrant services, cost of LVS, and reduced perception of vision loss relative to other losses in life. Other factors that were associated with lower use of LVS included income level, comorbidities, and education level.

Conclusions: The reasons for not accessing LV rehabilitation are complex, and some may be more easily addressed than others. A heightened awareness of LV rehabilitation may be achieved with better communication by eye care professionals and with public education. The stigma associated with the usage of LV aids and admitting a disability still seems to exist, but may be reduced by increasing societal understanding of LV.