The number of older adults experiencing vision loss is increasing in Canada and worldwide. This age-related vision loss, which includes conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, reduces a person's ability to participate in their community. Their opportunities to access and move through their environments become much smaller.

These challenges can lead to feelings of abandonment, increased fear, and social isolation. Such outcomes can have damaging effects on an individual's physical, social, and psychological health and well-being.

This study goes further than just identifying physical barriers to getting around in the community. It is a type of research known as critical ethnography, designed to also address the physical, political, social, and practical barriers that affect older adults who are living with or developing vision loss.

The research was developed by a team made up of older adults with vision loss, low vision service providers, policy makers, and academics, including both Blind and sighted individuals. The study they designed uses three separate qualitative interviews, which are conversations that gather descriptive information.

This document describes the plan, or protocol, for the study. It details how information was collected, including how methods were changed to better support people with vision loss. It also explains how the information was analyzed and handled to protect privacy. Finally, the protocol outlines the team's approach to interpreting the data, which involves self-reflection and group analysis sessions with the entire research team.