Garo Meghrigian Institute for Preventive Ophthalmology Publishes Study on Artsakh in the Journal Public Health

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YEREVAN, Armenia – The American University of Armenia (AUA) Gerald and Patricia Turpanjian School of Public Health’s Tsovinar Harutyunyan, MPH, PhD, Aida Giloyan, MPH, and Varduhi Petrosyan, MS, PhD, have recently published an article titled “Factors associated with vision-related quality of life among adult population living in Nagorno Karabagh” in the peer-reviewed international journal Public Health. The study explores the factors associated with overall vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) and its different domains in the adult population of Artsakh and assesses the independent contribution of specific eye diseases to VRQoL.

Visual impairment and blindness are major public health problems causing significant suffering, disability, loss of productivity, and diminished quality of life for millions of people. Multidimensional self-reported measures of vision-specific health-related quality of life have been devised in the last several decades to provide a comprehensive overview of the experiences of visually impaired people. Vision-related quality of life was assessed using the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire – 25 (NEI VFQ-25).

The study found that the prevalence of moderate and severe visual impairment including blindness was 10.6%, which is slightly higher compared to the rate of 9.3% found in studies conducted among socially vulnerable older adults in Armenia and much higher compared to other countries. In the adjusted linear regression model having moderate/severe visual impairment or blindness, older age, lower socioeconomic status, and having eye diseases such as glaucoma and cataract were significantly associated with lower vision-related quality of life. Efforts are needed to improve access to eye care services in Artsakh for early detection of eye conditions and timely prevention of further eye complications.
The article is available at the following link.

The AUA Gerald and Patricia Turpanjian School of Public Health works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of public health professionals to be leaders in public health, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.