Glossary

To understand the terms and abbreviations we use or to search for terms please use the glossary listings or search facility below.

Term	Meaning
Blind	see ‘severely sight impaired’ below.
Blinded	refers specifically to people who have sustained visual impairment (severely sight impaired or sight impaired) as a result of ocular or brain damage.
Conditions	“a chronic health problem that requires ongoing management over a period of years or decades and is one that cannot currently be cured but can be controlled with the use of medication and/or other therapies.”1
Disabilities	“a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. ‘Substantial’ is more than minor or trivial, e.g. it takes much longer than it usually would to complete a daily task like getting dressed. ‘Long-term’ means 12 months or more.”2
Employment	‘Employment’ refers to any type of paid work (e.g. full-time, part-time, employed or self-employed).
Eye Disease	An illness of the eye caused by infection or a failure of health rather than by an accident.
Full-time and part-time work	According to the UK Government, there is no specific number of hours that makes someone full or part-time, but a full-time worker will usually work 35 hours or more a week, and a part-time worker is someone who works fewer hours than a full-time worker.
Headlines	The Headlines provide a brief summary of the main issues identified in the Insight.
Innovation	“a new idea, method or device. The introduction of something new.”3
Insight	The Insight provides a comprehensive, plain language review and interpretation of the current data and knowledge available relating to the specific Theme. It is designed to aid understanding of issues relating to people with VI in the UK, and to inform and support decision-making processes.
Partially sighted	see ‘sight impaired’ below
Permanent or temporary contract	A permanent contract has no fixed end-date. An employee can remain in a role until they, or their employer, chooses to end the contract. A temporary contract may have a fixed end-date (as with a fixed-term contract), or the terms of employment will allow for termination on notice
Prevent	is action taken to decrease or stop the chance of getting an impairment, disability or condition. To help predict causal factors and put in place barriers to help people avoid the impairment or to make healthier lifestyle choices and treat avoidable illness early on.
Preview	The Preview is a short, animated video that is designed to bring the Headlines to life in an engaging and simple manner. It may be the best start point for understanding and exploring the Insight.
Reduce	is action taken to limit the disabling or impairing effects experienced by an individual. This might reduce the severity of the effects (mitigation) or the impact of the effects (adaptation).
“Related conditions and disabilities”	as a phrase, captures the very significant impacts of visual impairment on physical and mental health beyond simply vision and the eye. Living with visual impairment creates profound mental and physical challenges and increases the risk of isolation. It identifies that vision sits at the centre of eye disease; ocular trauma; brain injury; Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), sensory loss; and cognitive health. It reflects that visual impairment can be the result of trauma with associated broader physical implications, such as loss of limbs or mental health problems.
Research	“creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge, and in order to devise new applications of available knowledge. It must have elements of all of these five criteria: Novel – to be aimed at new findings Creative – To be based on original, not obvious, concepts and hypotheses Uncertain – To be uncertain about the final outcome Systematic – To be planned and budgeted Transferable/reproducible – To lead to results that could possibly be [transferred or] reproduced
Reverse	is a significant long-term improvement of the impact or of a visual impairment or related disability or condition
Seeing difficulty	“Seeing difficulty” in ONS data is a self-reported sight impairment identified as a “main health problem”.
Severely sight impaired	Generally, people who are severely sight-impaired are: People whose eyesight is below 3/60 Snellen. People who are 3/60 but below 6/60 Snellen (very contracted field of vision). People who are 6/60 Snellen or above (reduced field of vision especially if the reduction is in the lower part of the field).
Sight impaired	Sight impairment will impact substantially on daily life and does not include impairments which are correctable (e.g. with glasses). Generally, people who are sight-impaired are: People whose eyesight is 3/60 to 6/60 Snellen with a full field of vision. People whose eyesight is up to 6/24 Snellen with a moderate reduction of field of vision or with a central part of vision that is cloudy or blurry. People whose eyesight is 6/18, or better if a large part of their field of vision is missing or a lot of their peripheral vision is missing.
Themes	Themes are the top level topics that the Partners wish to address as they have a particular importance or relevance to people living with sight-loss. The Themes are designed to inform and stimulate research, policy development, improved service delivery, fundraising opportunities and journalistic enquiry.
Well-being	includes physical and mental health, emotional and social functioning (including social participation, employment and relationships).
Working age	Defined by the UK Government as those aged 18 or over, but below State Pension age (66 years).
ECLO	Eye Care Liaison Officer.
IRDs	Inherited retinal dystrophies
N=	A research term meaning the total number of people in a sample population (e.g., the total number of participants in a research study).
n=	A research term meaning the number of people in a sub-sample (e.g., the number of people in one group within the total sample of participants in a research study).
NI	Northern Ireland
ROVI	Rehabilitation Officer for the Visually Impaired.
RP	Retinitis pigmentosa.
SI	Sight impairment.
SSI	Severe sight impairment.
QTVI	Qualified Teacher of Children and Young People with Vision Impairment.
VI	Visual / Vision impairment or Visually Impaired.