Effect of Blinking Exercises on Eye Dryness and Quality of Life for Elderly People

Background: Eye dryness is a common health problem among older adults which negatively impacts their quality of life. Aim: To assess the effect of blinking exercises on eye dryness and quality of life for elderly people. Design: A quasi-experimental research design (Pre/post-test) was utilized. Sample: A purposive sample of one hundred elderly patients who complained from dry eye was selected. Setting: The study was conducted in ophthalmology outpatient clinics at Minia University Hospital, Egypt. Methods: Three validated tools were used 1) A structured interview questionnaire sheet involving personal and medical profiles. 2) Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, and 3) Impact Dry Eye Everyday Life Questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the studied sample was 68.62±8.62, and 59.0% were female. It was found that the severity of eye dryness declined after the implementation of eye blinking exercises to 5% versus 15% before the intervention at a mild level and declined to 15% at a moderate level compared with 40% before with a high statistical significance difference P value < 0.00001*. Additionally, the effect of eye dryness on quality of life diminished with a statistically significant difference between pretest & after 4 weeks of the intervention reflected by P-value=0. 0352. Conclusion: Applying eye blinking exercises effectively reduced eye dryness and improved the quality of life among older adults. Recommendation: Health education and training should be provided regularly in eye blinking exercises in different healthcare settings for elders with the availability of related posters, brochures, and handouts given to them.