Self-Reported Visual Difficulty and Daily Activity Limitations: The Moderating Role of Neighborhood Characteristics

Abstract

Background and Objectives Understanding how neighborhood-level factors moderate the relationship between visual health and activity limitations could inform strategies for successful aging in place among older adults with sensory impairments. Guided by a vision loss impact framework, this study aims to examine whether neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder moderate the association between visual difficulty and activity limitation. Research Design and Methods Secondary analyses were conducted using data from Round 5 through Round 9 of the National Health and Aging Trend Study. A four-level indicator was used to indicate the visual difficulty. Neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder were measured using a 3-item scale. Summary scores were created for daily activity limitations. Ordinary least squares regressions were performed to test the study hypotheses. The complex survey design factors were applied. Missing data were handled using multiple imputations. Results Older adults reporting any type of visual difficulty experienced more limitations in self-care tasks, household activities, and mobility than those without visual difficulty. Neighborhood physical disorder moderated visual difficulty and activity limitations. Specifically, visual difficulty was associated with higher risk of activity limitations among participants perceiving physical disorder in the neighborhood compared to those perceiving no physical disorder. Discussion and Implications The study findings suggest that the vision loss impact framework provides an integrative approach to identify the health needs of older adults with visual difficulty. Future research is needed to further understand the role of neighborhood in independent living among older adults with visual difficulty and to inform community-level interventions.

Indicadores Preditivos Da Capacidade De Autocuidado Da Pessoa Idosa – Revisão Sistemática Da Literatura

“…Assim, ficaram elegíveis 7 artigos para extração de dados -processo de seleção na Figura 1. Os indicadores preditivos da capacidade de autocuidado da pessoa idosa que se destacam nos estudos são: doença crónica (Gao et al, 2023;Gullväg et al, 2019;Guzmán et al, 2019); atitude perante a vida (Choi et al, 2021;Gao et al, 2023); rede de apoio social (Choi et al, 2021;Gao et al, 2023;Guzmán et al, 2019); idade (Doroszkiewicz & Sierakowska, 2021;Nagae et al, 2022); deficiência (Doroszkiewicz & Sierakowska, 2021;Gao et al, 2023;Nagae et al, 2022;Qin et al, 2023); e, políticas específicas para idosos (Gao et al, 2023;Qin et al, 2023).…”

“…A deficiência é o fator limitador da prática do autocuidado patente em maior número de estudos (Doroszkiewicz & Sierakowska, 2021;Gao et al, 2023;Nagae et al, 2022;Qin et al, 2023), influenciando negativamente a capacidade para o autocuidado das quais se destaca a alteração na função cognitiva, a dificuldade na mobilidade e défices visuais/auditivos (Doroszkiewicz & Sierakowska, 2021;Gao et al, 2023;Qin et al, 2023).…”

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Ageing and its consequences – the use of virtual reality (VR) as a tool to visualize the problems of the elderly

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