Photo: 123RF
New research out this morning has found significant disparities in life outcomes for those New Zealanders who are blind or visually impaired.
Almost 2.2 percent of the population has some kind of visual impairment, and advocacy group Blind and Low Vision NZ sought data to better understand the breakdown and how it affected people.
Using anonymised data from StatsNZ, the Shining a Light on Blindness report found inequities in nearly every key indicator of wellbeing and general life quality. Life expectancy for those with severe visual impairment was nine years lower than for those with none.
They were twice as likely to be hospitalised in a year, four times more likely to have no qualifications, half as likely to own their own home and three times more likely to live in emergency housing.
Only 26 percent of people with severe visual impairment are employed, and 86 percent earned less than, or equal to, $60-thousand dollars a year.
Blind and Low Vision says this report goes further than any other, by using population-level data for the first time ever to illuminate the lived experience of sight loss in Aotearoa.
Kathryn speaks with lead researcher Cain Richardson and Andrea Midgen, CEO of Blind and Low Vision NZ.
