None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This collaborative project between National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) and the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) addresses vision related needs for older people in low-level residential care. The project involves three facilities; one in Geelong and two in Melbourne. The project aims to screen residents to quantify the magnitude of vision impairment among people in residential aged care facilities, and to conduct environmental audits to determine the extent of environmental factors influencing function and quality of life in this setting. Following this, a collaborative approach with each facility’s key staff members, residents and carers will determine how the problems identified will be addressed. Interventions will include: referral for further assessment where indicated; provision of corrective lenses for those with correctable visual impairments; environmental modification to address factors affecting function and safety; staff training about screening and management / referral options for residents with visual impairment (including consideration of environmental factors for residents with impaired vision) and information for residents and carers to maximise vision and environmental safety. In order to assess the effectiveness of the management plans, data will be collected (before and after the intervention) about falls rates, vision screening, environmental hazards and residents’ functional status and wellbeing. Key learnings from the project will be compiled as user-friendly resources that can be accessed by other residential care facilities enabling them to adopt a similar approach. The project will be undertaken over 18 months and is due for completion in February 2009.
Interventions
Implementation of a targeted intervention plans to address individuals' and facilities' environmental factors influencing vision and the environment to improve residents' safety, function and quality or life in participating facilities. Interventions include provision of magnification glasses, referral to optometrist/ opthalmologist/ general practitioner (GP), environmental modification of facility (eg improvement in lighting), and staff training related to vision and residential care (staff tr
Implementation of a targeted intervention plans to address individuals' and facilities' environmental factors influencing vision and the environment to improve residents' safety, function and quality or life in participating facilities. Interventions include provision of magnification glasses, referral to optometrist/ opthalmologist/ general practitioner (GP), environmental modification of facility (eg improvement in lighting), and staff training related to vision and residential care (staff training was a one hour session of demonstration and experiential learning, supported with a resource kit for ongoing review.). The full intervention took approximately six months.
Sponsors
National Ageing Research Institute
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Other
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Resident of low care participating residential facility or high care resident within participating low care facility that has ageing in place.
Exclusion criteria
Not fitting inclusion criteria
Outcome results
None listed