Abstract
Self-report assessments of health are commonly favoured indicators used in large-scale nationally, representative surveys as they can be readily and cost-effectively collected from large numbers of people; however, subjective assessments have been criticised. Using data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), this article examines the relationship between self-reported vision and measured visual acuity (Logarithm of the Minimal Angle of Resolution [logMAR]). The analysis indicates that normal vision is well captured by a subjective response, but there is a slight over-identification of visual impairment using self-reported vision. These findings are discussed in relation to social patterning of misreporting. Given the simplicity of the self-report assessment to administer and the correspondence between this and measured visual acuity, it is argued to be a suitable indicator of visual impairment in older people.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 236-248 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | British Journal of Visual Impairment |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 20 Aug 2014 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2014 |
Keywords
- Logarithm of the Minimal Angle of Resolution (logMAR)
- older people
- subjective measures of health
- validation study
- vision loss