title: Visually impaired patients' perceptions of their needs in hospital.
abstract: This article reports on a study of visually impaired patients' perceptions of their social and psychological needs in hospital. A qualitative approach was taken to explore and describe these perceptions, and 18 in-patients from one ophthalmic hospital took part in semi-structured interviews lasting approximately half an hour. Patients did not agree on their most important need. Many stresses and methods of coping were specific to individual patients. Patients reported on three areas in which most of them had problems: behavior of some staff, anxiety, and communication, but most felt their physical needs were met by nurses. Implications and recommendations for nursing practice are discussed. In particular, the results indicate a need for individualised care. It is also apparent that further research is needed to explore nurses' beliefs and feelings towards visual impairment.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Waterman
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Webb
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D009732:Nursing Care; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D014792:Visual Acuity