Visual impairment and the need for vision care services amongst older Finnish people receiving home care

Abstract

Worldwide demographic changes have led to an increased share of older people in the population (Ritchie & Roser, 2019), which is also increasing the number of older people in need of long-term care.In Finland, and in other European countries, safe aging at homewith support from additional nursing and home help services-is a national goal that has shifted the focus of long-term care for older people from residential care to home care (Boerma & Genet, 2012; Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 2020a). Finland's National Programme on Aging 2030 focusses on preventive measures to improve the functional ability of older people and risk groups (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 2020). Vision is a major factor that affects an older person's functioning and living at home. However, up-to-date information on the visual performance of home-dwelling older people receiving home care is not available. In 2019, over 100,000 home-dwelling older people (>65 years of age) received regular home care services in Finland. This represents approximately 8% of this age group (Saukkonen et al., 2020).Although several studies have shown that visual impairment (VI) affects functional ability, overall well-being and quality of

The relationship between sensory impairment and home care client's received care time—A cross‐sectional study

“…Furthermore, sensory impairments, and especially dual sensory impairment, have been shown to significantly increase the risk of falling among older people (Gopinath et al, 2016), further highlighting the importance of addressing sensory impairment. The RAI instrument is one tool for identifying sensory impairment in home care, and RAI's hearing and vision items have been found to be reliable (Dalby et al, 2009), as long as the assessment is done according to the guidelines (Pesonen et al, 2023). In addition to identification, it is important to manage vision and hearing impairment.…”

“…However, it is important to note that sensory impairment is not an inevitable consequence of biological ageing, as many of these eye conditions are treatable with early detection and appropriate interventions. In addition, vision impairment appears to be more common among home care clients than among the general population of the same age (Pesonen et al, 2023). One explanation may be that home care clients have reduced access to health care specialists due to decreased independence in mobility and lack of adequate assistance and transport services, and sensory impairments therefore remain unrecognized and untreated.…”