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Spotlight on... awareness weeks

Awareness weeks guide

World Braille Day

World Braille Day

4 January 2024

World Braille Day, celebrated since 2019, is observed to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people. United Nations

UpToDate

Overview of eye conditions causing blindness

Screening, diagnosis and treatment

Cochrane Library

Articles

Braille and assistive technology

Population health

Mental health

E-books

E-journals

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Articles

Braille and assistive technology

Comparison of assistive technology use and beliefs among employed and unemployed people who are blind
Vision rehabilitation professionals must ensure that their consumers have the necessary assistive technology (AT) skills to work efficiently in the digital workforce. These findings suggest that the most universally utilized AT on the job by blind employees are screen readers, apps on mobile devices, and optical character recognition technology. For professionals preparing consumers for the workplace, it is vital to ensure that they are skilled with these technologies. The new re:view – a journal of practice 11 September 2023

Training and learning support to use smartphones and apps for people with vision impairment (PVI): A multi-site qualitative study on trainers’ perspectives from Australia, Canada, and Singapore
This study, using an interpretive descriptive qualitative approach, aimed to explore the perspectives of trainers on the current provision of smartphone training in Australia, Canada, and Singapore. The importance of responding to clients’ emotional needs, in addition to their learning needs in an individualised and graded approach, was discussed as critical to the success of training. Trainers with vision impairment who weaved their lived experience into the training sessions found this to be beneficial to their clients’ learning and adjustment to vision loss. British journal of visual impairment 6 July 2023

Converting spoken words into Braille in real time
People with visual impairments often struggle with reading and writing. Using a Braille translator, which is a piece of software, a document may be converted into Braille and then sent to a Braille embosser, which will print out a Braille version of the document. This piece of software can take an audio or video recording of spoken English and convert it into written English. So, eventually, we'll be able to type what we say. Then, the Braille code for each letter in the English text will be extracted and used to create the Braille version. The final Braille output may be processed by a dedicated Braille printer, facilitating readability for the visually impaired. As an added bonus, it also works to translate Braille text into spoken English. In order for the Braille document to be understood by anybody (both the visually impaired and the sighted) by listening to it using Braille Translator. People who are blind or have low vision will benefit from our initiative since it will facilitate the creation of high-quality Braille materials for them. There are many other languages that may be used to create Braille codes, including Spanish, French, music, mathematics, computers, and more. The English text will be translated into Braille using an automated procedure. Printing the final Braille output on a dedicated Braille printer makes it accessible to visually impaired readers. Applied GIS 8 November 2023

Assistive device for people with visual impairments
Sight loss can affect a person's quality of life, independence and mobility and has been associated with injuries from falls and impaired or worsening mental health, problems with social functioning such as finding work and continuing education. Compared to people with normal vision, the visually impaired are at greater risk of depression, anxiety and other psychological problems, and among the visually impaired, those with depressive symptoms report more functional limitations. The need for assistive devices for navigation and orientation has also increased. As an adaptation to the Braille reading system, the authors wanted to develop an assistive device that would use a smartphone's camera to read a written text. WWJMRD 22 October 2023

Inclusive education for students with Multiple Disability, Deaf-blindness, and Visual Impairment (MDVI)
For students with MDVI, inclusive education has significant advantages. It encourages social contact, boosts self-esteem, and improves life in general. IRE Journals 25 October 2023

Learning at your fingertips: An innovative IoT-Based AI-Powered Braille learning system
Visual impairment should not hinder an individual from achieving their aspirations, nor should it be a hindrance to their contributions to society. The age in which persons with disabilities were treated unfairly is long gone, and individuals with disabilities are productive members of society nowadays, especially when they receive the right education and are given the right tools to succeed. Thus, it is imperative to integrate the latest technologies into devices and software that could assist persons with disabilities. The Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and Deep Learning (ML)/deep learning (DL) are technologies that have gained momentum over the past decade and could be integrated to assist persons with disabilities—visually impaired individuals. Applied System Innovation 11 October 2023

Booth: Digital audio- and voice-based tools for inclusion in education and everyday life
Visually impaired persons encounter considerable hurdles in reading text and operating computer programmes. Whereas able-sighted people rely on screen output and mouse or touchpad navigation, blind and heavily ill-sighted users can not. Particularly those who lose eyesight later in life, in many countries constituting the majority of visually impaired people, find it impossible to learn Braille. These persons therefore have to resort to low-threshold, high performance digital aides. The Eighth International Conference on Universal Accessibility in the Internet of Things and Smart Environments 16 November 2023

Pedagogical proposal of tactile graphical framework for delimiting permanent preservation areas for the visually impaired
One  of  the  biggest  challenges  for  visually  impaired  people  is  learning  cartographic  content. Among the cartographic contents, the conceptualization and delimitation of preservation areas is an  applied  example  with  extreme  relevance  for  environmental  education.  This  article  presents the  process  of  developing  a  tactile  graphic  scheme  for  environmental  education  for  visually impaired people regarding the delimitation of permanent preservation areas around springs and rivers. The creation of the teaching resource used easily acquired materials and followed format recommendations  indicated  by  academic  literature on  tactile  maps.  The  didact  resource  has textual content in Braille and Roman numerals, as well as legend and graphic scale in high relief. Special  care  was  taken  so  that  the  teaching  resource  can  be  used  in  an  inclusive  manner, involving,  at  the  same  time,  blind,  partially  visually  impaired  and  students  with  full  vision,  to promote an inclusive educational environment. This resource can be a useful tool for teaching cartography topics applied to environmental conservation contexts. Delos: Desarrollo local sostenible 18 October 2023

Assessing people with visual impairments’ access to information, awareness and satisfaction with high-tech assistive technology
Assistive technology (AT) devices are designed to help people with visual impairments (PVIs) perform activities that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. Devices specifically designed to assist PVIs by attempting to restore sight or substitute it for another sense have a very low uptake rate. This study, conducted in England, aimed to investigate why this is the case by assessing accessibility to knowledge, awareness, and satisfaction with AT in general and with sensory restoration and substitution devices in particular. British journal of visual impairment 27 October 2022 

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Population health

Hospitalisation trends for Choroid and Retina Diseases in the past 20 years: An ecological study in Australia
In this ecological investigation, the authors found that the admission rate for choroid and retina disorders increased dramatically. The preponderance of these admissions were made up of females and elderly patients. Future research is required to identify additional risk factors for disorders of this type. Clinical optometry 17 October 2023

Interventions for adults with deafblindness - an integrative review
There is a limited number of evaluated interventions for people with deafblindness. Most of the existing studies involved one to five participants with deafblindness, and only few studies involved a larger number of participants. More research with a larger number of participants are needed, which could be facilitated by international cooperation between practitioners and researchers. BMC medicine 30 December 2022

Effects of two exercise programs on health-related fitness, quality of life and exercise enjoyment in adults with visual impairment: a randomized crossover trial
The functional training program was reported as more pleasant for participants. Sports-related exercises and functional training improved health-related fitness and quality of life for people with visual impairment. BMC sports science, medicine and rehabilitation 28 September 2022

 

 

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Mental health

Validation of a quality of life measure (VIQoL) for adults living with vision impairment
Quality of life (QoL) measures are often used to assess the effectiveness of services and interventions. For individuals living with vision impairment (VI) this is potentially problematic, given that QoL is characteristically assessed using instruments designed with non-VI norms and may not accurately represent issues specifically associated with VI. Hence, the authors designed an instrument (Vision Impaired Quality of Life [VIQoL]) tailored for adults living with VI. British journal of visual impairment 31 October 2023

Improved intention, self-efficacy and social influence in the workspace may help low vision service workers to discuss depression and anxiety with visually impaired and blind adults
Previous studies indicate clients want healthcare providers to initiate discussions about mental health. However, still 20% of low vision service (LVS) workers do not discuss suspected depression or anxiety. In order to improve this, LVS organizations could address mental health as part of their care and provide training to ensure intention to discuss mental health problems, improve self-efficacy and create a supportive environment between colleagues. BMC Health Services Research 21 April 2022

Barriers and facilitators to recognize and discuss depression and anxiety experienced by adults with vision impairment or blindness: a qualitative study
These findings suggest that visually impaired and blind adults may experience several barriers to recognize, acknowledge and discuss mental health. Healthcare providers and social support systems seem essential for them in reducing these barriers. However, there might be a mismatch between the needs of visually impaired and blind adults and healthcare providers’ knowledge, skills and attitude. Training healthcare providers may improve detection of depression and anxiety in adults with vision impairment (VI) or blindness, and enhance clinician-patient communication on mental health. BMC Health Services Research 28 July 2021

Benefits of meditation and breathing exercises in vision loss patients
Vision impairment could have debilitating effects on patients’ mental, physical, and emotional health. This study aims to understand the role of meditation and breathing exercises in the management of vision loss and its effects on patient’s disease progression. British journal of visual impairment 15 October 2023

Evaluating the role of social inclusion in the self-esteem and academic inclusion of adolescents with vision impairment
Adolescents with vision impairment report deficient feelings of school belonging and challenges in developing social relationships with teachers and classmates. These challenges negatively affect other aspects of their school lives such as their academic learning. However, there is very little empirical research into the social dimensions of school inclusion in adolescents with vision impairment and their role in socio-emotional development and academic inclusion. The authors conducted two empirical studies to examine the following two dimensions of social inclusion in school: school belonging and close relationships at school. British journal of visual impairment 6 July 2023

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E-books

This is just a sample of the e-books the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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E-Journals

This is just a sample of the journals the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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