An interventional study of Faster-timeline video and healing-attention surveys and Standard-timeline video and matched surveys in Cataract, sponsored by Harvard University. Completed at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 60 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-27.
Sponsored by Harvard University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
This study tested whether changing how quickly patients expect to heal after cataract surgery changes how quickly their vision recovers. Adults having cataract surgery in both eyes were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups watched a short video of their surgeon before each surgery and completed short daily surveys afterwards. In one group, the video gave somewhat faster recovery timeframes and the surveys asked patients to notice day-to-day changes in their vision. In the other group, the video gave standard recovery timeframes and the surveys asked about activities and mood. Visual acuity was measured at routine clinic visits 1 day, 1 to 2 weeks, and 3 months after surgery.
Two-arm, parallel-group randomized trial with an active control. Patients scheduled for bilateral cataract surgery with one surgeon at two ophthalmology practices completed an online enrollment survey, which included informed consent, and were then randomized using a computer-generated sequence applied in order of enrollment.
The enrollment survey collected demographics, the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the 14-item Langer Mindfulness Scale, the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, a three-item study-specific measure of general healing expectations, and the NEI-VFQ-25.
One day before each surgery, participants watched a preoperative video of their surgeon and answered multiple-choice questions about its content. Beginning 48 hours after each surgery, participants received up to 10 daily surveys. Clinic staff measured visual acuity at baseline and at routine follow-up visits. Participants completed the NEI-VFQ-25 again 3 months after surgery and were then debriefed.
Participants were told the study concerned psychological factors and recovery after cataract surgery; the specific hypothesis was disclosed at debriefing. The surgeon and clinic staff who measured visual acuity were not told participants' assigned group.
Planned enrollment was 180. Enrollment closed at 147 because recruitment was slower than planned. The study was registered after data collection was complete.
1,629 studies on the registry are indexed under Cataract; 235 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 147 is above the median of 79 across 1,092 interventional studies indexed under Cataract.
Browse Cataract studies →Harvard University is the lead sponsor of 50 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Preoperative video giving recovery timeframes shifted earlier than standard, followed by daily surveys directing attention to day-to-day changes in healing.
Behavioral: Faster-timeline video and healing-attention surveys
Preoperative video giving standard recovery timeframes, followed by daily surveys of matched length asking about activities and mood.
Behavioral: Standard-timeline video and matched surveys
Preoperative video of the participant's surgeon giving recovery timeframes shifted earlier than standard: blurry vision for 24 to 48 hours; noticeable improvement within 24 hours and by 5 to 7 days; irritation and light sensitivity resolving within 7 to 14 days. Watched 1 day before each surgery, followed by quiz questions on the timeframes. Then up to 10 daily surveys after each surgery, starting 48 hours post-surgery, asking participants to rate changes in vision, discomfort and daily function compared with the previous day.
Preoperative video of the same surgeon giving standard recovery timeframes: blurry vision for up to 48 hours; noticeable improvement within 48 hours and by 1 week; irritation and light sensitivity resolving within a couple of weeks. Same schedule and quiz format. Then up to 10 daily surveys after each surgery, matched in number and length, asking about activities, rest and current mood, not healing.
Change in best-corrected visual acuity at 1 day
Snellen acuity from the routine clinic exam, converted to logMAR; change from preoperative baseline, averaged across both eyes. Lower values indicate better acuity.
Time frame: Baseline to 1 day after each surgery
Change in best-corrected visual acuity at 1 to 2 weeks
Snellen acuity from the routine clinic exam, converted to logMAR; change from preoperative baseline, averaged across both eyes. Lower values indicate better acuity.
Time frame: Baseline to 1 to 2 weeks after each surgery
Change in best-corrected visual acuity at 3 months
Same measure and scoring as the primary outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline to 3 months after the second surgery
Change in NEI-VFQ-25 composite score
National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire, 25 items; composite scored 0 to 100, higher indicates better visual function.
Time frame: Enrollment to 3 months after the first surgery
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified participant-level data underlying the reported analyses, together with the analysis code, are available in a public repository (Zenodo, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22655124).
Supporting information: Analytic code
Time frame: Available from publication of the primary results, with no end date.
Access criteria: Open access; no application required.
Data sharing details ↗ · doi.org
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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