Lighthouse International Launches Online Training Program for Health Care Professionals on Vision
Lighthouse International now offers the Mult-E-Skills Vision Rehabilitation Training Program©. This new online course is designed to help health care professionals such as nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists and opticians work more effectively with adults who have low or no vision. Development of the program was made possible by a federal grant from The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
Sixty-one million Americans are at risk of significant vision loss.[1] It is crucial that healthc are professionals be prepared to be able to deal with the profound implications vision loss will have in all aspects of our society. Lighthouse International documented that over 17 percent of persons age 65 – 74 report a problem with their vision even when wearing best correction, and it jumps to 26 percent for those age 75 and over.2
The program, which offers American Occupational Therapy Association continuing education unit credits (nursing CEUs pending), is made up of interactive lessons that cover the following:
- Understanding vision impairment.
- Training in vision rehabilitation strategies and practical techniques to help people with vision loss lead safe, independent lives.
- Making activities of daily living easier for people with vision impairment.
- Reinforcing skills that support the proper use of low vision optical devices.
- Teaching techniques for educating people with visual impairment about indoor orientation and mobility.
The program is fully accessible to professionals who may be visually impaired, as well as those who are sighted. For more information, visit Lighthouse International at http://www.lighthouse.org/for-professionals/continuing-education or call (800)829-0500, ask for Professional Education, ext. 485.
Submitted by:
Cynthia Stuen, PhD SVP
Chief Professional Affairs Officer Lighthouse International
111 East 59th St.
NY,NY 10022
(212) 821-9484
Cstuen@lighthouse.org
References:
1. Zhang X, MD, Saaddine JB, Lee PP, Grabowski DC, Kanjilal S, Duenas MR, Narayan KMV. Eye Care in the United States. Do We Deliver to High-Risk People Who Can Benefit Most From It? Archives of Ophthalmology . 2007;125(3):411-418.
2. The Lighthouse Research Institute. 1995. The Lighthouse National Survey on Vision Loss: The Experience, Attitudes and Knowledge of Middle-Aged and Old Americans. New York: The Lighthouse Inc. H: APHA submission for Gerontological section newsletter