ArticleBMC public health2026
"Do not act blind": findings from qualitative interviews with adolescents and adults living with a visual impairment or blindness.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
introductionVisual impairment or blindness (VIB) during adolescence has a significant impact on young people’s subjective visual ability, general well-being, and fatigue levels. However, the mechanisms underlying these negative experiences remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the social and structural challenges faced by adolescents living with a VIB, and how these challenges shape their well-being and everyday life. PARTICIPANTS AND
methodsA descriptive qualitative design was applied. Individual interviews with adolescents and adults living with a VIB were conducted to capture both present and retrospective experiences. Participants were recruited from a previous study database and during routine clinic appointments. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis and supplemented by Timmermans & Tavory. The emergent themes were subsequently interpreted through Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and capital and Goffman’s theory of Stigma.
resultsFive individual interviews with adolescents aged 16–17 were conducted, as well as eight individual interviews with adults aged 24–30. We identified three themes: Theme one: Supportive networks as a safeguard in adolescents well-being, Theme two: To meet in the world of the sighted, and Theme three: “Do not act blind”. Engaging in networks with sighted peers emerges as vital for the participants, functioning both as a source of support and as a form of protection. Findings reveal how adolescents navigate the complex social field of the sighted majority by concealing and downplaying their impairment.
conclusionThe adolescents strive to pass without anyone noticing their impairment, a strategy that can be seen as a way of reducing the risk of stigma. Variations in mastering this strategy appear, placing some at increased risk of exclusion. Together, the findings reveal that well-being and fatigue among adolescents living with a VIB is not only a matter of functional limitation but deeply embedded in social relations, field dynamics, and stigma processes.
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