Physiological changes in vision during aging: perceptions of older adults and healthcare providers.
Tattiana Dias de Carvalho Cordeiro, Luípa Michele Silva, Edilene Araujo Monteiro and 3 others
PMID 34822238WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults and providers described age-related vision changes such as cataracts, glasses, night vision and reading trouble as limiting daily life.
Ask older adults about seeing, glasses, cataracts, surgery and how vision affects independence and communication.
Key findings
01Older adults' most visible words included difficulty, cataract, glasses, doctor and surgery.
02Older adults linked difficulty and age to vision problems and coping with advancing age.
03Providers described age as permeated by difficulties and losses, with communication important in understanding older adults' problems.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only six healthcare providers took part, and all were studying for master's degrees, so the provider views may reflect a small, academically linked group rather than routine staff. The older adults had to have good communication and sufficient cognitive status to answer simple questions, so people who could not do this were not included. The study used focus groups and word clouds, not eye exams, so it describes perceptions rather than measured vision loss. Participants came from two services in João Pessoa, so the findings may not apply elsewhere.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the frequent words as proof of how common vision problems are. They report what participants said in focus groups, not measured visual acuity.