Conceptualizations of well-being in adults with visual impairment: A scoping review

Abstract

BackgroundDespite its ubiquity, it is often not clear what organizations and services mean by well-being. Visual impairment (VI) has been associated with poorer well-being and well-being has become a key outcome for support and services for adults living with VI. A shared understanding of what well-being means is therefore essential to enable assessment of well-being and cross-service provision of well-being support.ObjectivesTo provide an overview of the ways in which well-being has been conceptualized in research relating to adults living with VI.Eligibility criteriaArticles were included in the review if the article discussed well-being in the context of adults living with VI, was available in English and as a full text.Data sourcesA systematic search using search terms relating to VI and well-being was conducted in EBSCOHost (Medline, CINHL) and Ovid (Embase Classic, Embase, Emcare 1995, Health + Psychosocial, HMIC Health Management Info, APA, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, PsycTests).ChartingA team of three reviewers screened titles, abstracts and full-texts articles and extracted data. Ambiguous articles were referred to the research group and discussed.ResultsOf 10,662 articles identified in the search, 249 were included in the review. These referred to 38 types of well-being. The most common types were general well-being (n = 101; 40.6%) emotional well-being (n = 86, 34.5%) and psychological well-being (n = 66, 26.5%). Most articles (n = 150; 60.2%) referred to one type only, with a maximum of 9 listed in one article. A large number of articles did not clearly define well-being. A wide range of indicators of well-being related to the domains of hedonia, mood, positive and negative affect, quality of life, mental health, eudaimonia, self/identity, health, psychological reactions to disability and health problems, functioning, social functioning and environment, were extracted, many of which were used just once.ConclusionsThere remains a lack of consensus on how well-being is conceptualized and assessed in the context of adult VI. A standardized multi-domain approach derived with input from adults with VI and practitioners working with them is required to enable comparison of findings and cross-organizational provision of support.

Accessibility, Functioning, and Activities of Daily Living with Visual Impairment amongst Adults from Minority Ethnic Communities in the UK

“…This article forms part of a series that explores the life experiences of UK MEC adults [20][21][22][23]. This series reports findings from a secondary analysis of survey data collected as part of the V.I.…”

Exploring mental well-being, the emotional impact of visual impairment and experiences of prejudice and discrimination among adults from minority ethnic communities in the UK

“…Non-parametric Mann–Whitney U tests were used to assess group differences instead of t-tests. Findings relating to priority issues ( 29 ), education, employment and finances ( 33 ), health and comorbidity ( 34 ), functioning and accessibility ( 35 ), social functioning ( 36 ), and access and use of services ( 37 ) relating to this sample are presented elsewhere.…”

Physical activity and sport practice to improve balance control of visually impaired individuals: a narrative review with future perspectives

“…Honestly, targeted physical exercise benefits maintenance, especially in disabled subjects, strongly relies on constant practice over time ( 156 , 157 ). However, this criticality should not be imputed to study design weakness but more to the scarcity of field-specific investments in term of research funds, blind sports promotion, facilities accessibility, and involvement of adapted physical activity graduated specialists ( 28 , 143 – 145 ) ( Figure 1 ). Considering this necessary premise, current evidence emerged from interventions aimed to balance improvement in VI individuals are hereafter reported and concisely summarized in Table 1 .…”

“…Despite the well-known benefits of regular physical activity in disabled subjects ( 33 – 35 ), no VI-specific directives are available, and a large proportion of VI individuals does not meet the daily movement guidelines established for the general population ( 15 , 36 – 39 ). Fear of falling and postural/proprioceptive control deficiencies play a crucial role in such lack of exercise, frequently leading those individuals to avoid any recreative or sportive physical engagement opportunity ( 12 , 16 , 20 , 22 , 28 ).…”