Disability related to vision and hearing – Studies based on Norwegian data : Protocol for evidence and gap map

Summary

For the new chapter, there is a need to obtain an overview of relevant research publications, and therefore we will prepare an Evidence and Gap Map.

Evidence and Gap Maps (EGMs) are a systematic evidence synthesis product that display the available evidence relevant to a broader research question.

We will perform systematic searches for primary studies published between 1990 and 2025 about people of all ages residing in Norway with functional impairments due to impaired vision and/or hearing from any cause. We will include studies of any designs published in referee-based journals. As part of the project, we will develop a codebook that will function as a framework for the Evidence and Gap Maps. We will not assess the methodological quality of studies or extract results from them.

Issues of interest to the Norwegian public health report are wide-ranging, and include: Incidence, prevention, total mortality, physical and mental health, access to and use of health services, health economics, life style living conditions, upbringing and aging, employment, activity and participation, barriers in society and adaptation, assistive devices, family and children, school and education, quality of life, loneliness, belonging, discrimination, violence and abuse.