Ability of Blind People to Detect Obstacles in Unfamiliar Environments

Purpose: To describe obstacle detection, sometimes called face vision, and blind peoples' lived experiences.
Design: This Husserlian phenomenologic inquiry included a convenience sample of eight blind participants who possessed the ability to detect obstacles in unfamiliar environments.
Methods: Face-to-face conversations were audiotaped in a setting of the participant's choice.
Findings: Three themes were identified: "a sense that something is there,""sensing," and "space." These three entwined themes were recognized in the unity-of-meaning or uniting theme: sensing presence as open or closed space.
Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate many questions for nurses. Given the synergistic recognition of obstacles that the participants described, secondary analysis of the data is indicated, for example regarding pattern recognition and human environmental field integrality.