CHARACTERISTICS OF DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION DUE TO PATHOLOGY OF THE VISUAL ORGAN IN THE ELDERLY OF THE ARKHANGELSK REGION
Authors:   Northern State Medical University (NSMU), Arkhangelsk, Russia, Trofimova Anastasia , Solovyev Vladislav ,   Northern State Medical University (NSMU), Arkhangelsk, Russia, Sannikov Anatoly ,   Northern State Medical University (NSMU), Arkhangelsk, Russia, Malkova Natalia ,   Main Bureau of Medical and Social Expertise in the Arkhangelsk Region and the Nenets Autonomous District of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, Arkhangelsk, Russia
Published: October 2024

Significance. Due to population ageing, analyzing medical and social status of the elderly becomes relevant in the Russian Federation. Sensory deficiency syndrome is one of the most important for assessing human performance of patients. With the loss of sensory functions, patients lose the ability to self-care, often becoming disabled. The purpose of the study was to analyze disability due to diseases of the visual organ and accessory organs of the eye and rehabilitation of persons over 60 years recognized as disabled in the Arkhangelsk region in 2018-2022. Material and methods. The research base was compiled based on individual rehabilitation and habilitation programs (n=1548) for elderly people over 60 with visual impairments, submitted to the Federal State Information System “Unified Automated Vertically Integrated Information and Analytical System for Conducting Medical and Social Expertise” of the Arkhangelsk Region for 2018-2022. Results. Based on the data, it can be concluded that the first disability group prevailed throughout the five years under study, while the third group remained in the minority. Analysis of the leading diseases shows that glaucoma is on the top, accounting for about 50.4% of all cases of disability. Analysis of rehabilitation facilities shows that means of transportation and assistance in movement prevail. Analysis of individual rehabilitation and habilitation programs shows that vocational rehabilitation, employment in particular, is recommended only to some citizens, due to the existing disease and age. Discussion. In the presence of a pathology of the organ of vision, older citizens are more likely to immediately receive a more severe disability group. Among the leading causes of disability of the elderly, diseases resulting from comorbidity rank first. These data put forward the need for a multidisciplinary approach to the elderly, which can be achieved through the geriatric approach in ophthalmological, geriatric follow-up. At the same time, it would be logical to consider the possibility of correcting visual deficits in rehabilitation measures for the elderly disabled, yet only 29.5% of people received aids aimed at correcting the vision deficit. The data suggest the need to change the approach to the health of the elderly, focusing on improving their human performance rather than on diagnoses, and to pay more attention to those types of diseases that lead to more severe disability groups. Conclusion. It is necessary to change the attitude towards disability of the elderly – to move towards a “preventive” policy and create organizational solutions for such diseases, for example, a system of offices for prevention of certain diseases (a “glaucoma prevention office”, office of the elderly”), to introduce screening methods not only at the level of an ophthalmologist, but also a geriatrician, a district therapist, a physician.