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OCR for page 1
EYES ON THE
WORKPLACE
by Ron Cowen
for the Committee on Vision
Commission on Behavioral and
Social Sciences and Education
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1988
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the
National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy
of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of
the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard
to appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures
approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Aacdemy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished
scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the futherance of science and
technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it
by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal
government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Acad-
emy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the
National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous
in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of
Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of
Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages edu-
cation and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White
is president of the National Academy of Engineering
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to
secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy
matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to
the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal
government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education.
Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916
to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of
fathering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general
policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both
the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services
to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is
administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr.
Robert White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
This work relates to Department ofthe Navy contract N0014-80-C-0159 issued by the Office of Naval
Research under Contract Authority NR 201-204. However, the content does not necessarily reflect
the position or policy of the government, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
The United States Government has at least a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license
throughout the world for government purposes to publish, translate, reproduce, deliver, perform,
dispose of, and to authorize others so as to do, all or any portion of this work.
Copies available from:
Committee on Vision
National Research Council
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in the United States of America
2
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WORKING GROUP ON AGING WORKERS AND
VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
ROBERT SEKULER (Chair), Departments of Psychology, Ophthalmology,
and Neurobiology/Physiology, Northwestern University
STEVEN FERRIS, School of Medicine, New York University
SAMUEL M. GENENSKY, The Center for the Partially Sighted, Santa
Monica, Calif.
ROBERT GOTTSDANKER, Department of Psychology, University of Cali-
fornia, Santa Barbara
DONALD KLINE, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame
DAVID D. MICHAELS, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cali-
fornia, Los Angeles
MEREDITH MORGAN, Walnut Creek, Calif.
DONALD G. PITTS, College of Optometry, University of Houston
3
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COMMITTEE ON VISION
ANTHONY J. ADAMS (Chair), School of Optometry, University of Califor-
nia, Berkeley
ROBERT SEKULER (Past Chair), Departments of Psychology, Ophthal-
mology, and Neurobiology/Physiology, Northwestern University
IRVING BIEDERMAN, Department of Psychology, University of Minne-
sota
RANDOLPH BLAKE, Cresap Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern
University
RONALD E. CARR, New York University Medical Center
SHELDON EBENHOLTZ, College of Optometry, State University of New
York
ANNE B. FULTON, Department of Ophthalmology, Children's Hospital,
Boston
CHRIS A. JOHNSON, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cali-
fornia, Davis
JO ANN KINNEY, vision consultant, Surry, Maine
AZRIEL ROSENFELD, Center for Automation Research, University of
Maryland
PAMELA EBERT FLATTAU, Study Director
CAROL METCALF, Administrative Secretary
4
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PREFACE
At the request of the Veterans Administration and the National
Institute on Aging, the National Research Council's Committee on Vision
established in 1985 the Working Group on Aging Workers and Visual
Impairment. The working group was asked to examine the issue of
keeping older workers in the labor force longer, given the many changes
in vision that occur with age.
In order to accomplish its task, the working group organized an
invitational conference to review the several dimensions of work, aging,
and vision. Twenty-eight specialists, including members of the working
group, met for two days at the National Academy of Sciences in Washing-
ton, D.C., in February 1986. These specialists were drawn from the fields
of gerontology, economics, sociology, statistics, psychology, political sci-
ence, optometry, ophthalmology, human factors engineering, and physi-
ology. Conference participants were asked to identify and describe major
research findings related to changing visual capacities and the employ-
ment of older workers, to recommend steps that could be taken by
businesses to encourage the continued productive employment of older
workers, and to identify research topics that have yet to be explored that
might bear on this subject.
Four panels were formed to explore various aspects of work, aging,
and vision, including relationships between visual changes with age and
changes in behavior; the role of health status in leaving the work force;
the effects of changes in vision on job skills; screening practices; the
availability of visual prosthetics; and economic incentives and disincen-
fives for keeping older workers employed. A report based on conference
papers and discussions has been prepared by the working group and
published under the title Work, Aging, and Vision in ~ 987 by the National
Academy Press.
Conferees provided a rich assortment of ideas from which the
working group selected those it felt would be of most interest and use to
workers and employers. This pamphlet, prepared by science writer Ron
Cowen, is based on the proceedings of the conference and working group
discussions, supplemented by additional research materials. Individual
chapters and the entire book were reviewed by conference participants
and by reviewers selected by the National Research Council.
On behalf of the Working Group on Aging Workers and Visual
Impairment, ~ would like to thank each ofthe speakers who addressed the
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conference and to express our special appreciation to Ron Cowen for
preparing this summary of our deliberations, and to Pamela Reznick for
the design of this book. We would also like to thank Pamela Ebert
Flattau, staff officer of the Committee on Vision, for overseeing the
activities of the working group and the completion of our reports, and
Patricia A. Anderson, who served as consultant to the committee on this
project, contributing significantly to the design and scope of the February
meeting. Carol Metcalf, the committee's administrative secretary, pro-
vided valuable secretarial and administrative assistance. To all ofthese,
we express our thanks for their efforts.
Robert Sekuler, Chair
Working Group on Aging Workers
and Visual Impairment
6
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Committee on Vision is a standing committee of the National
Research Council's Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and
Education. The committee provides analysis and advice on scientific
issues and applied problems involving vision. It also attempts to
stimulate the further development of visual science and to provide a
forum in which basic and applied scientists, engineers, and clinicians can
interact. Working groups of the committee study questions that may
involve engineering and equipment, physiological and physical optics,
neurophysiology, psychophysics, perception, environmental effects on
vision, and treatment of visual disorders.
In order for the committee to perform its role effectively, it draws
on experts from a wide range of scientific, engineering, and clinical
disciplines. The members of this working group were chosen for their
expertise in research related to the aging of the human eye and for their
familiarity with the application ofthose research findings to employment
issues. This report reflects their evaluation of our present understand-
ing of the interactive effects of work, aging, and vision.
This publication and its dissemination have been made possible
by funding from the Veterans Administration and the National Institute
on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. David Worthen, assistant
chief medical director, Veterans Administration, and Leonard
Jakubczak, National Institute on Aging, provided valuable guidance to
the working group and the Committee on Vision throughout this effort.
7
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60NTE
PART ~
Introduction, 10
"I am a camera, with its shutter open," 11
P~T 2
PART 3
P - T 4
8
The Aging Eye, 13
Changing Eyesight: Significance for Daily Living, 14
The Retina, 13;
Changes in Lighting, 16
Looking at Life Through Cloudy Glasses, 16
Clutter, 17
Diabetic Retinopathy, 78
Driving, 19
In the Workplace, 21
Vision Care on the Job, 22
A Tale of Two Companies, 22
More than Safety Glasses, 22
Free Eye Care at a Small Company, 23
Job Coding, 23
Glaucoma, 24
Benefits of Company Vision Care Programs, 24
Redesigning the Workplace, 27
Coloring the Job, 27
Light and Glare, 28
Diseases of the Retina, 28
On-the-Job Experience, Retraining,
and Compensating for Impaired Vision, 29
10
~3
21
27
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PART ~
Looking to the Future, 31
What Do Companies Want?, 32
Microscopes, Telescopes, and in Between, 33
The Need for More Information, 34
What We Do Know from Statistics, 34
Driving as a Mode! for Working, 35
Efforts of Private Companies, 35
Selected Resources for Vision Care, 36
VICTORS: A Resource for Veterans, 36
Job Network, 37
An Index for Jobs, 37
Remaining on the Job in New York City, 37
Cataracts, 38
Federally Sponsored Projects, 39
Helping the Partially Sighted, 39
Optometry Schools, 39
The Aging Eye: A Personal View, 40
Conclusion, 41
Additional Readings, 42
1986 Conference Participants, 43
31
Representative terms from entire chapter:
aging workers
