The Influence of Sociodemographic Characteristics on Vision-Related Quality of Life in Visually Impaired Patients

Abstract

Vision-related quality of life  (VRQOL) describes an individual’s overall sense of well-being that is related to the individual’s level of visual functioning. ¹ Visual functioning is defined by two terms: Functional Vision and Visual Function. ¹Functional Vision describes how a  person functions in vision-related activities; as opposed to Visual Function which describes how the eyes and the visual system function. Functional vision is a broader measure than visual acuity, because it evaluates patients’ ability to conduct activities of daily living (e.g., reading, driving, writing,  orientation and mobility, and face recognition) for which peripheral vision, contrast sensitivity, color vision and visual acuity are important.1 Visual function is defined by visual acuity, visual field, contrast sensitivity, color vision, dark adaptation, and stereopsis.¹ Currently, the assessments of these parameters are the most-accepted clinical evaluation of visual function.² However they have been shown to be inadequate in explaining poor performance in vision-related activities of daily living among visually impaired patients. The interactions of several factors such as environmental factors, personal factors, socio-cultural norms, social structure, age, gender, etc,³ interplay to influence the visually impaired patient’s perception of his/her quality of life. Thus, the impact of the degree of visual impairment and associated factors defines the concept of vision-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of sociodemographic factors on the vision-related quality of life among adults who are visually impaired.