Health education of visually impaired and non-disabled persons

Background. Health education is one of the most important components of human life. It is particularly important for people whose health has worsened; the knowledge about own’s health can not only determine the process of adaptation, but can also be important in the process of rehabilitation of this group of people. If a person with a disability has appropriate knowledge and skills, he or she can become an active subject of the rehabilitation process. Objectives. The aim of the study was to answer 2 questions: 1. Are there any differences in using the health knowledge in visually impaired and non-disabled persons?; 2. Are there any differences in the using health knowledge among visually impaired people themselves? Material and methods. The study was conducted among visually impaired and non-disabled people. Anonymous questionnaire was used as a survey method. Results. Based on the research, it was found that there is no difference in the level of health knowledge, willingness to use health knowledge and sources of health knowledge between visually impaired and non-disabled persons. However, differences in the level of health knowledge and in willingness to use health knowledge among low vision and blind persons were found. Conclusions. The study has shown that visually impaired persons do not present stronger interest in health education compared to non-disabled persons, whereas a greater interest in health education was found in the blind compared to the low vision people.