Vision and Driving Difficulties with Nystagmus: Finding New Pathways.

Background: Nystagmus is an involuntary movement of the eyes in a rhythmic manner. Many individuals with this condition are visually impaired, some are registered blind, and very few can drive vehicles. It can severely disrupt quality of life, especially deteriorating confidence and self-esteem. The...

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Publicado en:Optometry & Visual Performance Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 146 - 152
Autores principales: Singh, Neeraj Kumar, James, Ritika, Yadav, Avdhesh
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Optometric Extension Program Aug2016
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Vision and Driving Difficulties with Nystagmus: Finding New Pathways.
      aug:
        au:
          Singh, Neeraj Kumar
          James, Ritika
          Yadav, Avdhesh
        affil: Jyoti Institute of Paramedical Sciences, Centre for Sight Super Speciality Eye Hospital, New Delhi, India
      sug:
        subj:
          Automobile Driving
          Edit and Review
          Automobile Driver Examination
          Visual Acuity
          Quality of Life
          Confidence
          Self Concept
          United Kingdom
          India
          Confidence Intervals
          Structured Interview
          Qualitative Studies
          Prospective Studies
          Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient
          Questionnaires
          Psychological Tests
          Scales
          Sensitivity and Specificity
          Surveys
          Interviews
      ab: Background: Nystagmus is an involuntary movement of the eyes in a rhythmic manner. Many individuals with this condition are visually impaired, some are registered blind, and very few can drive vehicles. It can severely disrupt quality of life, especially deteriorating confidence and self-esteem. The impact of nystagmus on driving performance can be severe and can disrupt visual sampling of the driving environment, interfere with driving behavior, and affect traffic safety. This can lead to fatal accidents both to an individual with nystagmus and to people on the road. Nystagmus reduces the overall quality of life, making it challenging and increasing dependence on others for routine activities. Despite this condition being one of the major causes of visual impairment globally, its impact on quality of life and driving difficulties has not been studied. The present study intended to assess these aspects of vision and driving difficulties and to codify rehabilitation measures in order to provide some relief to people with nystagmus and improve their daily living. Methods: The research was completed in two countries, India and the United Kingdom (UK), better to represent the wider population with nystagmus. A total of 79 Indian participants were included in the study: 42 with infantile nystagmus and 37 with acquired nystagmus. Quality of life was assessed through a standardized Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) Questionnaire, and vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) was assessed through the Indian Vision Function Questionnaire. Twenty-four UK participants were recruited, and quality of life was assessed via questionnaire. Driving performance was assessed on 27 Indian participants (19 infantile, 8 acquired). Results: Quality-of-life assessment revealed that the major visual difficulties faced by both Indian and UK participants with nystagmus included difficulty with both distance and near vision, recognizing faces, focusing, oscillopsia, visual discomfort, and an overall reduction in near work. Driving was a major problem; forty-one percent (n=27) of overall participants could drive. Out of 27 participants assessed for driving, forty-one percent (n=11) passed, and fifty-two percent (n=14) failed. A negative correlation was found between visual acuity (logMAR) and VR-QOL, which was statistically significant (rs=-0.398, p=0.0001). Conclusion: Forty-one percent of our participants on whom a driving assessment was performed exhibited proficient on-road driving skills and passed the driving test. Hence, people with this condition can drive if they possess potential vision, and further training can improve their driving skills. Counseling sessions, yoked prisms, vision therapy, and occupational therapy training were effective in relieving the visual discomfort and providing an overall boost in self-esteem and confidence level for people with nystagmus.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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