Joint perspectives

Interview with Caroline Pigeon, Research Officer at the Laboratory of Ergonomics and Cognitive Sciences for Transport (LESCOT); Mireille Prestini, former Director General of Fédération des Aveugles et Amblyopes de France (FAAF); and Michel Rossetti, Vice-President of Fédération Française des Associations de Chiens Guides d'Aveugles.

Caroline Pigeon : Working with the people affected made it possible for us to make the study more relevant and produce conclusions with a greater potential impact on their daily lives. Such an approach is always a source of knowledge. On the other hand, the difficulty lies in the fact that associations and research bodies do not have the same notions of time and money. Participatory research is exciting, but it needs to be funded by another body, otherwise we risk becoming merely a service provider.

Mireille Prestini : That’s right, associations should not be responsible for funding, rather for contributing skills and knowledge. However, in this case, it was the only way to get a study into visual impairment off the ground.

Bringing these two worlds together requires the ability to communicate well and compromise. You have to be able to understand what is at stake for all parties, and I think that everyone's efforts to do so were exemplary. Together, we rose to the challenge with a lot of energy and mutual respect.

Caroline Pigeon: Above all, thanks to the participatory approach, we were able to ensure that the themes addressed in the questionnaire dealt with concrete issues in the daily lives of the people concerned. What's more, as researchers, it's often difficult to find enough participants to carry out a large-scale study, especially with specific target groups. The associations’ motivation and hard work to ensure that this research was carried out was what allowed us to obtain such a large sample of respondents. The participatory approach also meant that we could adapt certain things, based on the recommendations of the associations. For example, we worked to make the questionnaire more accessible so that it could also be completed by telephone (a method that ultimately represented 10% of the total sample).

Michel Rossetti: On the one hand, this project brought together a number of associations, each with their own sphere of action, and on the other, it provides a snapshot that can be used to launch other relevant initiatives in the future. This study gives us the insight we needed to understand this group and the difficulties they face, so that we can provide them with better support. Over and above the results, it demonstrated the importance of teamwork: together, we are stronger and more visible.

Mireille Prestini: It's true that the world of associations for the visually impaired is fairly fragmented. Working together on a research project allowed us to look beyond individual interests to serve the interests of all. The study’s results will allow us to tailor our actions, and in particular, will pave the way for the creation of an observatory for the visually impaired.