Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations.
This study explored how older adults with visual impairment participate in physical activity. Research shows that older adults with visual impairment benefit from engaging in physical activity. The themes of exercise to enhance health and well-being, occupations as activity, loss of participation, adaptation to vision loss, and motivation to stay healthy emerged from the study. Physical activity is an important component to promote health and wellness in older adults with visual impairment.
Primary Author and Speaker: Julie Ann Nastasi
Additional Authors and Speakers: Kayley Carnes, Kaitlin Kenyon, Gabriela Lins, Alicia Lipinski, Meghan Murtha, Megan Neary, Elizabeth Neilan, Devon Tirney
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explore how older adults with visual impairments participate in physical activity. The following research questions were answered: how do older adults with visual impairments participate in physical activity, how often do older adults with visual impairments participate in physical activity, and what interventions or adaptations would be beneficial for occupational therapists to implement for older adults with visual impairments in order to maximize physical activity? Individuals with visual impairments are less likely to participate in physical activity (Rector et al., 2017). Lack of opportunities to engage in physical activity or exercise puts this population at risk for social isolation among other daily stressors. Physical activity and exercise alleviate stress and increase socialization (May-West, Craig & Wilder, 2018). The positive impact of physical activity and exercise contributes to an increased quality of life and overall health for individuals with visual impairment. This study explored the physical activity of four older adults with visual impairment to better understand factors that facilitate or hinder participation in physical activity.
DESIGN: A collective case study design was used to explore the physical activity of four older adults with visual impairment who participated in an exercise class at a center for the blind. Participants were recruited through the center. All participants needed to be at least 65 years of age, meet the World Health Organization’s classification for visual impairment, speak English, and participate in an exercise class at the center for the blind.
METHOD: Participants completed two interview sessions and one observation session at the center for the blind. During the first session, participants completed demographic questions, visual assessments (eye dominance, near and intermediate visual acuity, and contrast sensitivity function), grip strength measurements, the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 Health survey, and open ended interview questions. During the second session, participants were observed participating in an exercise class at the center for the blind. During the final session, participants confirmed the themes that emerged from the study and provided additional clarification from the first interview and observation session. Researchers transcribed and coded qualitative data to yield the themes of the study. Field notes were written and analyzed for the observation session. SPSS 25 was used to analyze quantitative data using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient and descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: The following themes emerged from the study: exercise to enhance health and well-being, occupations as activity, loss of participation, adaptation to vision loss, and motivation to stay healthy. Significant correlations (p = .01) occurred for how long the participants exercised and the number of days exercised per week, emotional well-being, and life satisfaction.
CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, we recommend that occupational therapists should encourage older adults with visual impairment to participate in exercise. Physical activity is an important component to promote health and wellness in older adults with visual impairment. Exercise in a group setting, or individually within the home are recommended.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Physical activity facilitates health and overall well-being in older adults with visual impairment. Occupational therapy practitioners should encourage older adults with visual impairment to participate in physical activity and exercise to promote health and well-being.
References
Rector, K., Vilardaga, R., Lansky, L., Lu, K., Bennett, C., Ladner, R., & Kientz, J. (2017). Design and real-world evaluation of eyes-free yoga: An exergame for blind and low-vision exercise. ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing, 9(4) 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1145/3022729
May-West, E., Craig, P. J., & Wilder, A. (2018). The meaning of cross-country skiing for persons with significant visual impairment: A phenomenological study. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 52(4), 349-373. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.18666/TRJ-2018-V52-I4-9033
Starkoff, B. E., Lenz, E. K., Lieberman, L. J., Foley, J., & Too, D. (2017). Physical activity patterns of adults with visual impairments. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 35(2), 130–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264619617691080
World Health Organization. (2019). Global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/pa/en/
