Network 1000: the changing needs and circumstances of visually-impaired people: project overview

Abstract

This article outlines the progress of a newlycommissioned three year study known as Network 1000. It is a three-year project funded through the Community Fund and is being carried out by the University of Birmingham on behalf of Vision 2020. The project's aim is to create a panel survey of 1000 visually-impaired people to be interviewed regularly over the threeyear period, and hopefully beyond, enabling their changing needs and circumstances to be monitored over time. The findings will be used to influence policy-makers and service-providers, and will also be disseminated to a wider audience of people with an interest in visual impairment. Building on the longitudinal nature of the project enables the project team to develop a methodology that is both democratic and inclusive. The underlying research philosophy is one of inclusion and participation and in this respect the people this research affects the most -those who are visually impaired -are involved in all stages of the research process. People with a visual impairment have played a key role in generating the data and the themes that will drive the construction of the main survey instrument. The article is divided into five sections that describe the progress of the project to date: first, it briefly outlines the background to the project; second, it describes the underlying philosophy behind the democratic approach to inclusion and participant involvement; third, it presents preliminary results from generative interviews; fourth, it discusses how the team will recruit participants to the project with particular reference to the two-stage sample design that has been adopted; and finally, it describes how this two-stage approach will be operationalized. The article concludes by outlining the next phase of the project and with a short reflection on the research process to date.

Individual’s recollections of their experiences in eye clinics and understanding of their eye condition: results from a survey of visually impaired people in Britain

“…The structured interview schedules (see Corcoran et al, 2004;Pavey et al, 2005) covered many topics: some topics were longitudinal questions (e.g. employment status, vision) and others were one-off ÔthemeÕ questions (e.g.…”

The role of the WHO ICF as a framework to interpret barriers and to inclusion: visually impaired people’s views and experiences of personal computers

“…More specifically, the project aims to: develop and maintain a panel of 1000 participants; collect longitudinal demographic data (information describing participants' characteristics and personal circumstances); collect themed data (in depth information related to specific topics). BRITISH JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT 25(1) The advantage of a longer term approach to data collection is that the survey is in a position to report and record changes in circumstances over time, rather than recording data as a 'snapshot' in a single time frame as we are able to return to our participants for further data collection (see Corcoran et al, 2004 for a fuller account). The project is also underpinned by a commitment to consult with visually impaired people at every stage of the research process.…”

Insight on Electronic Travel Aids for Visually Impaired People: A Review on the Electromagnetic Technology

“…It is estimated that 188.5 million people worldwide have mild vision impairment, 217 million have moderate-to-severe vision impairment, and 36 million people are blind [1]. This is a continuously growing number that has fueled the interest of many in in the pursuit of improving the quality of life of those affected by blindness [2][3][4][5][6].…”