Testing a Reading Module to Improve Reading Skills and Quality of Life in Glaucoma Patients

August 7, 2026 updated by: Dr. Nur Izzati Binti Mohd Salim, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Evaluation of The Effectiveness Of Reading Rehabilitation Module On Reading Performance And Quality of Life In Patients With Glaucoma

The goal of this interventional study is to test the effectiveness of reading rehabilitation module towards reading speed and error, and quality of life in glaucoma patients.The main questions it aims to answer are:

  1. Is there a significant difference in reading speed over a 6-month period between glaucoma patients who undergo a reading rehabilitation module and those who receive standard care?
  2. To what extent does the implementation of a reading rehabilitation module reduce the frequency of reading errors in glaucoma patients compared to a control group across baseline, 3-month, and 6-month follow-ups?
  3. How does a structured reading rehabilitation module influence the self-reported quality of life in glaucoma patients from baseline to 6 months when compared to those receiving standard care?

Participants will:

Patients in interventional group will be instructed to practice the reading module for 20-30 minutes daily, minimum 3 days/week, for 6 months.

Visit the clinic once every 3 months for checkups and tests A logbook will be provided to record their practice sessions.

While participants in control group will receive standard care, visit the clinic once every 3 months for checkups and tests.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible visual field loss, significantly impairing reading efficiency and vision-related quality of life. While conventional management focuses on intraocular pressure reduction to prevent disease progression, visual rehabilitation strategies targeting functional reading deficits remain limited in clinical practice. This randomized, single-blind, parallel-group control trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured, home-based reading rehabilitation module on reading performance and vision-related quality of life in patients with bilateral glaucoma.

Following ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of Universiti Sains Malaysia (JPeM), eligible patients attending the Ophthalmology Clinic at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) will be recruited and randomized into two arms: an intervention group receiving the reading rehabilitation module or a control group maintaining standard daily care (waitlist control). Randomization will be executed using sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes (SNOSE) to maintain allocation concealment.

Participants assigned to the intervention arm will receive standardized Malay-language narrative reading materials and will be instructed to practice the structured reading module at home for 20 to 30 minutes every 2-3days per week over a 6-month study period. Protocol adherence will be monitored using daily reading logs tracking session dates and durations, which will be audited during monthly follow-up visits. Participants maintaining less than 80% compliance will receive targeted counseling. Control group participants will receive standard clinical care and general visual health advice, with access to the rehabilitation materials offered upon completion of the 6-month trial.

Study assessments will be conducted at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months post-enrollment by an independent investigator blinded to group allocation. Reading performance metrics (reading speed in words per minute and error rate percentage) will be evaluated using the standardized Buari-Chen Malay Reading Chart at a 40 cm reading distance. Vision-related quality of life will be measured at baseline and 6 months using the validated, glaucoma-specific GLAUQOL-36 questionnaire (scored from 0 to 100, where higher scores reflect better quality of life). Data will be analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA (RM-ANOVA) to evaluate time, group, and interaction effects across study visits.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Liza Sharmini Binti Tajudin Prof
  • Phone Number: +6019-9179227
  • Email: liza@usm.my

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18- 80 years old.
  • Confirmed diagnosis of bilateral Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG),Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma (PACG), Normotensive Glaucoma (NTG) and Juvenile Open Angle Glaucoma (JOAG).
  • Bilateral visual acuity of 6/60 and better.
  • Bilateral visual field defect more than 10degree from fixation.
  • Phakic without visually significant cataract.
  • Pseudophakic for more than 3 months prior to recruitment.
  • Literate patients.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Ocular diseases other than glaucoma (e.g., age-related macula degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, moderate to severe cataract).
  • Other comorbidities that affect memory (e.g., stroke, cognitive disorders).
  • Cognitive disorders (e.g., diagnosed dementia or cognitive impairment).
  • Poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.
  • Other media opacities.
  • History of previous intraocular surgery other than uncomplicated cataract within past 6 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Standard Care Group
Group B patient will not be practicing reading rehabilitation module and will receive standard eye care.
Experimental: Reading Module Group
Group A is the interventional group. Group A patients will be practicing reading rehabilitation module.
Other: Reading Rehabilitation Module
Interventional group will be practicing reading rehabilitation module
Other Names:
  • Group A

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Reading speed
Time Frame: Baseline, 3rd month and 6th month
Reading speed will be assessed using the Buari-Chen Malay Reading Chart at a 40 cm reading distance. Participants read a standardized paragraph aloud. Reading speed is calculated as: Reading Speed (wpm)= (Total words read correctly} / Total time in seconds) x 60.
Baseline, 3rd month and 6th month
Change in Reading error
Time Frame: At baseline, 3rd month and 6th month
Reading errors (omissions, substitutions, mispronunciations, or skipped words) will be recorded using the Buari-Chen Malay Reading Chart. The error rate is calculated as: Error Rate (%) = (Number of Errors / Total Words) x 100.
At baseline, 3rd month and 6th month
GlauQol-36 Questionnaire
Time Frame: At baseline and 6th month
Vision-related quality of life will be evaluated using the Glaucoma Quality of Life 36-item Questionnaire (GLAUQOL-36). The questionnaire covers 10 visual domains on a Likert scale. Individual item responses are aggregated and converted to a total standardized score ranging from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate a better vision-related quality of life.
At baseline and 6th month

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Universiti Sains Malaysia

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: Mr. Mohd Bazlan Hafidz Mukrim Mohd Bazlan, Human Research Ethics Committee USM Division of Research & Innovation

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 28, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 28, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 7, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • USM/JEPeM/KK/26060515

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data (including baseline demographics, visual acuity outcomes, reading performance metrics, and compliance logs) will be made available upon reasonable request. Data will be shared with qualified academic researchers following the publication of the primary thesis results, subject to approval by the principal investigator and institutional ethics committee. Data will be shared via secure email transmission.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Supporting documents and de-identified IPD will become available starting 6 months following the official publication of the thesis or primary journal manuscript, and will remain available for up to 5 years.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Access will be granted to qualified academic researchers, clinicians, and statistical meta-analysts affiliated with recognized research or academic institutions who present a scientifically sound proposal.

Requesters will be able to access the de-identified individual participant dataset (IPD) containing baseline demographics, clinical reading metrics, and adherence logs, as well as supporting documents including the Study Protocol and blank Informed Consent Form (ICF).

Interested researchers must submit a formal request and a brief research plan directly to the Principal Investigator via institutional email. Data will be transmitted securely (e.g., encrypted file transfer) once the proposal is reviewed and a standard Data Use Agreement (DUA) is signed by both parties.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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