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. 2024 Oct 17;14(20):2307.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics14202307.

Are Optometrists Prepared to Be Involved in Post-Stroke Rehabilitation?

Amritha Stalin  1   2 , Susan J Leat  1   2 , Tammy Labreche  1   2
Affiliations

Are Optometrists Prepared to Be Involved in Post-Stroke Rehabilitation?

Amritha Stalin et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Stroke survivors often experience various visual consequences that impact their daily life and may benefit from visual interventions. However, some of these usually go unaddressed as optometrists are rarely included in the post-stroke care pathway. Yet, optometrists are interested in contributing to the care of these patients. This survey evaluated the readiness of optometrists in diagnosing and managing visual disorders specific to stroke survivors.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed by the researchers, pilot tested by 5 research optometrists and 15 community optometrists, and modified based on the feedback. Practicing optometrists were invited to complete the anonymous online survey through optometric organizations in Canada, the US, Hong Kong, India, and the UK.

Results: Most respondents displayed strong knowledge, but 61.6% indicated that enhancing their knowledge would be helpful. The majority (87%) agreed that stroke is related to an increased incidence of falls. Participants' knowledge regarding the natural history of post-stroke visual disorders was poorer. There were also inconsistencies regarding what optometrists considered ideal interventions and what they undertook in practice. More than 50% of respondents reported that the quality of published evidence on post-stroke visual consequences was low or nonexistent.

Conclusions: Overall, survey respondents displayed sufficient knowledge. However, there are areas of uncertainty in their knowledge, which in many cases correspond to real gaps in the available evidence. There is a need to identify and remediate these gaps to enable optometrists to deliver quality optometric care as collaborative members of the post-stroke professional team, which would eventually improve the rehabilitation of stroke survivors.

Keywords: optometrists; stroke; vision care; vision rehabilitation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Country-specific percentages of respondents regarding visual symptoms.
Figure A2
Figure A2
Country-specific percentages of respondents regarding visual perceptual symptoms.
Figure A3
Figure A3
Country-specific percentages of respondents regarding visual disorders.
Figure A4
Figure A4
Country-specific percentages of respondents regarding visual problems that may be psychosomatic.
Figure A5
Figure A5
Country-specific percent responses in answer to the question “Is stroke related to increased incidence of falls?”.
Figure A6
Figure A6
Country-specific percentages of respondents regarding post-stroke visual assessments. (A) Assessments PERSONALLY CONSIDERED to be important (B) Assessments UNDERTAKEN for post-stroke individuals.
Figure A7
Figure A7
Country-specific percentages of respondents regarding post-stroke visual interventions. (A) Interventions that COULD BE RECOMMENDED (B) Interventions that were PERSONALLY UNDERTAKEN.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Survey results regarding knowledge of post-stroke across all countries, in response to the question “Which of the following could be experienced by an individual post-stroke (due to the stroke)”. (a) Visual symptoms, (b) visual perceptual difficulties, and (c) visual disorders.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The survey results on the knowledge of the natural history of post-stroke visual problems. The percent responses are in answer to the question “If post-stroke patients are going to recover, either partially or completely, during what maximum time period do you expect their recovery from each of the following to occur?”.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The survey results regarding (a) the visual assessments and (b) interventions for an individual after a stroke.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The survey results on the quality of published evidence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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