The Impact of Visual Impairment on Quality of Life

Our goal was to identify and describe factors relating to quality of life (QOL) in subjects with low vision and blindness in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province. This cross-sectional study was carried out in randomly selected subjects with vision disability who were covered by the Zahedan Welfare Organization in Zahedan, Iran. The following factors related to visual impairment were evaluated: visual field (VF), visual acuity (VA), and stereopsis. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the Influence of Vision Impairment (IVI) questionnaire. One-hundred and twenty-one patients were enrolled for participation in the study. T-test analyses indicated that the mean QOL score for women was significantly lower than that for men (P < 0.001). Mann-Whitney U tests indicated that mean social (P = 0.003) and leisure (P = 0.009) QOL scores were significantly lower in participants without stereopsis. In addition, participants with tunnel vision scored lower on the mobility and self-care categories (P < 0.001) than others. The results of this study indicate that providing education, providing employment, improving, and expanding social programs for the blind and individuals with low vision people, especially women, are necessary.Â

The Impact of Visual Impairment on Quality of Life

Our goal was to identify and describe factors relating to quality of life (QOL) in subjects with low vision and blindness in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province. This cross-sectional study was carried out in randomly selected subjects with vision disability who were covered by the Zahedan Welfare Organization in Zahedan, Iran. The following factors related to visual impairment were evaluated: visual field (VF), visual acuity (VA), and stereopsis. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the Influence of Vision Impairment (IVI) questionnaire. One-hundred and twenty-one patients were enrolled for participation in the study. T-test analyses indicated that the mean QOL score for women was significantly lower than that for men (P < 0.001). Mann-Whitney U tests indicated that mean social (P = 0.003) and leisure (P = 0.009) QOL scores were significantly lower in participants without stereopsis. In addition, participants with tunnel vision scored lower on the mobility and self-care categories (P < 0.001) than others. The results of this study indicate that providing education, providing employment, improving, and expanding social programs for the blind and individuals with low vision people, especially women, are necessary.

The Role Of Reflection In The Network-Based Microteaching

This study investigated the perception of TESL trainees toward peers’ reflections, combined with the role of reflection on the use of digital language lab in order to teach effectively in a network-based environment. Nine students participated in a regular micro-teaching course on writing and presenting their lesson plans. In educational teaching class trainees were prompted to reflect on their micro-teaching process. In this study the role of reflection was investigated and teacher trainees tried to consciously evaluate their activities in the microteaching classroom. Since ‘reflection’ provided this opportunity for teacher trainees to be more self-oriented in the educational teaching forum, this study aimed to find the advantages and disadvantages of writing reflections from teacher trainees’ perspectives

Post-photorefractive keratectomy pain and corneal sub-basal nerve density

Purpose: The perceived and reported pain of patients receiving photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) widely varies. We assessed the potential role of the subbasal nerve plexus density as a predictor of postoperative pain level. Consecutive patients scheduled to undergo PRK at the Refractive Surgery Clinic of Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran, were approached. Methods: Forty-nine myopic left eyes from 49 patients who consented to undergo scanning slit confocal microscopy assessments preoperatively were included. ImageJ (1.48v) was used to measure the captured subbasal nerve length. Postoperative pain intensity was assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (score range: 0 for no pain to 10 for the maximum possible) on the next day of surgery. Results: The mean age of the patients was 27.55 (range: 19–40) years. The median reported pain level was 5. Approximately 32.7% of the subjects reported a pain score of 6 or higher. Mean nerve density was 19.54 (range: 14.34–24.73) mm/mm2. Nerve density was not correlated with the reported intensity of pain (P = 0.172). However, pain was correlated with the reported ocular discomfort, i.e., a pooled index of foreign body sensation, photophobia, burning sensation, and tearing (P < 0.001), and also with the pooled index of ocular inflammatory signs (conjunctival injection and eyelid edema) (P = 0.027). Conclusion: Crude density of corneal nerves may not be a good predictor of post-PRK pain while wearing bandage contact lenses. The predominant pain mechanism appears to be of an inflammatory nature (not nociceptive or neuropathic)