The purpose of the study was to develop a better understanding of the influence of visual acuity and contrast sensitivity function on functional visual performance. A mixed methods approach allowed for the concurrent collection of both quantitative data and qualitative data to provide a more comprehensive understanding.
Twenty-two participants from the Lackawanna Blind Association with 20/60 or worse best corrected visual acuity were recruited for the study. Participants ranged from 25-90 years of age with an average age of 62. Participants consisted of 18 females and four males. Sixteen participants experienced visual impairment for over 15 years and six participants for 1-14 years.
Analysis: Quantitative. Spearman’s rank correlations were conducted to determine two relationships: one, if a relationship existed between visual acuity and the participants’ rated responses on the SRAFVP; two, if a relationship existed between contrast sensitivity function and the participants’ rated responses on the SRAFVP. Descriptive statistics were also calculated for each of the items on the SRAFVP. Mean, median, mode, and standard deviations were provided.
Qualitative. Qualitative data was gathered through audio-recorded semi-structured interviews and analyzed for emerging themes by performing the process of open-coding, axial coding, and selective coding which allowed for the creation of the three final themes.
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