Investigating and improving the wellbeing of older adults with vision impairment

Competitive advantage

• Investigations focused on working with the realities of living with vision loss and service delivery, to improve adoption and scale-up
• Network of international collaborators, including leading epidemiologists, disability specialists, health economists, and eye care and low vision rehabilitation delivery specialists

Impact

• Improving delivery of low vision rehabilitation programs to remote and rural Australians using novel technological solutions
• Definitive investigation of an adapted fall prevention program for older Australians with vision impairment

Successful outcomes

• Collaboration with industry partner to deliver programs using tele-practice, amid the COVID-19 pandemic
• Successfully delivered adapted exercise programs to 300 older Australians with vision impairment
• Capacity development of over 70 non-academic client-facing staff in the prevention of falls in older adults with vision impairment
• Contributed to the development of Australasian policy regarding client services for people with vision impairment

Capabilities and facilities

• Largest school of optometry in Australasia, with world-class research facilities, and staff with leading international reputations
• Multi-methodological approaches: epidemiologic studies, in-depth qualitative inquiries, large scale data-linkage using health data, implementation science principles, and co-production with community partners and end-users

Our partners

• Guide Dogs NSW/ACT