The Effect of Lighting on Performance of Tasks Requiring Near Vision in Older Adults

Abstract

We hereby certify that this dissertation, submitted by Karen Leigh James, conforms to acceptable standards and is fully adequate in scope and quality to fulfill the dissertation requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

Reducing Fall Risks Among Visually Impaired Older Adults

“…Research from our team and others suggests that virtual home assistants (e.g., Amazon Echo, Google Home) connected to smart light bulbs for voice-activated lighting control may be useful for fall prevention (Corbett et al, 2019; O'Brien et al, 2020). Low-intensity lighting (e.g., night light) does not provide enough light to perform tasks that require near vision, such as identifying an object on the floor (Butler, 2017; James et al, 2017). Voice-activated lighting avoids the need to use a light switch, so this may be particularly effective for people with visual impairment (Ho, 2018; Pradhan et al, 2018), because the light can be turned on by voice prior to getting out of bed and then turned off by voice once the older adult has returned to bed.…”