The researchers did this study to assess the clinical and patient-centered effectiveness of a novel residential ocular care model in Australian individuals residing in residential care.
The ROC arm comprised a tailored and comprehensive within-site eye examination and care rehabilitation pathway, while typical care participants were referred to an external eye care provider. Outcomes included presenting distance and near visual acuity (PNVA); Rasch-transformed Reading, Emotional and Mobility scores from the Impact of Vision Impairment questionnaire; quality of vision scores; Euroqol-5-Dimensions; Cornell Scale for Depression and 6-month falls frequency, assessed at baseline and six months post-intervention. Within-group and between-group comparisons were conducted using linear mixed models, adjusted for baseline differences in the two arms’ characteristics.
Analyses showed significant between-group improvements in ROC residents compared with usual care for PNVA, Emotional, and QoV scores. These significant findings were retained in per-protocol studies. Researchers observed No other between-group changes.
The study concluded that the ROC model effectively improved near vision, emotional well-being, and perceived burden of vision-related symptoms in Australia’s residential care dwellers with vision impairment. Future studies to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and implementation of ROC in Australia are warranted.
Reference: https://bjo.bmj.com/content/104/11/1585
