Diabetes Assistive Devices for Patients with Functional Impairments

Colleen Gavigan, M.D., Rita R. Kalyani, M.D., MHS

DEFINITION

  • Functional impairments include partial or total loss of function of a body part. Together with activity limitation and participation restriction, these three dimensions comprise disability [17].
    • Blindness is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as best corrected visual acuity worse than 20/400 [10] More broadly, vision impairment is considered the inability to see well when wearing glasses or contacts, according to the CDC [12]. Legally blind is considered 20/200 or worse with the best corrected vision.
    • Disabling hearing loss in adults is defined by the WHO as hearing loss greater than 40dB in the better-hearing ear [11].
    • Sensory and motor deficits can lead to other functional impairments, such as reduced mobility or fine motor skills.
  • Fortunately there are many tools for the management of diabetes in patients with visual, hearing, and motor disabilities.

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Last updated: January 13, 2021