Orthoptists are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of visual impairments. Orthoptists work with a various range of diagnoses and conditions as they are trained in procedures to correct visual deficits and help patients using their residual vision as best as possible.
Published in Chapter:
Implementation of a Visual Telerehabilitation Protocol During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Patient Outcomes in an Italian Case Study
Giulia Perasso (David Chiossone Institute, Italy), Chiara Baghino (David Chiossone Institute, Italy), Elisabetta Capris (David Chiossone Institute, Italy), Elena Cocchi (David Chiossone Institute, Italy), Silvia Dini (David Chiossone Institute, Italy), Valentina Facchini (David Chiossone Institute, Italy), Antonella Panizzi (David Chiossone Institute, Italy), and Valentina Salvagno (David Chiossone Institute, Italy)
Copyright: © 2022
|Pages: 24
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8915-1.ch001
Abstract
In March 2020, the Italian Government declared a state of lockdown to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to many challenges in the provision of rehabilitation services to people with disabilities. Consequently, there was a transition to the telematic provision of healthcare as an adaptive approach to the constraints posed by the pandemic. In the visual rehabilitation field, the lack of international guidelines for telematic rehabilitation led to pioneering interventions, which were challenged by difficulties in the use of technological devices by visually impaired individuals. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the peculiar features that could enable the provision of visual telerehabilitation during the pandemic by analyzing the procedures followed in the implementation of a visual telerehabilitation protocol in Italy and the outcomes thereof.