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Assignment 1:
Psychological changes among
working-age adults with acquired
vision impairment: The need for
psychological intervention?
Presented to: Prof. Nathalie Duponsel
Course: IDV 6017 A
Presented by: Mehdi Noorisadeghi
Student ID: 20205278
University of Montreal
Jan, 2022
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This article provided in-depth interviews with eight adult users of vision rehabilitation services
in Nigeria to assess if psychological interventions are crucial in the process of vision
rehabilitation. The inclusion criteria were to have acquired vision impairment and be in working
age. This study evaluates the interviews from three points of view including: (1) reduced
participation in education, employment, and community activities, (2) feelings of hopelessness
and depression from vision loss, and (3) psychological adjustment to vision loss over time.
Vision is an important part of our life experiences, such as, education, employment, and social
interaction. Consequently, vision impairment is often most frightening sensory loss. High
volume of research showed that the onset of vision disability in adulthood has had a great
psychological impact on person’s daily life and lifestyle. Researchers reported that acquired
vision impairment can cause drastic life changes among working-age adults more than people in
other age groups. It can harm individual’s psychosocial wellbeing and social participation.
Additionally, it can interfere with accomplishment of aspirational life goals that are pretty
common in the adult life stage, for instance, developing a career and getting promotion in your
job, keeping employability, and financially and socially supporting your family.
Achieving reasonable milestones in the working age is critical motivational element that result
overall health and wellbeing. Therefore, low vision people when see themselves uncapable of
achieving or maintaining these purposes in life, they will go through negative health impacts.
Studies in other human services sectors have proved the effectiveness of different forms of
psychological intervention such as grief strategy, which is based on the loss model, individual
cognitive therapy and group counselling strategies. Other studies demonstrated self-management
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programs, problem-solving treatment, and stepped-care treatment can alleviate depression in
older adults with acquired vision impairment.
In more recent articles, working-age adults with acquired vision impairment are gaining more
attention and emerging as a new population for whom psychological intervention appears to be
vital and warranted. But, unfortunately, just a few numbers of studies have addressed the need
for psychological intervention for patients with vision impairment who might be experiencing
vision-specific psychological distress.
In this study for all participants, the occurrence of a vision impairment negatively impacted on
their ability to function in various life sections and this disrupted their educational goals and life
aspirations. The most important concern for them was how to get around and not to be dependent
to others, especially in the working age and mobility and activities of daily living were their
great concern. The impact of living with a vision impairment caused participants in the study to
perceive that they cannot achieve their life goals. Psychological responses to how adopt to vision
impairment varied even among participants who had lost their vision due to degenerative
conditions and each person expressed a unique experience. While some were devastated and
even suicidal, others felt psychologically prepared for the loss over time.
In summary, even though the participants in the study were supported by vision rehabilitation
services which helped them to restore their functional ability, some participants still experienced
high levels of depression and suicidal thoughts. Therefore, it is necessary to consider individual’s
psychological state to design vision rehabilitation services which accompany specific
psychological interventions for each individual.
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Bassey, E., & Ellison, C. (2020). Psychological changes among working-age adults with
acquired vision impairment: The need for psychological intervention? British Journal of Visual
Impairment, 40(1), 61–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264619620941891