The Veterans Affairs Low Vision Intervention Trial (LOVIT): design and methodology

Visual impairment is a major public health problem. Vision rehabilitation programs have the potential to restore independence and improve quality of life for persons with permanent vision loss, and few have been evaluated in randomized controlled trials.

The Veterans Affairs (VA) Low Vision Intervention Trial is a multicenter randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a new outpatient low vision rehabilitation program.

126 patients with moderate and severe vision loss due to macular diseases are randomized to low vision treatment in an outpatient setting or a usual care control group at two VA facilities in Hines, Illinois, and Salisbury, North Carolina. The primary outcome is the change in visual reading ability from baseline to four months measured with the Veterans Affairs Low Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 (VA LV VFQ-48). Secondary outcomes compare the mean change in visual ability measured with the VA LV VFQ-48 (overall ability, mobility, visual information processing, visual motor skills) for the treatment and control groups. Costs and cost effectiveness of outpatient treatment are evaluated.

The low vision rehabilitation setting, use of a waiting list control group to address ethical issues, development of the treatment protocol, development of a vision function questionnaire for patients to self-report the difficulty they experience performing daily activities, and the use of Rasch analysis to develop and estimate this outcome measure are described.

If the new low vision rehabilitation program is proven effective, studies will be needed to determine which of the multiple aspects of the intervention are necessary and sufficient.

The challenges of conducting clinical trials in a rehabilitation setting and use of a waiting list (deferred treatment) control group extend beyond LOVIT. The design and methods of LOVIT may be applicable to other trials of rehabilitation services and to outcomes for which reliable and valid measurement tools must be developed.