Search

As The Aging Eye and Low Vision points out, any physician caring for the geriatric population will encounter patients with reduced vision. The growing senior population with permanent visual impairment faces many lifestyle disruptions that can successfully be addressed by rehabilitation efforts; all physicians need to be aware of this rehabilitation potential. This book is appropriately titled "A Study Guide for Physicians," which includes ophthalmologists as well as primary care physicians, internists, physiatrists, psychiatrists, and others. It is neither too complex for the non—eye care physician nor too basic for ophthalmologists. This short, 64-page book is filled with pearls of valuable information on the implications of vision loss and appropriate adaptations. The complex interaction of eye function with hearing, neurological capacity, emotional status, physical impairments, and activities of daily living is highlighted and the need for all caregivers with various expertise to work together as a rehabilitation team is emphasized.

Coping With Low Vision is one of a series of books addressing health-related challenges that aging individuals face. Other books in the series consider hearing loss; depression; sexual dysfunction; immobility; intellectual, language, speech, and swallowing impairments; and death and dying. Visual impairment is an appropriate topic for this series as it is one of the most frequent problems that disrupts daily living activities in the aging population. This book is primarily for those who are attempting to deal with the lifestyle changes caused by a permanent reduction in vision. Its message is that adaptations and training can reduce the impact of the impairment, and it attempts to tell readers how to be advocates for their own rehabilitation. The rehabilitation services the authors recommend are outside the health care system—no mention is made of rehabilitation services available within medicine. In addition, there is no discussion of the interaction between vision loss