Severe Visual Impairment in Older Women1

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to uncover the meaning of severe visual impairment to older women diagnosed with macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older adults. The research question for the study was, What is the lived experience of severe visual impairment in older women diagnosed with macular degeneration? Participants were eight women, aged 63 to 85 years, who had been diagnosed with macular degeneration and who had severe visual deficits. Data were gathered through audiotaped interviews. Interview recordings were transcribed and later analyzed using a modified Giorgi methodology. The meaning of severe visual impairment emerged as “persisting toward unfolding ways of being in the world sparked by personal discoveries amidst enveloping losses while embracing a realistic awareness with steadfast positivism. ” Findings from this study were congruent with the theory of Human Becoming. Study findings highlight factors that may place older women with severe visual deficits at risk for lower levels of well-being. The loss of vision often dramatically impacts a person’s quality of life. Many older adults must confront the experience of severe visual impairment. Macular degeneration, a chronic, progressive eye disease that affects the most sensitive spot within the retina for visual acuity (Rosenbloom, 1992; Sarks & Sarks, 1989), causes the loss of central vision in many older adults and is a primary cause of blindness (Chan, 1998; Weksler, 1998). Findings from epidemiologic studies have shown macular degeneration to be a prob-lem for older adults worldwide (Dickinson et al., 1997; Klaver, Wolfs