title: Composition of a vision screen for servicemembers with traumatic brain injury: consensus using a modified nominal group technique.
abstract: Vision impairment is common in the first year after traumatic brain injury (TBI), including among service members whose brain injuries occurred during deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Occupational therapy practitioners provide routine vision screening to inform treatment planning and referral to vision specialists, but existing methods are lacking because many tests were developed for children and do not screen for vision dysfunction typical of TBI. An expert panel was charged with specifying the composition of a vision screening protocol for servicemembers with TBI. A modified nominal group technique fostered discussion and objective determinations of consensus. After considering 29 vision tests, the panel recommended a nine-test vision screening that examines functional performance, self-reported problems, far-near acuity, reading, accommodation, convergence, eye alignment and binocular vision, saccades, pursuits, and visual fields. Research is needed to develop reliable, valid, and clinically feasible vision screening protocols to identify TBI-related vision disorders in adults.
authors.affiliation: Mary Vining Radomski, PhD, OTR/L, is Clinical Scientist, Courage Kenny Research Center, 800 East 28th Street @ Chicago (No. 12212), Minneapolis, MN 55407; mary.radomski@allina.com.
authors.forename: Mary Vining
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Radomski
authors.affiliation: Marsha Finkelstein, MS, is Senior Scientific Advisor, Courage Kenny Research Center, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Finkelstein
authors.affiliation: Imelda Llanos, MS, OTR/L, is Vision Impairment Clinic Program Manager, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa, FL.
authors.forename: Imelda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Llanos
authors.affiliation: Mitchell Scheiman, OD, is Professor, Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: Mitchell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scheiman
authors.affiliation: Sharon Gowdy Wagener, MAOT, OTR/L, is Occupational Therapist, Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Sharon Gowdy
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Wagener
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D032921:Consensus; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel; D015351:Vision Screening