Health and support needs among adults with deafblindness in SpainA cross-sectional study of the EDAD 2020 Household and 2023 Residential Surveys

Abstract

Objective: To describe sensory trajectories, health, participation and support needs among adults with severe functional deafblindness and their relevance to primary care.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of anonymised public microdata from the EDAD 2020 Household and 2023 Residential Surveys.

Setting: Spain; private households and residential facilities, analysed separately.

Participants: Adults with concurrent vision and hearing difficulties: 634 in households and 1,113 in facilities; 92 and 191 met the operational deafblindness definition. Direct and proxy responses were included.

Main measurements: Demographics, ages at onset, health, leisure, accessibility, care and everyday decisions. Weighted percentages and approximate 95% uncertainty intervals (95% UIs) were estimated by bootstrap. Adjusted comparisons were exploratory.

Results: Median ages were 85 and 90 years. Health was rated as fair, poor or very poor for 88.3% (95% UI: 80.4–94.8%) of participants in households and 71.1% (63.7–78.2%) of those in residential care facilities. In households, 24.3% had unmet care needs (95% UI: 14.0–35.4). In facilities, 29.5% reported no leisure activities (22.9–37.0), and participation in decisions ranged from 3.6% to 37.2%. Difficulties using information and communication technologies affected 73.6% and 85.9%. Proxy responses accounted for 57.7% of responses in households and 53.1% in residential facilities.

Conclusions: Older age predominates among people identified with deafblindness in this study, alongside heterogeneous sensory trajectories and needs extending beyond basic care. Primary care and coordination between health and social services should integrate sensory assessment, accessible communication and support for participation in everyday decisions.