An interventional study of Meditation and Health Enhancement Program in Low Vision, One Eye, Unspecified Eye and Low Vision Blindness, sponsored by London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-03.
Sponsored by London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
Investigators aim to assess the feasibility of delivering two augmentation interventions, Meditation and a Health Enhancement Program, for potentially enhancing the quality of life and mental health of Irreversible Age-Related Vision Loss (IARVL) patients and/or their caregivers.
Using a mixed-method design, a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) study, investigators aim to assess the feasibility of delivering two augmentation interventions, Meditation to Remove Stress and Create Proper System in Mind (MEDITATION) and a Health Enhancement Program (HEP) for potentially enhancing the quality of life and mental health of Irreversible Age-Related Vision Loss (IARVL) patients and/or their caregivers. MEDITATION is a standardized, manualized therapy where participants will be guided by an instructor on meditation techniques, followed by weekly reinforcement sessions. HEP is a similarly structured intervention that controls for several factors experienced in the MEDITATION group, such as group support and morale, behavioral activation, reduction of stigma, facilitator attention, treatment duration, and time spent on at-home practice. Participants will learn about health promotion, including the benefits of a lifestyle of healthy diet, music, recreation, and exercise, but will not learn breathing techniques, or meditation.
98 studies on the registry are indexed under Vision, Low; 23 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 150 is above the median of 60 across 78 interventional studies indexed under Vision, Low.
Browse Vision, Low studies →London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's is the lead sponsor of 331 studies on the registry; 137 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
MMSE and MoCA
Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants randomized to this arm will undergo the MEDITATION intervention, with weekly training and reinforcement sessions.
Other: Meditation
Participants randomized to this arm will continue to undergo the usual standard of care. The usual standard of care for IARVL patients includes no active treatment since eye surgeons have done all that could possibly be done to restore vision.
Participants randomized to this arm will undergo the Health Enhancement Program (HEP) intervention, with weekly sessions identical in structure to those of the MEDITATION arm.
Other: Health Enhancement Program
This therapy will be delivered using the hospital approved Microsoft TEAMS platform by trained, certified non-clinician teachers. 25 irreversible age-related vision loss patients and their 25 caregivers in the MEDITATION arm will be trained for 2 consecutive days (2 hours/day) in the first week, followed by 1-hour weekly reinforcement sessions for 11 weeks. Participants will learn how to respond to experiences that arise in meditation, will discuss what enhances or detracts from effective meditation, and review methods for meditating at home. Weekly reinforcement sessions will include 33 minutes of guided meditation practice, and then focus on participants' experiences with meditation during the week, additional observations, and a review of relevant knowledge to support their home practice. Each of these follow-up sessions will include a 33-minute guided meditation session. Participants will also be encouraged to practice daily at home for 33 minutes per session.
HEP was designed and used as a manualized active control in meditation-based intervention trials. We have tailored HEP to be structurally equivalent to MEDITATION intervention, with similar-sized groups, meeting for 2 days for 2 hours, and then one 60-75-minute follow up session weekly for the subsequent 11 follow ups. Participants allocated to HEP will be completing the same amount of home practice as MEDITATION, and will be asked to complete weekly practice logs. Participants will learn about health promotion, including the benefits of a lifestyle of healthy diet, music, recreation, and exercise, but will not learn breathing techniques, or meditation. In HEP, which is provided according to specific guidelines for administration, participants get the support of a group and facilitator, and talk through and try to implement positive health-enhancing life changes.
Participants screened
Number of participants screened
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Participants enrolled
Proportion of patients and caregivers who enrol in the study after screening
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Retention rate
Rate of participation retention in the study
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks.
Adherence rate
Rate of adherence to study protocol
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Assessment rating and duration
Proportion of planned ratings that are completed and duration of assessment visits
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Intervention cost
Intervention cost per case
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Data quality
Completeness and quality of final data for analysis
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Change in health-related quality of life (HRQOL)
Improvement in HRQOL score as measured by the Short Form 12 Health Survey (SF-12) up to 12 weeks.
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Number of participants approached
Number of potential participants (IARVL patients and their caregivers) approached per month
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Change in vision-related quality of life (VRQOL)
Improvement in VRQOL score as measured by the Visual Function 14-item questionnaire (VF-14) up to 12 weeks.
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Change in depression score
Reduction in depressive symptoms as measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression questionnaire (CES-D) scores up to 12 weeks.
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Change in anxiety score
Reduction in anxiety symptoms as measured by the Hospital Anxiety Scale questionnaire (HADS-A) scores up to 12 weeks.
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Change in sleep quality
Enhanced sleep quality as measured by reduction in Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index questionnaire (PSQI) scores (≤ 5) up to 12 weeks.
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Change in community integration
Enhanced community integration as measured by an increase in Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) scores up to 12 weeks.
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Change in caregiver burden
Reduced caregiver burden as measured by reduction in Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) scores up to 12 weeks.
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Plan to share: No — IPD will not be available to other researchers since the current research team has the necessary expertise to conduct data analysis.
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This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Jan 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's →