Planning care for visually impaired children in the inpatient setting: a literature review.

Project of Merit Winner Topic: In visually impaired children experiencing hospitalization (P), how do specific and age-appropriate interventions (I) compared to that for a child with no visual deficits (C) affect the quality of care (O) during an overnight hospital stay? (T) Methods: This literature review was conducted through PubMed and CINAHL. The keywords searched were “Visual Impairment,” “Visually Impaired,” “Blind*,” “Pediatric*,” “Hospital*,” “VIP,” “Inpatient” and “Child.*” Results: The literature review yielded 20 articles, which were eventually narrowed down to 8 applicable articles. Analysis of the articles identified the need for further research on this topic. Analysis: Two systematic reviews acknowledged the lack of studies on planning care for visually impaired children as a demographic. Overall, there were no studies which identified outcomes for hospitalized children who are visually impaired as compared to hospitalized children with no visual deficits. Conclusion: Further research is needed on how to provide healthcare and discharge education to the visually impaired child at any developmental stage. However, the need for research is pronounced when the specific educational needs of children at different developmental stages are considered alongside the challenges that come with visual impairment. Registered nurses in the inpatient pediatric setting must be educated on interventions that are appropriate for visually impaired children at any developmental stage