This is the first national study of mobility in the lives of Irish blind and vision impaired adults and also takes the perceptions and mobility experiences of people who are blind and vision impaired into account, informing responsive service planning.
NCBI, the national sight loss agency, and Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDB) commissioned the National Mobility Study in 2008. The research was conducted by the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Trinity College Dublin and written by Dr Siobhán McCobb.
The National Mobility Study reports on:
• perceptions of their mobility in the home, their locality and beyond;
• the frequency with which they move about in the various environments;
• their view on what the most significant issues are in relation to access to the various environments;
• their use of mobility techniques and aids; and
• their views on, and use of, mobility training.
564 people who are registered as blind were interviewed about their experiences of mobility. 59% of the sample is aged between 18 and 64-years-of-age, while 41% were over the age of 65.
