Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
American Foundation for the Blind, Arlington, VA, USA.
Disabil Health J. 2022 Jul;15(3):101277. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101277. Epub 2022 Feb 16.
Limited studies have indicated that Americans with vision loss are differentially impacted by COVID-19.
We examined concerns with healthcare and safety among Americans with vision loss during the early phase of the pandemic (April 2020).
The Flatten Inaccessibility Survey assessed the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare (pharmacy access, maintenance of eyecare regimen, caregiver access, and resource denial) and safety (social distancing, clean surfaces, and touching public signage) concerns among Americans with low vision or who were blind. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine associations between respondent characteristics and each concern.
A total of 1921 adults responded to the survey, of whom 65% were blind and 35% had low vision. Most respondents were female (63%) and white (74%). Respondents with additional disabilities/comorbidities were more likely to report healthcare access concerns (pharmacy access, eyecare regimen, caregiver access, and ventilator access) and safety concerns (social distance, clean surfaces, and touching signage) than those with vision loss alone. In addition, females, those identifying as "other" gender, older individuals, and people with adult onset of vision impairment were more likely to experience COVID-19-related concerns and challenges related to healthcare and overall safety.
These results suggest that while Americans with vision loss have been differentially impacted by COVID-19, adults with vision loss and additional disabilities/comorbidities are more likely to have concerns with healthcare and safety than those with vision loss alone.
有限的研究表明，视力受损的美国人受到 COVID-19 的影响存在差异。
我们研究了在大流行早期（2020 年 4 月）视力受损的美国人对医疗保健和安全的担忧。
Flatten Inaccessibility Survey 评估了 COVID-19 对视力低下或失明的美国人的医疗保健（药房获取、眼科护理方案维持、护理人员获取和资源拒绝）和安全（社交距离、清洁表面和触摸公共标志）的影响。多变量逻辑回归用于确定受访者特征与每个关注点之间的关联。
共有 1921 名成年人对该调查做出了回应，其中 65%的人失明，35%的人视力低下。大多数受访者为女性（63%）和白人（74%）。有其他残疾/合并症的受访者更有可能报告医疗保健获取方面的问题（药房获取、眼科护理方案、护理人员获取和呼吸机获取）和安全问题（社交距离、清洁表面和触摸标志），而不是单纯视力受损的受访者。此外，女性、其他性别认同者、年龄较大的个体以及成年后视力受损的人更有可能经历与 COVID-19 相关的担忧，以及与医疗保健和整体安全相关的挑战。
这些结果表明，尽管视力受损的美国人受到 COVID-19 的影响存在差异，但与单纯视力受损的成年人相比，视力受损和其他残疾/合并症的成年人更有可能对医疗保健和安全存在担忧。
