Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39482692›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2024

Vision rehabilitation workforce in Italy: a country-level analysis.

Filippo Amore, Valeria Silvestri, Simona Turco, Stefania Fortini, Andrea Giudiceandrea, Filippo Cruciani, Silvio Paolo Mariotti, Debora Antonini, Stanislao Rizzo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. The Evolving Landscape of Vision Rehabilitation: Current Status and Future Directions.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Filippo AmoreNational Center of Services and Research for the Prevention of Blindness and Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli N° 8, Rome, 00168, Italy. f.amore@iapb.it.
Valeria SilvestriNational Center of Services and Research for the Prevention of Blindness and Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli N° 8, Rome, 00168, Italy.
Simona TurcoNational Center of Services and Research for the Prevention of Blindness and Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli N° 8, Rome, 00168, Italy.
Stefania FortiniNational Center of Services and Research for the Prevention of Blindness and Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli N° 8, Rome, 00168, Italy.
Andrea GiudiceandreaUOC Oculistica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli-IRCCS and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Filippo CrucianiInternational Agency for Prevention of Blindness, IAPB-Italia ETS, Rome, Italy.
Silvio Paolo MariottiWorld Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland.
Debora AntoniniAlta Scuola di Economia e Management dei Sistemi Sanitari (ALTEMS), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Stanislao RizzoUOC Oculistica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli-IRCCS and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResearch and monitoring of human resources available for vision rehabilitation services has been a neglected area of work in the past. This study aims to offer an overview of the vision rehabilitation workforce available in Italy, in order to profile the distribution and number of human resources for vision rehabilitation.

methodsData on the available vision rehabilitation professionals were collected from the yearly report on the state of implementation of policies relating to the prevention of blindness, education and vision rehabilitation, according to a law which was passed by the Italian Ministry of Health, Department of Health Prevention. The report presents a review of all professional workers dealing with low vision rehabilitation centers in Italy between January 2005 and December 2019. Data on the distribution and type of services of government-supported low vision centers across the country were also obtained and examined.

resultsOf the 289 low vision rehabilitation workers in 2019, 28% were ophthalmologists, 31% orthoptists, 19% psychologists, 17% nurses and 5% social workers. The health workforce densities across the Italian regions ranged from 1.62 to 0.12 per 100.000. The density of vision rehabilitation workers showed a no growing trend from 2006 to 2015. During the study period, it was found a weak but statistically significant association of workforce density with the number of government-supported low vision centers across the Italian territory (r DISCUSSION: A critical review has identified the following national situation: need-based shortages of workers in the vision rehabilitation service sector, as well as deficiencies in data sources. Based on our results, we would recommend increasing the development of human resources trained and dedicated to vision rehabilitation and improve data collection and analysis; provide structural enhancements, across all service levels. These considerations may contribute to the enhancement of policy decisions in order to guarantee an adequate vision rehabilitation workforce and meet national rehabilitation needs. Furthermore, this analysis should be used as a lesson learned by other countries, as low-income ones, in order to develop vision rehabilitation services.

Indexed as

Vision, LowHealth WorkforceHumansItalyRehabilitation CentersHealthcareLow visionVision rehabilitation centerWorkersWorkforce

Identifiers

PMID39482692
PMCPMC11526560

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.