Telerehabilitation for people with low vision

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Low vision impacts over 300 million globally, affecting daily activities and quality of life.
• Vision assistive equipment (VAE) and rehabilitative training can help, but access barriers exist for some individuals.
• Telerehabilitation offers a potential solution by providing remote, Internet-based consultations for vision rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare telerehabilitation with traditional face-to-face vision rehabilitation.
• To assess improvements in vision-related quality of life and reading speed.
• To evaluate compliance, device abandonment rates, and patient satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• Searched multiple databases (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, etc.) up to June 2015.
• Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials (CCTs).
• Compared internet-based telerehabilitation with in-person consultations.

Main Results:

• No studies met the inclusion criteria for the review.
• A quantitative analysis could not be performed.
• Review articles on telemedicine for remote ophthalmological care were discussed.

Conclusions:

• No evidence was found regarding the feasibility or viability of telerehabilitation for low vision.
• Future pilot studies and clinical trials are necessary.
• The potential of telerehabilitation for low vision services needs further exploration given the disease burden and interest in telemedicine.