Actions of rehabilitation in group to visual impairments: Characteristics and perceptions of the users

The visual capacity reduction causes adverse consequences that can diminish or limit the quality of life. By this reason, the rehabilitation process where these individuals express their necessities, they accept this new visual condition and they develop autonomy and independence is justified. Objectives: verify the people characteristics with low vision, users of the University Rehabilitation Service, their expectations and opinions in relation to the rehabilitation process in group. Methods: the data collection was taking with a survey process using a questionnaire developed after an investigating study and previous test. The participants of this research had integrated two groups in 2008. Results: the sample was composed for 15 users, being 53.3% male, with average of age of 41 years. All participants were school users, 33% finished the basic education. The age average of the beginning of the deficiency was of 25 years. The main mentioned causes of the low vision had been glaucoma, Stargardt disease, chorioretinitis and diabetic retinopathy. Related with the professional life of the participants 87.3% declared not to be inserted in the work market. Related to the rehabilitation process 60% of the participants was waiting for a rehabilitation process in group and 80% considered good this fact. Related to the rehabilitation it had predominance of the learning of new activities (19%), visual efficiency development (15%) and increase of auto-esteem (15%) Conclusions: it is fundamental for the action planning in the group rehabilitation process to know the low vision people characteristics and their expectations related to the rehabilitation. Predictable causes of the visual impairment had been found as the diabetic retinopathy and the chorioretinitis, evidencing the necessity of public health actions focused in the ocular health prevention. It was observed that the expectations pointed by the interviewees are coherent to the activities developed in the rehabilitation process.