Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 88, Issue 6 , Pages 691-695, June 2007

Short- and Long-Term Effects of an Intensive Inpatient Vision Rehabilitation Program

Presented to the American Academy of Optometry, December 8, 2005, San Diego, CA.

  • Joan A. Stelmack, OD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Blind Rehabilitation Center, Edward E. Hines VA Hospital, Hines, IL
    • Illinois College of Optometry, Chicago, IL
    • Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to Joan A. Stelmack, OD, MPH, Edward E. Hines VA Hospital, Bldg 113, Hines, IL 60141
    • ,
  • D.’Anna Moran, MA

      Affiliations

    • Blind Rehabilitation Center, Edward E. Hines VA Hospital, Hines, IL
    • ,
  • Deborah Dean, MA

      Affiliations

    • Blind Rehabilitation Center, Edward E. Hines VA Hospital, Hines, IL
    • ,
  • Robert W. Massof, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

Abstract 

Stelmack JA, Moran D’A, Dean D, Massof RW. Short- and long-term effects of an intensive inpatient vision rehabilitation program.

Objective

To assess the effects of a visual rehabilitation program on visually impaired subjects’ visual ability and ability to perform activities.

Design

Prospective observational study.

Setting

Telephone interviews of respondents in their homes the week before admission to the rehabilitation center and 3 months and 1 year after discharge from the rehabilitation center.

Participants

A total of 178 consecutive patients from the Hines Blind Rehabilitation Center participated in development of the 48-item Veterans Affairs Low Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire (VA LV VFQ-48). Data were analyzed for 95 who participated in all 3 administrations of the questionnaire.

Intervention

Comprehensive blind rehabilitation program (mean hospital admission, 40d).

Main Outcome Measure

The self-report ratings of patients’ difficulty performing 48 activities on the VA LV VFQ-48.

Results

The increase in visual ability ± standard deviation of .981±.482 logits (equivalent to an 8-line improvement in visual acuity on an Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study chart) at 3 months postrehabilitation decreased to .682±.485 logits (equivalent to a loss of 2.5 lines of visual acuity on the same chart) 1 year postrehabilitation. The effect sizes measured at 3 months (2.035) and 1 year (1.495) indicate large treatment effects corresponding to statistically significant differences for the increase in visual ability at 3 months and 1 year postrehabilitation (paired 2-tailed t tests, P<.001) relative to pretreatment measures. The difference in visual abilities measured at 3 months and 1 year posttreatment also is statistically significant (P<.001).

Conclusions

Treatment effects decreased over the 12-month follow-up period. However, the group of patients whose data were analyzed was still statistically and clinically significantly better at their 1-year follow-up than before beginning treatment.

Key Words: Questionnaires, Rehabilitation, Vision, low

 

 Supported by the Office of Research and Development, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (grant no. C2707I) and the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health (grant no. EY012045).No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.Reprints are not available from the author.

PII: S0003-9993(07)00234-1

doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2007.03.025

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 88, Issue 6 , Pages 691-695, June 2007

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