Authors : Nida’ Alworikat, Salma Abduljaber and Wesam Darawsheh
Abstract: The aim was to investigate the effects of Visual Impairments (VIs) on the Quality of Life (QoL) of students with low vision and blindness at the University of Jordan and to explore their academic experiences. Mixed research methodologies were used. In the quantitative part, a cross-sectional design was incorporated. The sample comprised 40 students with visual impairments and completed the (NEI-VFQ-25) questionnaire. In the qualitative part 6 students were audio taped during a focus group interview. The SPSS Version 22.0 (2016, IBM Corporation, New York) was used to analyze data of the quantitative stage. The thematic content analysis was used in analyzing the qualitative data. The average of the composite score in the NEI-VFQ-25 of the total sample was 60.18±12.83 and ranged between 25.63-96.08 out of 100. The highest mean score in the 12 subscales was for “general health” while the lowest mean score was for “general vision”. The major themes from the thematic content analysis were“the effects of the support system”, “academic challenges and barriers” and “levels of satisfaction and QoL”. Findings suggested that students with VIs had an average perception of QoL in their daily life activities and lower levels of QoL in academic experiences.
Nida’ Alworikat, Salma Abduljaber and Wesam Darawsheh, 2020. Quality of Life and Academic Experiences of Students with Visual Impairments. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 14: 77-83.