The Oxford Visual Perception Screen: Development and normative data of a standardised assessment for visual perception difficulties

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to develop and standardise a practical systematic screening tool for visual perception impairments after a stroke to replace current subjective methods. Design: A mixed methods study including a cross-sectional study and a case series. Setting: In the community and on stroke rehabilitation units. Participants: Older volunteers without a neurological history contributed to normative data. Patients with ocular conditions or a stroke took part in our case series. Instrument: The Oxford Visual Perception Screen. Main measures: For each task of the Oxford Visual Perception Screen, we determined 5th centile cut-off scores. We further explored effects of age, visual acuity and gender on visual perception through generalised linear models. Results: Oxford Visual Perception Screen is a 15-min paper-and-pen assessment comprising 10 tasks including picture naming, star counting and reading. Normative data of 107 participants demonstrated persistent high performance with most cut-offs near ceiling. Apart from the Figure Copy (Z = 6.57, p < 0.001) and Global Shape Perception task (Z = 3.32, p < 0.001) we found no evidence for an effect of visual acuity on OxVPS. An effect of age was only observed in the Face Recognition (Z = 3.61, p < 0.001) and Reading task (Z = −3.50, p < 0.001). No effects of gender were observed. A series of eight cases illustrates the interpretation of OxVPS. Conclusion: We present the Oxford Visual Perception Screen, a standardised visual perception screening tool alongside normative data and illustrative cases. The Oxford Visual Perception Screen can potentially change screening for visual perception impairments in clinical practice and is available at https://oxvps.webspace.durham.ac.uk/.