Using materials adapted for each member, a self-report survey to examine psychological distress and unmet need was sent to the membership of a third sector organization, Deafblind UK. High rates of psychological distress were reported: 61 percent (n = 439) of the respondents obtained a score of two or more (from a maximum of 12) on the GHQ-12 (Goldberg and Williams, 1988), while 45.8 percent obtained a more stringent score of four or more. The findings also suggested high levels of unmet need: more than one in four respondents (26.9%, n = 504) reported that they received no formal support. Surprisingly, given the important role of primary health care practitioners, both in providing treatment and in accessing other services, only a third (32.1%, n = 504) of respondents reported receiving regular support from a General Practitioner or community nurse. The implications for the development of service provision and practice, particularly within the health service, are discussed.
Abrams, T.E., Barnett, M., Hoth, A., Schultz, S. & Kaboli, P. ( 2006) ‘The Relationship Between Hearing Impairment and Depression in Older Veterans’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society54(9): 1475-77.
2.
Barton, G.R., Bankart, J. & Davis, A.C. ( 2005) ‘A Comparison of the Quality of Life of Hearing Impaired People as Estimated by Three Different Utility Measures’, International Journal of Audiology44(3): 157-63.
3.
Brennan, M. ( 2001) ‘Psychosocial Issues of Deafblindness’ , Deafblind American40(4): 16-24.
4.
Brennan, M., Horowitz, A. & Su, Y. ( 2005) ‘Dual Sensory Loss Among Older Americans: Prevalence and Impact on Activities of Daily Living’, The Gerontologist45(3): 337-46.
5.
Brink, P. & Stones, M. ( 2007) ‘Examination of the Relationship Among Hearing Impairment, Linguistic Communication, Mood, and Social Engagement of Residents in Complex Continuing-care Facilities’, The Gerontologist47(5): 633-41.
6.
Capella-Mcdonnall, M.E. ( 2005) ‘The Effects of Single and Dual Sensory Loss on Symptoms of Depression in the Elderly’, International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry20(9): 855-61.
7.
Carvill, S. ( 2001) ‘Sensory Impairments, Intellectual Disability and Psychiatry’, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research45(6): 467-83.
8.
Chia, E., Mitchell, P., Rochtchina, E., Foran, S., Golding, M. & Wang, J.J. ( 2006) ‘Association Between Vision and Hearing Impairments and Their Combined Effects on Quality of Life’, Archives of Ophthalmology124(10): 1465-70.
9.
Chia, E., Wang, J.J., Rochtchina, E., Cumming, R.R., Newall, P. & Mitchell, P. ( 2007) ‘Hearing Impairment and Health-related Quality of Life: The Blue Mountains Hearing Study’, Ear and Hearing28(2): 187-95.
10.
Chou, K. & Chi, I. ( 2004) ‘Combined Effect of Vision and Hearing Impairment on Depression in Elderly Chinese’, International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry19(9): 825-32.
11.
Deafblind Uk (2007) Cause and Cure: Deafblind People’s Experience of the NHS. UK: Deafblind UK. Available at: http://www.deafblind.org.uk
12.
De Graaf, R. & Bijl, R.V. ( 2002) ‘Determinants of Mental Distress in Adults with a Severe Auditory Impairment: Differences Between Prelingual and Postlingual Deafness’, Psychosomatic Medicine64(1): 61-70.
13.
Department Of Health (1997) Think Dual Sensory: Good Practice Guidelines for Older People with Dual Sensory Loss. Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4008242
14.
Department Of Health (2000) Health Survey for England 2000: Psychosocial Well-Being among Older People . London: The Stationery Office .
15.
Department Of Health (2001) Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults. Local Authority Circular (2001)8. London: Department of Health.
16.
Department Of Health (2002) A Sign of the Times. London: Department of Health.
17.
Department Of Health (2004) Health Survey for England 2003. London: The Stationery Office.
18.
Department Of Health (2009) Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults. Local Authority Circular (2009)6. London: Department of Health.
19.
Douglas, G., Corcoran, C. & Pavey, S. ( 2006) Network 1000. Opinions and Circumstances of Visually Impaired People in Great Britain: Report Based on Over 1000 Interviews. Birmingham: Visual Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research, School of Education, University of Birmingham.
20.
Evans, J.R., Fletcher, A.E. & Wormald, R.P.L. ( 2007) ‘Depression and Anxiety in Visually Impaired Older People’, Opthalmology114(2): 283-88.
21.
Fellinger, J., Holzinger, D., Gerich, J. & Goldberg, D. ( 2007) ‘Mental Distress and Quality of Life in the Hard of Hearing’, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica115(3): 243-5.
22.
Gillett, K. & Dixon, M.(2009) ‘VitalLinks: Nurturing Emotional Well-being in Older People Through One-to-one Communication’, Working with Older People13(4): 20-3.
23.
Goldberg, D.P. ( 1972) The Detection of Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire . Oxford: Oxford University Press .
24.
Goldberg, D.P. & Williams, P. ( 1988) A User’s Guide to the General Health Questionnaire . UK: Basingstoke Press Limited .
25.
Goldberg, D.P., Oldehinkel, T. & Ormel, J. ( 1998) ‘Why GHQ Threshold Varies from One Place to Another’ , Psychological Medicine28(4): 915-21.
26.
Gosney, M.A., Victor, C.R. & Nyman, S.R. ( 2009) Emotional Support to People with Sight Loss. Research Findings, Number26. London: Thomas Pocklington Trust.
27.
Grue, E.V., Ranhoff, A.H., Noro, A., Finne-Soveri, H., Jensdóttir, A.B., Ljunggren, G., … Jónsson, P.Y.(2009) ‘Vision and Hearing Impairments and Their Associations with Falling and Loss of Instrumental Activities in Daily Living in Acute Hospitalized Older Persons in Five Nordic Hospitals’, Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences23(4): 635-43.
28.
Hassell, J.B., Lamoureux, E.L. & Keeffe, J.E. ( 2006) ‘Impact of Age Related Macular Degeneration on Quality of Life’, British Journal of Ophthalmology90(5): 593-6.
29.
Heine, C. & Browning, C.J. ( 2002) ‘Communication and Psychosocial Consequences of Sensory Loss in Older Adults: Overview and Rehabilitation Directions’ , Disability and Rehabilitation24(15): 763-73.
30.
Hodges, L. & Douglas, G. ( 2007) Hearing and Sight Loss: A Review of the Issues Affecting Older People. Occasional Paper, Number 12. London : Thomas Pocklington Trust.
31.
Hopko, D.R. & Mullane, C.M. ( 2008) ‘Exploring the Relation of Depression and Overt Behaviour with Daily Diaries’, Behavior Research and Therapy46(9): 1085-9.
32.
Howitt, R., Mantovani, M., Lynne, E., Mckenna, P. & Figueiredo, I. ( 2004) European Parliament - Written Declaration. Available at: http://www.sense.org.uk/campaigns/euro_campaigns/past_campaign_successes/eu_declaration.htm
33.
Hu, Y., Stewart-Brown, S., Twigg, L. & Weich, S. ( 2007) ‘Can the 12-item General Health Questionnaire Be Used to Measure Positive Mental Health’, Psychological Medicine37(7): 1005-13.
34.
Ishine, M., Okumiya, K. & Matsubayashi, K. ( 2007) ‘A Close Association Between Hearing Impairment and Activities of Daily Living, Depression, and Quality of Life in Community-dwelling Older People in Japan’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society55(2): 316-7.
35.
Koeter, M.W.J. ( 1992) ‘Validity of the GHQ and SCL Anxiety and Depression Scales: A Comparative Study’, Journal of Affective Disorders24(4): 271-9.
36.
Kvam, M.H. & Loeb, M. ( 2007) ‘Mental Health in Deaf Adults: Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Hearing and Deaf Individuals’, Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education12(1): 1-7.
37.
Lamoureux, E.L., Fenwick, E., Moore, K., Klaic, M., Borschmann, K. & Hill, K.(2009) ‘Impact of the Severity Distance and Near Vision Impairment on Depression and Vision-specific Quality of Life in Older People Living in Residential Care’, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science50(9): 4103-9.
38.
Lewin-Leigh, B. ( 2000) Standards for Services for Adults who are Deafblind or have a Dual Sensory Impairment (Research Report RT11). London: Sense.
39.
Lin, M.Y., Gutierrez, P.R., Stone, K.L., Yaffe, K., Ensrud, K.E., Fink, H., … Mangione, C.M. ( 2004) ‘Vision Impairment and Combined Vision and Hearing Impairment Predict Cognitive and Functional Decline in Older Women’ , Journal of the American Geriatrics Society52(12): 1996-2002.
40.
Lupsakko, T., Mäntyjärvi, M., Kautiainen, H. & Sulkava, R. ( 2002) ‘Combined Hearing and Visual Impairment and Depression in a Population Aged 75 Years and Older’, International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry17(9): 808-13.
41.
Mari, J.J. & Williams, P. ( 1985) ‘A Comparison of the Validity of Two Psychiatric Screening Questionnaires (GHQ-12 and SRQ-20) in Brazil, Using Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) Analysis’, Psychological Medicine15(3): 651-9.
42.
Mind (2004). Not Alone? Isolation and Mental Distress. London: Mind .
43.
Moller, C. ( 2003) ‘Deafblindness: Living With Sensory Deprivation’ , The Lancet362(1): s46-7.
44.
Picardi, A., Abeni, D. & Pasquini, P. ( 2001) ‘Assessing Psychological Distress in Patients with Skin Diseases: Reliability, Validity and Factor Structure of the GHQ-12’ , Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology15(5): 410-7.
45.
Powell, J. & Clarke, A. ( 2006) ‘Internet Information-seeking in Mental Health’ , British Journal of Psychiatry189(3): 273-7.
46.
Raina, P., Wong, M. & Massfeller, H. ( 2004) ‘The Relationship Between Sensory Impairment and Functional Independence Among Elderly, BMC Geriatrics4(3): doi:10.1186/1471-2318-4-3.
47.
Ridgeway, S.M. ( 1997) ‘Deaf People and Psychology - Some Preliminary Findings’ , Deaf Worlds13(1): 9-17.
48.
Robertson, J. & Emerson, E. ( 2010) Estimating the Number of People with Co-occurring Vision and Hearing Impairments in the UK. CeDR Research Report2010:1. Lancaster : Centre for Disability Research.
49.
Romans-Clarkson, S.E., Walton, V.A., Herbison G.P. & Mullen, P.E. ( 1989) ‘Validity of the GHQ-28 in New Zealand Women’ , Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry23(2): 187-96.
50.
ROYAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BLIND PEOPLE (2009) Available at: http://www.rnib.org.uk
51.
ROYAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR DEAF PEOPLE (2009) Available at: http://www.rnid.org.uk
52.
Schmitz, N., Kruse, J., Heckrath, C., Alberti, L. & Tress, W. ( 1999) ‘Diagnosing Mental Disorders in Primary Care: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R) as Screening Instruments’, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology34(7): 360-6.
53.
Scott, I.U., Schein, O.D., Feuer, W.J., Folstein, M.F. & Bandeen-Roche, K. ( 2001) ‘Emotional Distress in Patients with Retinal Disease’ , American Journal of Opthalmology131(5): 584-9.
54.
Sense (2007) The Good Life: Guidance on Helping Older People with Sight and Hearing Problems. Available at: http://www.sense.org.uk/fillinthegaps
55.
Sense (2010). A Sense of Urgency: The Deafblind Population has been Significantly Underestimated and is Set to Rise Dramatically. Available at: http://www.sense.org.uk
56.
Sense And Deafblind Uk (1999) Out of This World: Evidence of the Systematic Exclusion of Deafblind People From Society. London: Sense.
57.
SPSS Inc. (2004) SPSS 13.0 for Windows. Chicago, IL: SPSS.
58.
Swagerty, D.L. ( 1995) ‘The Impact of Age-related Visual Impairment on Functional Independence in the Elderly’, Kansas Medicine96(1): 24-6.
59.
Tay, T., Wang, J.J., Lindley, R., Chia, E.M., Landau, P., Ingham, N., Kifley, A. & Mitchell, P. ( 2007) ‘Sensory Impairment, Use of Community Support Services and Quality of Life in Aged Care Clients’, Journal of Aging Health19(2): 229-41.
60.
Valentijn, S., Van Boxtel, M.P.J., Van Hooren, S.A.H., Bosma, H., Beckers, H.J.M., Ponds, R.W.H.M. & Jolles, J. ( 2005) ‘Change in Sensory Functioning Predicts Change in Cognitive Functioning: Results from a 6-Year Follow-up in the Maastricht Aging Study’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society53(3): 374-80.
61.
Varma, R., Wu, J., Chong, K., Azen, S. P., Hays, R. D. & Los Angeles Latino Eye Study Group (2006) ‘Impact of Severity and Bilaterality of Visual Impairment on Health-related Quality of Life’, Ophthalmology113(10): 1846-53.
62.
Vernon, M. & Green, D. ( 1980) ‘Guide to the Psychological Assessment of Deafblind Adults’, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness74(6): 229-31.
63.
Vernon M., Boughman, J.A. & Annala, L. ( 1982) Considerations in Diagnosing Usher’s Syndrome: RP and Hearing Loss. Baltimore, MD: RP Foundation Fighting Blindness.
64.
Wallhagen, M.I., Strawbridge, W.J. & Shema, S.J. ( 2008) ‘The Relationship Between Hearing Impairment and Cognitive Function: A 5-year Longitudinal Study’, Research in Gerontological Nursing1(2): 80-6.
65.
Wang, S. & Boerner, K. ( 2008) ‘Staying Connected: Re-establishing Social Relationships Following Vision Loss’, Clinical Rehabilitation22(9): 816-24.
66.
Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Moving Forward: Services to Deafblind People. Practice Guidance . Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/docs//dhss/general/081210servicesdeafblinden.pdf
67.
Werngren-Elgström, M., Brandt, A. & Iwarsson, S. ( 2006) ‘Everyday Activities and Social Contacts Among Older Deaf Sign Language Users: Relationships to Health and Well-being’ , Occupational Therapy International13(4): 207-23.
