Prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairment and impact in older adults in home care: A study protocol

Melinda Toomey; Lana Wilson; Helen Gurteen; Bronwyn Franco; Rebecca Bennett; Dayna Cenin; Najwan El-Saifi; Melanie Ferguson; Yuanyuan Gu; Chyrisse Heine; Lisa Keay; Sheela Kumaran; Sabrina Lenzen; Iracema Leroi; Judy A. Lowthian; Carly Meyer; Leander Mitchell; John Newall; Nancy A. Pachana; Marianne Piano; Smriti Raichand; Emma Scanlan; Hamid Sohrabi; Piers Dawes

doi:10.1111/hex.70613

Prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairment and impact in older adults in home care: A study protocol

Melinda Toomey, Lana Wilson, Helen Gurteen, Bronwyn Franco, Rebecca Bennett, Dayna Cenin, Najwan El-Saifi, Melanie Ferguson, Yuanyuan Gu, Chyrisse Heine, Lisa Keay, Sheela Kumaran, Sabrina Lenzen, Iracema Leroi, Judy A. Lowthian, Carly Meyer, Leander Mitchell, John Newall, Nancy A. Pachana, Marianne PianoSmriti Raichand, Emma Scanlan, Hamid Sohrabi, Piers Dawes^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Background: Hearing, vision and cognitive impairments are common yet frequently underrecognized among older adults. Although these impairments affect quality of life, functional independence and psychological well-being, there are no published data on the prevalence and consequences of these impairments in relation to Australian home care populations. This protocol outlines a cross-sectional investigation into the prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairments and their associations with quality of life, functional ability and psychosocial well-being among older Australians receiving home care services.

Methods: A total of 369 participants aged 65 years and older will be recruited from home care services across Australia. Standardized assessment tools will be used to assess hearing, vision and cognitive function, quality of life, daily living activities, mental health and social participation. Multi-variable regression models will explore the impact of sensory and cognitive impairments on health and well-being outcomes.

Discussion: With ageing populations, it is increasingly important to support older people to live independently in their own homes rather than needing to move into residential aged care. This study will facilitate understanding of the prevalence and impact of sensory and cognitive impairments among the older Australian home care population. Findings may inform strategies to support health ageing in place, including service planning, care coordination and workforce training.

Patient or Public Contribution: Older adults receiving home care services and individuals with lived experience of sensory and cognitive impairments contributed to the study design. A Patient and Public Involvement advisory group and a stakeholder steering group will guide study implementation.

Original language	English
Article number	e70613
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Number of pages	11
Journal	Health Expectations
Volume	29
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70613
Publication status	Published - Apr 2026

Bibliographical note

© 2026 The Author(s). Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

cognitive impairment
dementia
hearing impairment
home care services
older adults
quality of life
vision impairment

Access to Document

10.1111/hex.70613Licence: CC BY

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 748 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Toomey, M., Wilson, L., Gurteen, H., Franco, B., Bennett, R., Cenin, D., El-Saifi, N., Ferguson, M., Gu, Y., Heine, C., Keay, L., Kumaran, S., Lenzen, S., Leroi, I., Lowthian, J. A., Meyer, C., Mitchell, L., Newall, J., Pachana, N. A., ... Dawes, P. (2026). Prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairment and impact in older adults in home care: A study protocol. Health Expectations, 29(2), 1-11. Article e70613. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70613

@article{7c78cb6dba6b4f319fcc9adda71234c8,

title = "Prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairment and impact in older adults in home care: A study protocol",

abstract = "Background: Hearing, vision and cognitive impairments are common yet frequently underrecognized among older adults. Although these impairments affect quality of life, functional independence and psychological well-being, there are no published data on the prevalence and consequences of these impairments in relation to Australian home care populations. This protocol outlines a cross-sectional investigation into the prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairments and their associations with quality of life, functional ability and psychosocial well-being among older Australians receiving home care services.Methods: A total of 369 participants aged 65 years and older will be recruited from home care services across Australia. Standardized assessment tools will be used to assess hearing, vision and cognitive function, quality of life, daily living activities, mental health and social participation. Multi-variable regression models will explore the impact of sensory and cognitive impairments on health and well-being outcomes.Discussion: With ageing populations, it is increasingly important to support older people to live independently in their own homes rather than needing to move into residential aged care. This study will facilitate understanding of the prevalence and impact of sensory and cognitive impairments among the older Australian home care population. Findings may inform strategies to support health ageing in place, including service planning, care coordination and workforce training.Patient or Public Contribution: Older adults receiving home care services and individuals with lived experience of sensory and cognitive impairments contributed to the study design. A Patient and Public Involvement advisory group and a stakeholder steering group will guide study implementation.",

keywords = "cognitive impairment, dementia, hearing impairment, home care services, older adults, quality of life, vision impairment",

author = "Melinda Toomey and Lana Wilson and Helen Gurteen and Bronwyn Franco and Rebecca Bennett and Dayna Cenin and Najwan El-Saifi and Melanie Ferguson and Yuanyuan Gu and Chyrisse Heine and Lisa Keay and Sheela Kumaran and Sabrina Lenzen and Iracema Leroi and Lowthian, \{Judy A.\} and Carly Meyer and Leander Mitchell and John Newall and Pachana, \{Nancy A.\} and Marianne Piano and Smriti Raichand and Emma Scanlan and Hamid Sohrabi and Piers Dawes",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2026 The Author(s). Health Expectations published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.",

year = "2026",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1111/hex.70613",

language = "English",

volume = "29",

pages = "1--11",

journal = "Health Expectations",

issn = "1369-6513",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell, Wiley",

number = "2",

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Toomey, M, Wilson, L, Gurteen, H, Franco, B, Bennett, R, Cenin, D, El-Saifi, N, Ferguson, M, Gu, Y, Heine, C, Keay, L, Kumaran, S, Lenzen, S, Leroi, I, Lowthian, JA, Meyer, C, Mitchell, L, Newall, J, Pachana, NA, Piano, M, Raichand, S, Scanlan, E, Sohrabi, H & Dawes, P 2026, 'Prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairment and impact in older adults in home care: A study protocol', Health Expectations, vol. 29, no. 2, e70613, pp. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70613

TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairment and impact in older adults in home care

T2 - A study protocol

AU - Toomey, Melinda

AU - Wilson, Lana

AU - Gurteen, Helen

AU - Franco, Bronwyn

AU - Bennett, Rebecca

AU - Cenin, Dayna

AU - El-Saifi, Najwan

AU - Ferguson, Melanie

AU - Gu, Yuanyuan

AU - Heine, Chyrisse

AU - Keay, Lisa

AU - Kumaran, Sheela

AU - Lenzen, Sabrina

AU - Leroi, Iracema

AU - Lowthian, Judy A.

AU - Meyer, Carly

AU - Mitchell, Leander

AU - Newall, John

AU - Pachana, Nancy A.

AU - Piano, Marianne

AU - Raichand, Smriti

AU - Scanlan, Emma

AU - Sohrabi, Hamid

AU - Dawes, Piers

N1 - © 2026 The Author(s). Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2026/4

Y1 - 2026/4

N2 - Background: Hearing, vision and cognitive impairments are common yet frequently underrecognized among older adults. Although these impairments affect quality of life, functional independence and psychological well-being, there are no published data on the prevalence and consequences of these impairments in relation to Australian home care populations. This protocol outlines a cross-sectional investigation into the prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairments and their associations with quality of life, functional ability and psychosocial well-being among older Australians receiving home care services.Methods: A total of 369 participants aged 65 years and older will be recruited from home care services across Australia. Standardized assessment tools will be used to assess hearing, vision and cognitive function, quality of life, daily living activities, mental health and social participation. Multi-variable regression models will explore the impact of sensory and cognitive impairments on health and well-being outcomes.Discussion: With ageing populations, it is increasingly important to support older people to live independently in their own homes rather than needing to move into residential aged care. This study will facilitate understanding of the prevalence and impact of sensory and cognitive impairments among the older Australian home care population. Findings may inform strategies to support health ageing in place, including service planning, care coordination and workforce training.Patient or Public Contribution: Older adults receiving home care services and individuals with lived experience of sensory and cognitive impairments contributed to the study design. A Patient and Public Involvement advisory group and a stakeholder steering group will guide study implementation.

AB - Background: Hearing, vision and cognitive impairments are common yet frequently underrecognized among older adults. Although these impairments affect quality of life, functional independence and psychological well-being, there are no published data on the prevalence and consequences of these impairments in relation to Australian home care populations. This protocol outlines a cross-sectional investigation into the prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairments and their associations with quality of life, functional ability and psychosocial well-being among older Australians receiving home care services.Methods: A total of 369 participants aged 65 years and older will be recruited from home care services across Australia. Standardized assessment tools will be used to assess hearing, vision and cognitive function, quality of life, daily living activities, mental health and social participation. Multi-variable regression models will explore the impact of sensory and cognitive impairments on health and well-being outcomes.Discussion: With ageing populations, it is increasingly important to support older people to live independently in their own homes rather than needing to move into residential aged care. This study will facilitate understanding of the prevalence and impact of sensory and cognitive impairments among the older Australian home care population. Findings may inform strategies to support health ageing in place, including service planning, care coordination and workforce training.Patient or Public Contribution: Older adults receiving home care services and individuals with lived experience of sensory and cognitive impairments contributed to the study design. A Patient and Public Involvement advisory group and a stakeholder steering group will guide study implementation.

KW - cognitive impairment

KW - dementia

KW - hearing impairment

KW - home care services

KW - older adults

KW - quality of life

KW - vision impairment

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105035711364

UR - https://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/2004356

U2 - 10.1111/hex.70613

DO - 10.1111/hex.70613

M3 - Article

C2 - 41983517

AN - SCOPUS:105035711364

SN - 1369-6513

VL - 29

SP - 1

EP - 11

JO - Health Expectations

JF - Health Expectations

IS - 2

M1 - e70613

ER -

Prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairment and impact in older adults in home care: A study protocol

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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UQ led: Home hearing and vision care to improve quality of life for people with dementia and carers

Cite this

Prevalence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairment and impact in older adults in home care: A study protocol

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

UQ led: Home hearing and vision care to improve quality of life for people with dementia and carers

Cite this