Abstract:

Whilst 13% of the older adult population in the U.S. have severe vision impairment, there is little recognition that such impairment can lead to isolation & excess disability. Reported here are results of a mail questionnaire survey conducted by the Lighthouse National Center for Vision & Aging (New York, NY) of the State Units on Aging & Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) to assess their awareness of the vision rehabilitation network of services need for more information on aging-related vision loss, & to identify specific projects that address the needs of visually impaired elderly. Among the 298 respondent AAAs, 74% could identify at least one resource for visually impaired people, but 83% felt they needed more information on age-related vision impairment. The sparsity of programs within the aging network to address needs of this population is documented & discussed.