Lighthouse Guild President and CEO Addresses Cognitive and Psychological Concerns In Treating Patients with Vision Loss in the Journal, Ophthalmology®​

NEW YORK  (June 26, 2018) -- Alan R. Morse, JD, PhD, President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild, provides guidance for physicians treating patients with vision loss in an editorial, entitled “What Can I Do to Help My Patient When I Think There Is Nothing Else I Can Do?” published in the July 2018 issue of “Ophthalmology®,” the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

How loss of vision compromises everyday activities and functioning is key to developing an effective rehabilitation program.  Dr. Morse emphasizes the importance of appreciating and communicating an understanding of the psychological and physical impact of vision loss.  It’s all about the patient’s perceptions.  Ignoring them adds to the adverse impact of vision loss.  

“Effective communication is critical for patients to understand any likely progression of their vision loss and to provide encouragement that with rehabilitation, many of their lifestyle activities that have been adversely affected by vision loss may again be possible,” Dr. Morse says.  “Decreased vision is associated with reduced emotional, physical, and social functioning and with lower levels of physical activity, which contribute to increased risk of obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, arthritis, stroke, and congestive heart failure,” he writes.  “Improving functional vision helps people return to many of their former activities and can result in improved overall health.

To help physicians, Dr. Morse points to an e-learning course from Lighthouse Guild that provides a basic understanding of vision loss and the vision rehabilitation process and an American Academy of Ophthalmology video, titled “There is Something Else You Can Do.” These tools are available on the American Academy of Ophthalmology website.

For the complete editorial, please go to:
http://www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(18)30475-5/fulltext​

About Lighthouse Guild
Lighthouse Guild is the leading organization dedicated to addressing and preventing vision loss.  For more information, visit Lighthouseguild.org. 

Editorial offers practical advice to help patients regain lifestyle activities