A Health Apps for Post-Pandemic Years for People With Physiological and Psychosocial Distress
NCT ID: NCT05459896
Last Updated: 2024-02-28
Study Results
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Basic Information
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RECRUITING
NA
814 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2024-02-27
2026-09-30
Brief Summary
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Detailed Description
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Smart Health is defined as the provision of medical and public healthcare services by using mobile technologies, such as mobile phones, tablet devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other wireless devices. A smart health intervention is a cost-effective and easily operated intervention that can provide various functions, including self-monitoring, data collection, real-time feedback, and notifications. Appropriate use of smart health-based interventions can bring significant changes in people's health behaviour, such as prompting them to adopt a physically active lifestyle. In a systematic review of 12 studies with a total of 3,469 participants, in which the effects of mobile app-based interventions were compared with those of the usual care, significant effects on health outcomes were found from using mobile apps to manage chronic diseases, such as improved physical functioning and increased medication adherence.
Despite the rapid growth of digital health technology, most of them were developed during pandemic with a focus on delivering non-systematic, general virtual healthcare to people. This research gap gives us the impetus to develop a 24-week intervention guided by an innovative three-level (Prevention, Protection and Progression) Health Apps for Post-Pandemic Years (here-and-after as HAPPY) driven by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping Theory (TMSCT) to address COVID-related physical and psychosocial distress symptoms of people during the post-pandemic era. The TMSCT emphasizes the use of appraisals to evaluate the harm, threats, and challenges that result in the process of coping with stressful events. The level of stress experienced (in the form of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours) as a result of external stressors depends on appraisals of the situation, which involves a judgement about whether the internal or external demands exceed an individual's resources and ability to cope when the demands exceed the resources. Positive emotions will be elicited when individuals are capable of resolving stressors with the utilisation of both internal (e.g. cognitive appraisals, emotion regulation) and external resources (e.g. social support, access to new knowledge and skills), while negative emotions will be elicited as a result of unresolved distress.
This protocol aims to evaluate the immediate effects (eight weeks after weekly supervised sessions, i.e. on the 8th week) and the mid-term effects (six months when the intervention has been completed; i.e., on the 24th week) of the HAPPY for alleviating people's physiological and psychosocial distress during the post-pandemic era. It is hypothesised that the experimental group will 1) exhibit greater improvement in physiological and psychosocial distress and 2) have a more positive appraisal mindset, greater self-efficacy, and more sustainable self-management ability than participants in the waitlist control group.
Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
TREATMENT
SINGLE
Study Groups
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Experimental Group
Participants in the experimental group will be triaged to receive different types of interventions at Level 2, namely physical activity training, mindfulness coping strategies and energy conservation techniques, based on participants' screening and outcome assessment results at Level 1. These interventions will be taught in the 8-week regular supervision phase and self-practice during the 16-week self-help phase. The features in the Health Apps for Post-Pandemic Years (HAPPY) will be introduced to the participants in the first two sessions. In the other six sessions participants will be provided guidance in practicing the assigned intervention. Participants will self-practice the assigned intervention at home during 16-week self-help phase. At Level 3 Self-management, participants will be encouraged to work through a total of six thematic modules which aim to enhance participants' favourable appraisals of the current stress factors, to reduce stress levels and improve coping.
Physical Activity Training
Participants who exhibit both physical and psychosocial distress will be recommended to receive physical activity intervention. An approach of adding game mechanics into an interactive environment that combines live action and an award system will be integrated into the intervention. The physical training involves 15-min resistance training and 30-min interactive cardio dancing each with beginner and advanced levels. Participants are recommended to start with the beginner level and do the exercises on regular intervals during the intervention period. The Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) motion sensor with tablet-based console and the full-body tracking sensor will be used to capture real-time data on participants' human body movements in order to enhance understanding of performance. Participants will get a commercial wearable sensor. Participants will be asked to wear the sensor at all times and sync the data with the Smart Health Platform to self-monitor daily condition.
Mindfulness-based Intervention
Participants who exhibit psychosocial distress will be recommended to receive mindfulness-based intervention which is designed based on the concept of validated Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) combined with techniques from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). The intervention consists of 10 sessions, each session has different main themes and associated activities including body scan, mindful eating, abdominal breathing, chair yoga, awareness of breathing, mindful walking, breathing, body and emotions, yoga stretching, mindful listening and choiceless awreness. The materials will be delivered in the format of animation videos. Participants will be asked to complete one session per week.
Energy Conservation Techniques
Participants who exhibit physiological symptoms will be recommended to receive energy savings intervention which is co-developed by the local Occupational Therapy Association. The intervention consists of six session, each session has different topics and associated energy savings techniques related to particular circumstances, such as the six principle of energy conservation, application of energy conservation in the domains of self-care, household tasks, outdoor activities and work. The materials will be delivered in the format of animation videos. Participants will be asked to complete one session per week. Revision quiz will be given to understand the learning progress of participants.
Waitlist Control Group
Participants in the waitlist control group will receive materials on the promotion of physical and psychological health during the waiting period. Participants will then receive the same 24-week intervention as the experimental group in Week 25 after completing the baseline assessment.
No interventions assigned to this group
Interventions
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Physical Activity Training
Participants who exhibit both physical and psychosocial distress will be recommended to receive physical activity intervention. An approach of adding game mechanics into an interactive environment that combines live action and an award system will be integrated into the intervention. The physical training involves 15-min resistance training and 30-min interactive cardio dancing each with beginner and advanced levels. Participants are recommended to start with the beginner level and do the exercises on regular intervals during the intervention period. The Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) motion sensor with tablet-based console and the full-body tracking sensor will be used to capture real-time data on participants' human body movements in order to enhance understanding of performance. Participants will get a commercial wearable sensor. Participants will be asked to wear the sensor at all times and sync the data with the Smart Health Platform to self-monitor daily condition.
Mindfulness-based Intervention
Participants who exhibit psychosocial distress will be recommended to receive mindfulness-based intervention which is designed based on the concept of validated Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) combined with techniques from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). The intervention consists of 10 sessions, each session has different main themes and associated activities including body scan, mindful eating, abdominal breathing, chair yoga, awareness of breathing, mindful walking, breathing, body and emotions, yoga stretching, mindful listening and choiceless awreness. The materials will be delivered in the format of animation videos. Participants will be asked to complete one session per week.
Energy Conservation Techniques
Participants who exhibit physiological symptoms will be recommended to receive energy savings intervention which is co-developed by the local Occupational Therapy Association. The intervention consists of six session, each session has different topics and associated energy savings techniques related to particular circumstances, such as the six principle of energy conservation, application of energy conservation in the domains of self-care, household tasks, outdoor activities and work. The materials will be delivered in the format of animation videos. Participants will be asked to complete one session per week. Revision quiz will be given to understand the learning progress of participants.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Exhibiting physiological and/or psychosocial distress:
* A cutoff value of ≥ 20 in the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) will be used to indicate participants with psychological distress.
* A cutoff value of ≥ 4 on the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) indicate participants with physical fatigue;
* A cutoff value of \> 5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) indicate participants with decreased sleep quality;
* A cutoff value of \> 3 on the Numerical Pain Scale (NPS) indicates participants with pain, including headaches, upset stomach, and other forms of pain
* Has access to the Internet and a smart phone
Exclusion Criteria
18 Years
70 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Dr. Justina Liu Yat Wa
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigators
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Justina Liu, PhD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Locations
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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong, , Hong Kong
Countries
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Central Contacts
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Facility Contacts
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References
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Provided Documents
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Document Type: Informed Consent Form
Other Identifiers
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HSEARS20220318003
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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