Systematic review of vision-related quality of life questionnaires for older institutionalised seniors with dementia

PurposeIn view of our interest in helping older institutionalised adults with co-existing visual and cognitive deficits, our objective was to review vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) questionnaires developed for people with dementia. MethodsA systematic literature search was performed in seven relevant databases, limited to peer-reviewed journals published in English, French, Spanish, Italian or German languages, between 1982 and 2012. The retained VRQoL questionnaires were described. Only relevant articles that fully meet our target population and interest criteria were eligible for psychometric properties rating. ResultsThe literature search identified 461 potentially relevant articles, from which 69 were isolated and reviewed. Eight articles presented questionnaires that were administered to older institutionalised individuals with dementia. Three VRQoL questionnaires were identified, from which only one was designed and validated for those with mild to moderate dementia and none for individuals with more advanced dementia. ConclusionsThere is a pressing need to build and validate a questionnaire for assessing VRQoL in older institutionalised individuals with dementia, to provide a research tool capable of evaluating how changes in vision impact their QoL.