The United Kingdom National Eye Health and Hearing Study (UKNEHS) Phase 2: Community Study
Specialty: Ophthalmology, Primary sub-specialty: Other; Health Category: Ear, Eye; Disease/Condition: Visual disturbances and blindness, Other disorders of ear
The UK lacks prevalence data on vision and hearing impairment and its causes within the population. The UK National Eye Health and Hearing Study (UKNEHS) has been designed to provide population-based data on met and unmet need and barriers to uptake of care among those aged 50 years and older, the sector of the population most affected by sensory impairment. The UKNEHS involves a pilot study involving two phases: a survey of sensory impairment among residents within a randomly selected representative group of care homes within an Integrated Care Board (ICB; Phase 1; already in progress), and a randomly enumerated sample of people aged 50+ years from the catchment population of an Integrated Care Board. This ethics application relates to the latter. People living within their own homes will be invited to take part in a study that involves questionnaires and a physical examination to collect data relating to individuals' personal and sociodemographic status, structural and functional aspects of sensory health and associated social, behavioural and medical factors. This study will be a prospective, multi-centre, cross-sectional observational study of sensory health among adults aged 50 years and older residing in the geographical area served by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care Board. A multi-stage probability sampling design, common to many previous health surveys we have used internationally, including the Health Survey for England (HSE), will be employed. The sampling frame will be the small user Postcode Address File (PAF), sorted by the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Within the geographically defined region of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, we will draw a random sample of primary sampling units (PSUs; 1st stage), based on postcode sectors, with probability proportional to the size of the cluster (number of addresses). Within each PSU, a fixed number of postal addresses will be selected at random (2nd stage). In the third stage, all eligible resid
1. Aged 50 years and older 2. Resident of a private household
Not meeting the key inclusion criteria