Validation of a vision-screening tool for use by nurses and other non-eye care health practitioners on stroke survivors.

: To validate a vision-screening tool for use by nurses and other non-eye care health practitioners (NECHP) to aid identification of visual deficits and ocular conditions in stroke survivors.: Stroke survivors were recruited from two metropolitan Sydney public hospitals who had no access to on-site eye care professionals. Those admitted for 3 days and who were able to provide clear responses were randomly allocated into two groups.

Towards gaining the best information about vision to assist the recovery of a patient with stroke.

Aim: The aim of this paper is to report on the development and evaluation of a tool, to be used by any healthcare practitioner, to screen for the presence of eye issues and problems in patients who have been diagnosed to have had a stroke. Practitioners caring for patients with stroke often detect stroke-related vision defects but miss pre-existing eye diseases, the need for glasses, and reduced acuity. In stroke units where orthoptists are employed the detection of eye conditions is high (83%) .

On-road assessment of driving performance in bilateral vestibular-deficient patients.

This study measured on-road driving behavior in subjects with bilateral vestibular loss (BVL). Data included point-of-regard (what the driver is looking at and attending to), gaze stability (the performance of the vestibulo-ocular reflex), and head movement, during complex maneuvers such as changing lanes, cornering, pulling into traffic, and parking. Subjective and objective measures showed few differences between BVL subjects and age-matched controls, and that it is possible to drive well with little or no peripheral vestibular function.

Validity and reliability of the on-road driving assessment with senior drivers.

The on-road driving assessment is widely regarded as the criterion measure for driving performance despite a paucity of evidence concerning its psychometric properties. The purpose of this study was 2-fold. First, we examined the psychometric properties of an on-road driving assessment with 100 senior drivers between 60 and 86 years (80 healthy volunteers and 20 with specific vision deficits) using Rasch modeling.

Current licensing authority standards for peripheral visual field and safe on-road senior aged automobile driving performance.

Background: The current licensing authority's (Austroads) visual field standards are met when a person demonstrates an intact visual field extending horizontally at least 120 degrees within 10 degrees above and below the horizontal midline. A person cannot be licensed unconditionally if they have a hemianopia, quadrantanopia or any significant visual field loss (scotoma) that is likely to impede driving performance. Despite fairly rigorous implementation of these vision standards by licensing authorities, there is little scientific evidence available to demonstrate that a driver will or will not be safe on road depending on the extent of their visual field.

Harnessing a university to address rural health workforce shortages in Australia.

Objective: To describe the efforts of health faculties at the University of Sydney to contribute to the recruitment and retention of rural health professionals and examine for opportunities that would benefit from an institutional-led response.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: The University of Sydney as a leading institution for health science education in New South Wales, which produces approximately 40% of all health science graduates in the state each year.