Pai.ACT Programme for Parents of Children With Special Healthcare Needs - Phase I

NCT ID: NCT05584059

Last Updated: 2025-08-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 150 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-12-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-31

Brief Summary

This study aims to determine the feasibility, acceptability and potential efficacy of an individual, video-conferencing based Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT) on the mental well-being of parents of children with Special Health Care Needs(SHCN). The study also aims to explore the experience of parents after participating in the individual-based FACT sessions offered by the trained FACT interventionists.

Detailed Description

Parents of children with Special Health Care Needs (SHCN) have always been under tremendous pressure to care for their children. They have been experiencing significant caregiving difficulties, such as scheduling and accompanying multiple follow-ups for rehabilitation and functional recovery and managing the child's symptoms and problematic behaviours. With the strike of COVID-19, these parents' stress may even be exacerbated due to the lockdown measures. Children's needs become more demanding with the suspension of the usual care services. Parenting stress has been known to affect parent-child interactions and increase negative parenting behaviours such as harsh, permissive or neglecting parenting impairing the parent's capacity to respond to the demands of the child's illness, which may, in turn, exacerbate the child's health problem and well-being. Recent evidence has advocated the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on mental health in different population groups, including healthy individuals, parents, children and those with mental health problems. To increase the reach of ACT and overcome the plausible disruptions of mental health services arising from the pandemic, the study proposes to use an innovative intervention approach, that is a brief version of ACT (Focused ACT), delivered by trained FACT interventionists in individual-based, video-conferencing format. The conversation data between the parent and the interventionist will be further analyzed for developing a Deep-Learning Mental Health Advisory System in the second phase of the Pai.ACT project. This study aims to determine the feasibility, acceptability and potential efficacy of an individual, video-conferencing-based Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT) on the mental well-being of parents of children with Special Health Care Needs(SHCN). The study also aims to explore the experience of parents after participating in the individual-based FACT sessions offered by the trained FACT interventionists.

Conditions

Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Development Delay; Chronic Disease

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

FACT Group

4-6 weeks of 45-60 minute individual-based Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT) counselling sessions delivered via video-conferencing format or face-to-face

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

This is an individual-based FACT counselling programme which composes of 4-6 sessions on a weekly basis (45-60mins/session). All the sessions are delivered by a trained FACT interventionist via either video-conferencing (e.g., Zoom or Windows Teams) or face-to-face format. The programme aims to increase the psychological flexibility of the parent, so that he/she is able to (i) experience the present moment and take perspective on self (i.e., Awareness); (ii) detach the distressing private experiences and associated rules and to take a non-judgemental, accepting stance toward the painful experiences (i.e., Openness) and (iii) exhibits strong connection with values and commit to values-consistent actions. The trained interventionist will use different ACT strategies in these sessions, including ACT metaphors, experiential exercises, guided mindfulness exercises, guided imagery exercises and values clarification exercises to reinforce the above principles.

Interventions

Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

This is an individual-based FACT counselling programme which composes of 4-6 sessions on a weekly basis (45-60mins/session). All the sessions are delivered by a trained FACT interventionist via either video-conferencing (e.g., Zoom or Windows Teams) or face-to-face format. The programme aims to increase the psychological flexibility of the parent, so that he/she is able to (i) experience the present moment and take perspective on self (i.e., Awareness); (ii) detach the distressing private experiences and associated rules and to take a non-judgemental, accepting stance toward the painful experiences (i.e., Openness) and (iii) exhibits strong connection with values and commit to values-consistent actions. The trained interventionist will use different ACT strategies in these sessions, including ACT metaphors, experiential exercises, guided mindfulness exercises, guided imagery exercises and values clarification exercises to reinforce the above principles.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents
• living together with the child who is at preschool/school-age (3-9 years old)
• adopt the responsibility of taking care of the child,
• has daily access to their iPhone and Android smartphones.

In addition, potential eligible parents who respond "yes" to any of the five validated screening questions in the Children with Special Health Care Needs (SHCN) Screener (see https://www.childhealthdata.org/docs/cshcn/technical-summary-of-cshcn-screener.pdf) will then be asked the associated follow-up questions to determine whether the child possesses physical, neurodevelopmental/emotional problem(s) that has lasted for at least 12 months. Only children with a positive response(s) to ≥ 1 item in each of the associated follow-up questions will be classified as children with SHCN.

Exclusion Criteria

• Parents with severe mental illness or developmental disabilities which impaired their ability to comprehend the content of the programme will be excluded.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 21 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Hong Kong Association of Youth Department

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Hong Kong Christian Service

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Hong Kong School Nurse Association

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Chinese University of Hong Kong

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Yuen Yu CHONG

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Yuen Yu Chong, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Locations

Hong Kong Christian Service

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status: RECRUITING

Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status: RECRUITING

Hong Kong School Nurse Association

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status: RECRUITING

Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status: RECRUITING

Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

Hong Kong

Central Contacts

Yuen Yu Chong, PhD

Role: CONTACT

conniechong@cuhk.edu.hk

(852) 3943 0665

Facility Contacts

Jam Yau

Role: primary

jamyau@cuhk.edu.hk

Jam Yau

Role: primary

jamyau@cuhk.edu.hk

Jam Yau

Role: primary

jamyau@cuhk.edu.hk

Jam Yau

Role: primary

jamyau@cuhk.edu.hk

Jam Yau

Role: primary

jamyau@cuhk.edu.hk

Other Identifiers

ITB/FBL/6033/21/P

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id