title: The impact of a support centre for people with sensory impairment living in rural Scotland.
abstract: Aim The overall aim of this study was to evaluate whether attendance at a Sensory Support Centre for people with a sensory impairment living in the Western Isles of Scotland had an impact on their lives.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Demographic forecasts show that the prevalence of sensory impairment in the population will increase, as a significant proportion of sensory loss is age related. People with sensory impairments are more likely to experience social exclusion, and are more at risk of injury and physical and mental illness. Therefore, strategies to improve service access and provision for people with sensory impairments are important to reduce the disability associated with sight and/or hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  All clients who accessed the service during a six-month period were invited to complete a postal questionnaire about their service experience. Semi-structured individual interviews with clients (n=12) described their experience of living with a sensory impairment and the impact (if any) that access to the Sensory Centre had on their lives. Individual interviews were also conducted with healthcare and social-care professionals (n=7) to ascertain their level of service awareness. Findings Clients who experienced sensory impairment described how the impairment negatively impacted on their activities of living, safety and independence. Following Sensory Centre assessment and support, some clients were able to identify ways in which interventions had reduced their sense of social isolation, impacted positively on self-confidence and sense of self-esteem and safety. Importantly, interventions had supported greater functional independence in their own homes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides evidence that access to sensory services are important to people with sensory impairments living in remote areas, and should be considered when planning healthcare services, as they are one way of ameliorating health inequalities in this population group.
authors.affiliation: 1Senior Lecturer/Associate Head of School,School of Health Sciences,University of Stirling,Isle of Lewis,Scotland.
authors.forename: Annetta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: 2Senior Lecturer/Deputy Head of School,School of Health Sciences,University of Stirling,Stirling,Scotland.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shepherd
authors.affiliation: 3Senior Research Fellow,Centre for Population Health Sciences,University of Edinburgh,Edinburgh,Scotland.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jepson
authors.affiliation: 4Staff Nurse and MRes Student University of Stirling,Isle of Lewis,Scotland.
authors.forename: Seonaid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mackay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D019035:Rural Health Services; D012606:Scotland; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D012678:Sensation Disorders; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: remote and rural; sensory impairment; sensory services