Please Note: MSU MEMO is archived as a part of Mississippi State University's history. Articles may refer to situations which have changed or people who are no longer affiliated with the university.
 |
January 30, 2006 Volume 30, Issue 20 |
MSU focusing on hearing, vision problems of aging Americans
A team of Mississippi State researchers will discuss the preliminary results of an ongoing five-year study of hearing and vision problems faced by aging Americans during an upcoming national conference.
The specialists from the university’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision will summarize the initial results of their national survey during the Feb. 8-10 gathering in Atlanta, Ga. “Persons Aging with Hearing and Vision Loss: Creating Roads to Independence” is the conference theme.
The 2002-07 study, titled “Persons Aging with Hearing and Vision Loss,” is a collaborative research effort among the MSU center, San Diego State University and New York-based Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults. It is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research in Washington, D.C.
“We are looking at the impact of both hearing and vision loss on the independence, functioning and lifestyles of seniors,” said B.J. LeJeune, senior research associate and director of the MSU center’s Office of Deafblind Programs.
“It has been an exciting project in that we have gathered great information from a nationally representative study sample of more than 400 folks who are responding to a series of surveys, as well as data from numerous focus groups and personal interviews,” LeJeune said.
“The conference will highlight some of our research findings,” she added. “We are hopeful the research results will translate into public policy that will improve services and life options for seniors with dual sensory loss.”
LeJeune, MSU team leader, will provide an overview of the project. Colleagues Michele McDonnall, an assistant research professor, and research associates William Sansing and Stacy Butler will discuss specific aspects of the project.
“This conference represents the transition of research findings into applied training programs,” said center director Elton Moore, a William L. Giles Distinguished Professor.
Specific areas addressed in the study include employment, use of assistive technology and communications systems, transportation, housing, specialized services, and psycho-social adjustment to sensory loss.