Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?

Objectives: Managing stairs is a challenging activity of daily living (ADL) for older people. This study aims to examine the association between visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs among older people living alone and those living with others. Methods: A population-based cross section...

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Main Authors: Hairi, N.N., Bulgiba, A., Peramalah, D., Mudla, I.
Format: Article
Published: 2012
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Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/5831/
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spelling my.um.eprints.58312013-04-19T01:04:50Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/5831/ Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs? Hairi, N.N. Bulgiba, A. Peramalah, D. Mudla, I. R Medicine Objectives: Managing stairs is a challenging activity of daily living (ADL) for older people. This study aims to examine the association between visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs among older people living alone and those living with others. Methods: A population-based cross sectional study was conducted in rural Malaysia from 2007 till 2008. Seven hundred and sixty five older people aged 60 years and over underwent eye examination for visual impairment. Visual acuity criteria were used to define visual impairment. Presenting visual acuity was assessed using a standard metric Snellen Chart of E type. Difficulty in managing stairs was measured according to a question drawn from the Barthel Index which asks �do you need help in climbing stairs�. Results: Overall, the prevalence of difficulty in managing stairs among older people in our population was 135 (18.3, 95 CI 15.7�21.2). After adjusting for important confounders the odds ratio (OR) for visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs among older people living alone was 5.04 (95 CI 2.27, 10.62). Among older people living with others, the adjusted OR for visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs was 3.10 (95 CI 1.52, 6.80). Conclusion: In a sample of older people aged 60 years and over, those living alone with visual impairment had greater difficulty in managing stairs than those living with others. Identification of these groups of older people is useful for targeting interventions. 2012 Article PeerReviewed Hairi, N.N. and Bulgiba, A. and Peramalah, D. and Mudla, I. (2012) Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs? Preventive Medicine, 56 (1). pp. 8-11. ISSN 0091-7435 10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.10.016
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic R Medicine
spellingShingle R Medicine
Hairi, N.N.
Bulgiba, A.
Peramalah, D.
Mudla, I.
Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?
description Objectives: Managing stairs is a challenging activity of daily living (ADL) for older people. This study aims to examine the association between visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs among older people living alone and those living with others. Methods: A population-based cross sectional study was conducted in rural Malaysia from 2007 till 2008. Seven hundred and sixty five older people aged 60 years and over underwent eye examination for visual impairment. Visual acuity criteria were used to define visual impairment. Presenting visual acuity was assessed using a standard metric Snellen Chart of E type. Difficulty in managing stairs was measured according to a question drawn from the Barthel Index which asks �do you need help in climbing stairs�. Results: Overall, the prevalence of difficulty in managing stairs among older people in our population was 135 (18.3, 95 CI 15.7�21.2). After adjusting for important confounders the odds ratio (OR) for visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs among older people living alone was 5.04 (95 CI 2.27, 10.62). Among older people living with others, the adjusted OR for visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs was 3.10 (95 CI 1.52, 6.80). Conclusion: In a sample of older people aged 60 years and over, those living alone with visual impairment had greater difficulty in managing stairs than those living with others. Identification of these groups of older people is useful for targeting interventions.
format Article
author Hairi, N.N.
Bulgiba, A.
Peramalah, D.
Mudla, I.
author_facet Hairi, N.N.
Bulgiba, A.
Peramalah, D.
Mudla, I.
author_sort Hairi, N.N.
title Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?
title_short Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?
title_full Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?
title_fullStr Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?
title_full_unstemmed Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?
title_sort do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?
publishDate 2012
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/5831/
_version_ 1643687684392091648
score 13.211869