Psychosocial Implications of Blindness and Low Vision in students of Blind School Bahawalpur

Abstract

Objective:To find out the psychosocial implications of blindness and low vision in students of blind school Bahawalpur.Methods:A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out in Higher Secondary School for blind, Bahawalpur after getting approval from Institutional review board of Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur and Principal of Blind School, Bahawalpur. Forty willing students filled a customized questionnaire, consisting of questions about logistic variables and questions regarding areas of satisfaction. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 18.Results:Out of 40, 55% (22/40) of them were found depressed (as assessed through DSM-lV), 50% (20/40) were having difficulty in making new contact but 52.5% (21/40) were satisfied with family care.Conclusion:Sixty percent (24/40) of blind school children experienced difficulty in their life. This study showed that blindness or low vision does have psychological implications like feeling of guilt, anxiety, sadness & depression.

An Economic Evaluation of Voretigene Neparvovec for the Treatment of Biallelic RPE65-Mediated Inherited Retinal Dystrophies in the UK

“…Children affected by visual impairment are more likely to experience social and economic disadvantage [7], and the impacts of reduced mobility and independence become an increasing problem as young adults progress into further and higher education. Severe visual impairment is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety and sleep disorders [8][9][10][11][12][13], and studies have also reported an increased risk of depression among caregivers of those with visual impairment [14,15]. It is estimated that the full lifetime cost of blindness in individuals with biallelic RPE65-mediated IRD in the UK is between £1.6 and £1.8 million.…”

“…The average incremental costs over the simulated results were £611,203 and the average incremental QALYs were 6.4, giving a probabilistic ICER of £95,813; this is highly congruent with deterministic changes in costs and QALYs of £612,404 and 6.4, respectively. The proportion of simulations considered cost-effective when accounting for the additional QALY weighting for treatments with significant QALY gains (i.e., [10) was 71%.…”

Assessment of oral health knowledge, status and awareness among visually impaired children in Saudi Arabia

“…Our sample was summed up in 148 males and 119 female individuals from different primary and middle schools (aged [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The sample were given the questionnaire and interviewed following the WHO oral health assessment form for children.…”

“…This may increase because of different feelings of inadequacy, facing difficulties in social interactions with people and making contacts. 13 In a study done on the visually impaired children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia…”

Altered spontaneous brain activity pattern in patients with late monocular blindness in middle-age using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation: a resting-state functional MRI study

“…Blindness can be caused by several ocular diseases, such as glaucoma,2 cataract,3 and globe injury 4. Blindness not only causes difficulties in daily life5 but also results in serious psychological problems (such as anxiety, sadness, and depression) for blind patients 6. Meanwhile, blindness also imposes a heavy economic burden on society.…”