Status: Active

Living with glaucoma can take a serious emotional toll on patients, with anxiety, depression, and other forms of psychosocial distress often going unrecognized in routine eye care. These emotional challenges can impact how patients manage their condition and may influence long-term outcomes. Despite this, ophthalmology clinics rarely have the capacity to screen for distress or provide timely referrals to behavioral health services. To help close this gap, our team at Duke is developing artificial intelligence tools that use electronic health record data to identify patients at risk for distress and guide interventions that support emotional well-being.

Our research includes designing and evaluating machine learning models that can passively detect signs of psychosocial distress using real-world data from the Duke Eye Center. We are also developing a mobile app intervention called VISION-ACT, which delivers tailored emotional support based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles. As part of this ongoing work, we are conducting a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the VISION-ACT mobile app, a digital intervention designed to support emotional well-being in glaucoma patients. A future goal is to integrate our predictive modeling tools with such interventions to enable more timely and personalized support. This project brings together clinical insight, behavioral science, and advanced analytics to improve the quality of care for glaucoma patients.

This research is supported by NIH/NEI K99/R00EY033027.