title: Instruments for evaluation of functionality in children with low vision: a literature review.
abstract: We conducted a literature review of tools used to evaluate functionality in children with low vision with the aim of analyzing the applicability, advantages, and disadvantages for children <6 years of age, an age at which visual development is mostly complete. Publications in Portuguese, English and, Spanish describing functional evaluation tools for children aged 0-18 years with low vision in the following databases were included: Web of Science, Virtual Health Library, Cochrane, Scielo, and PubMed. A total of 181 articles were collected, 15 of which were included in this review. Thirteen tools were identified, nine of which evaluated overall functionality and quality of life through questionnaires. The other 4 instruments, using a observational test model, evaluated functionality and they were elected. Observational tests chosen for their accuracy and lower selection bias were used to evaluate visual functionality. Of these, the Functional Vision Assessment up to 6 years seems to be promising. In conclusion, we observed a lack of tools for evaluating functionality in children with low vision. This type of evaluation is necessary for planning visual rehabilitation to improve quality of life in children with low vision.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerias, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aline de Oliveira
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerias, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gláucia Manzan Queiroz
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Oftalmologia e Otorrinolaringologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerias, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Galton Carvalho
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.affiliation: Setor de Baixa Visão Infantil, Hospital São Geraldo, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerias, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana Drummond de Figueiredo
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: Setor de Baixa Visão Infantil, Hospital São Geraldo, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerias, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Grace Rego
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Saliba
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000534:rehabilitation*