Effects of a multidisciplinary group rehabilitation programme on participation of the visually impaired elderly: a pilot study

• Published in: Disability and rehabilitation 2012-10, Vol.34 (20), p.1677-1685
• Main Authors: Alma, Manna A., Groothoff, Johan W., Melis-Dankers, Bart J. M., Post, Marcel W. M., Suurmeijer, Theo P. B. M., van der Mei, Sijrike F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Autonomy; Disability Evaluation; Elderly people; Female; Group Processes; Home based; Humans; intervention study; Interviews as Topic; low vision; Male; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Netherlands; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Patient Participation; Personal Autonomy; Pilot Projects; Pilot studies; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation - methods; Social education; Social Participation; Surveys and Questionnaires; Visually Impaired Persons - psychology; Visually Impaired Persons - rehabilitation
• ISSN: 0963-8288; 1464-5165
• DOI: 10.3109/09638288.2012.656795

Purpose: To pilot test the newly developed multidisciplinary group rehabilitation programme Visually Impaired elderly Persons Participating (VIPP). Method: A single group pretest-posttest design pilot study included 29 visually impaired persons (≥55 years). The intervention (20 weekly meetings) consisted of four components (practical training; education, social interaction, counselling and training of problem-solving skills; individual and group goal setting; home-based exercise programme). Participation was assessed with the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation (USER-P) and the Impact on Participation and Autonomy (IPA) questionnaire at baseline, immediately and 6 months after the intervention. Results: At scale level, no statistical significant changes over time were found whereas the effect size indicated small effects for restrictions and satisfaction with participation, and a medium effect for autonomy outdoors. At item level, improvements tended to occur in frequency of housekeeping, in restrictions in housekeeping and outdoor activities and in satisfaction with the partner relationship. Satisfaction with leisure indoors and autonomy regarding using leisure time tended to increase as well. Conclusions: The tentative conclusion of this small-scale pilot study is that the VIPP programme modestly benefits perceived restrictions in participation, satisfaction with participation and autonomy outdoors of the visually impaired elderly. These preliminary findings warrant further investigation. Implications for Rehabilitation Visually impaired elderly persons perceive restrictions in participation and participate less in society compared to peers. Since participation contributes to quality of life and well-being, it is important that visually impaired elderly persons maintain or enhance their level of participation in society. This pilot study showed that the multidisciplinary group rehabilitation programme Visually Impaired elderly Persons Participating (VIPP) modestly benefits perceived restrictions in participation, satisfaction with participation and autonomy outdoors of the visually impaired elderly.