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Purpose-The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of residential blind rehabilitation on patients' vision targeted health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and general physical and mental function.Methods-The National Eye Institute 25-item Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ) plus appendix questions, the 12 item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), Hope Scale and Coopersmith self-esteem inventory were administered to 206 legally blind veterans prior to their entering a residential (in-patient) blind rehabilitation program and again to 185 and 176 of the original cohort at two and six months after completion of the rehabilitation program, respectively. Data on visual acuity, visual field extent, contrast sensitivity and scanning ability were also collected. The duration of the in-patient rehabilitation programs ranged from 11-109 days. Questionnaire scores were compared pre-rehabilitation and post-rehabilitation.Results-Following rehabilitation there was a significant improvement in nine of eleven NEI VFQ subscales and in a composite score at both 2-and 6-month post-rehab intervals. Mental health (SF-12) and self esteem also improved significantly although physical health ratings declined over the course of the study (approximately 10 months).Conclusions-Residential blind rehabilitation appears to improve patients' self-reported visiontargeted HRQOL, self-esteem, and mental health aspects of generic HRQOL.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of blind rehabilitation training on self-reported mobility function in visually impaired adults. Mobility function was assessed with a questionnaire administered before and 2 months after subjects completed a comprehensive blind rehabilitation program that included orientation and mobility training. Subjects rated the level of difficulty performing in 26 of 34 mobility situations as significantly lower after rehabilitation. Subjects also rated their confidence as higher after rehabilitation. Substantial improvement occurred in the self-reported mobility function of visually impaired adults after blind rehabilitation and mobility training.

This study assessed the effect of visual search training on the avoidance of obstacles by adults with visual impairments. A significant reduction in contacts with obstacles under mesopic conditions was found in individuals who received search training. This finding suggests that search training had a positive effect on mobility performance.

This study explored changes in the self-reported functional capacity and psychosocial adjustment of 40 persons who completed a comprehensive residential rehabilitation program for visually impaired veterans. The significant improvements in the subjects’ perceptions of their functional capacity and self-esteem from the pretest to the posttest were compared to the changes in the subjects’ scores on clinical assessments routinely administered at the rehabilitation center. In the area of orientation and mobility, there was considerable correlation between self-reported improvements and improvements noted in the clinical assessments after rehabilitation.

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