Socio-economic factors associated with the degradation of quality of life of individuals with blindness and visual impairment in Yaoundé

Blindness and visual impairment are currently considered as major health issues worldwide, as they affect all age groups and have a major impact on the quality of life of individuals. The objective of this study was to determine the socio-economic factors associated with the deterioration of quality of life, and to assess blindness and visual impairment influence on the autonomy of individuals. This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study conducted on blind and visual impaired persons in Yaoundé in 2015. A total of 45 visual impairment individuals were interviewed, including 26 men (57.8%) and 19 women (42.2%). The average age was 34.66 ± 10.57 years. Findings showed that there is a relationship between visual impairment and the level of autonomy. The ANOVA test has shown that, there are differences in autonomy according to variables such as occupation (F= 7.303; p= 0.000); education (F= 7.556; p= 0.002); income (F= 21.563; p= 0.000). Blind and visual impaired persons who have sustainable employment, a sufficiently high level of income and a sustainable source of income have a higher level of independence. The socio-economic factors highlighted in this study interact and influence visual impairment persons’ autonomy.