VISA+
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Out of sight - out of mind: improving visual outcomes for children after acquired brain injury, including stroke.
IRAS ID
353679
Contact name
Fiona Rowe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Background: Making sure that children with vision problems get the right support is critical for their learning and development. After acquired brain injury and stroke (ABIS), vision problems are very common. However, vision problems are often not obvious and detecting them currently relies on specialist testing which can lead to delays in detecting problems.
Challenge: Among adults with ABI, 33-70% of people have vision problems (depending on the type of injury). We lack evidence on how often visual problems occur in childhood ABIS, but it is highly likely that vision problems are common. We also lack evidence on how best to screen for visual problems to guide support. Filling these gaps is essential as vision problems in childhood carry life-long impact when not picked up.
Aim and outcomes: We have adapted the adult vision screening tool, called VISA, for use in childhood vision screening (called VISA+) for those with ABIS. We aim to evaluate if VISA+ can reliably detect vision problems, thereby improving the care and support provided for these children.
Design and methods: We will first test the ease of using VISA+ with 30 children aged 2-18 years asking questions such as; can the acute care staff use VISA+ easily, how long does it take to use it, do children/clinicians struggle to do any of the vision tests? This will allow us to improve VISA+. We will then test how well it is able to pick up vision problems in a study of 200 children by comparing it against a specialist eye assessment.
Patient and public involvement: This lay case for support was co-written by the lead applicant and lay collaborator. The study proposal was presented to a Vision Patient and Public Involvement panel (VISable) with feedback from nine patients/carers. PPI involvement will be achieved through management committees and advisory groups, reviewing the screening tool, as members of the research team in analysing the results, contributing to the reporting of, and release of, the research findings.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/PR/0184
Date of REC Opinion
7 Mar 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion