ObjectiveTo develop a comprehensive compliance assessment scale for postoperative visual function rehabilitation in children with congenital cataracts and to assess its reliability and validity.MethodDrawing on the Interactive Model of Health Behavior, we conducted a literature review and semi-structured interviews to create a pool of 36 items. The items underwent rigorous evaluation through the Delphi method, face validity checks, and item analysis, leading to a reduction to 18 items. To assess the scale's reliability and validity, we collected data from 225 parents of children with congenital cataracts. We employed SPSS version 25.0 for data analysis and evaluated construct validity using exploratory factor analysis, content validity, internal consistency reliability, and test–retest reliability.ResultsThe compliance scale for postoperative visual function rehabilitation in children with congenital cataracts comprises 5 dimensions and 18 items. Exploratory factor analysis extracted 5 common factors, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 68.178%. Item-level content validity index ranged from 0.730 to 1.000, and the content validity index of the scale was 0.963. The total Cronbach's alpha coefficient, split-half reliability, and test–retest reliability of the scale were 0.855, 0.778, and 0.859, respectively.ConclusionsThe compliance assessment scale for postoperative visual function rehabilitation in children with congenital cataracts demonstrates acceptable reliability and validity. It serves as a valuable reference for developing standardized nursing programs for these children in clinical practice.