Videoconferencing-based Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Parents of SHCN Children

NCT ID: NCT05803252

Last Updated: 2025-05-20

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

104 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-03-15

Study Completion Date

2025-12-31

Brief Summary

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The purpose of the proposed non-randomized waitlist-controlled design study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of using a Videoconferencing-based Individual Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT) approach to enhance the mental well-being of parents of children with special healthcare needs (SHCN) over a three-month period after the intervention has taken place.

Detailed Description

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Parents of children with special health care needs (SHCN) have always been under tremendous pressure to care for their children. The parental well-being, as well as family functioning, are at risk. In literature, there has been increasing evidence supporting the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on mental health in different populations, including healthy individuals, parents, children and those with mental health problems. The previous studies done by the PI in using ACT for improving parental well-being and management have proven the intervention effective for Hong Kong parents. Her work showed that ACT training effectively enhanced the parental well-being of parents of children with asthma and autism spectrum disorder.

Though the result was promising, the previous clinical trials in Hong Kong showed a limited effect size. This is due to the need for extensive manpower in ACT intervention, yet there are very limited trained ACT interventionists in Hong Kong. On top of that, past interventions have failed to target impaired psychopathological processes as well as identify and determine which psychopathological processes require intervention in the first place. This study aims to overcome the limitations mentioned above. The proposed study will follow the model and principles of Focused Acceptance Commitment Therapy (FACT) to increase the psychological flexibility of parents of children with SHCN. FACT is a new model of brief therapy that is a highly condensed version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which has been proven to be effective in the long term in improving one's mental well-being through increasing one's psychological flexibility. The time-limited and brief FACT intervention targets the impaired psychopathological processes and determines what process(es) need to work on first, which also eases the demand for ACT interventionists.

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and possible effectiveness of Videoconferencing-based Individual Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT) in enhancing the mental health of parents of children with special healthcare needs (SHCN) by comparing the results to those of a waitlist control group. The study will assess the well-being of the participating parents before the intervention, immediately after the intervention and again three months later to determine the impact of the FACT intervention on their mental well-being.

Conditions

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

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Assigned by the investigator but not randomized
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors
Single-blinded

Study Groups

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FACT Group

4-6 FACT consultation sessions, one weekly session, 45-60 mins per session. These sessions will be using online video conferencing platforms.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

FACT aims to increase one's psychological flexibility so that one will not generate feelings of distress and suffering when confronted with painful life situations. The intervention of this study will follow the FACT principles laid out by Strosahl, Robinson and Gustavsson to increase parents' psychological flexibility. Three core processes influence one's psychological flexibility: awareness, openness, and engagement.

The key objectives of each core process are:

1. Awareness: Able to experience the present moment, able to take perspective on self
2. Openness: Able to detach distressing private experiences and associated rules, able to take a non-judgemental, accepting stance towards painful material
3. Engagement: Exhibits strong connection with values, able to sustain values-consistent action

Waitlist Control Group

The waitlist control group participants will commence their intervention trial immediately after they complete their follow-up assessment.

Group Type OTHER

Waitlist Control

Intervention Type OTHER

The waitlist control group participants will commence their FACT intervention immediately after they complete their follow-up assessment.

Interventions

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Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

FACT aims to increase one's psychological flexibility so that one will not generate feelings of distress and suffering when confronted with painful life situations. The intervention of this study will follow the FACT principles laid out by Strosahl, Robinson and Gustavsson to increase parents' psychological flexibility. Three core processes influence one's psychological flexibility: awareness, openness, and engagement.

The key objectives of each core process are:

1. Awareness: Able to experience the present moment, able to take perspective on self
2. Openness: Able to detach distressing private experiences and associated rules, able to take a non-judgemental, accepting stance towards painful material
3. Engagement: Exhibits strong connection with values, able to sustain values-consistent action

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Waitlist Control

The waitlist control group participants will commence their FACT intervention immediately after they complete their follow-up assessment.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents aged ≥21 years;
* living together with the child who is at preschool/school-age (3-9 years old);
* adopt the responsibility of taking care of the child;
* access to reliable Internet access via either computers and/or smartphones and be committed to maintaining internet access for the duration of the intervention

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 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 cognitive deficiency, severe mental illness and/or disability conditions that interfere with their ability to comprehend the programme's content
* had substance/alcohol dependency problems,
* are pregnant;
* are less than six months postpartum
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Hong Kong Christian Service

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

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

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Yuen Yu CHONG

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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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 Young Women's Christian Association

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status RECRUITING

Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status RECRUITING

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Shatin, , Hong Kong

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Hong Kong

Central Contacts

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Yuen Yu CHONG, PhD

Role: CONTACT

(852) 3943 0665

Pui Tik YAU

Role: CONTACT

(852) 3943 9915

Facility Contacts

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Pui Tik YAU

Role: primary

Pui Tik YAU

Role: primary

Pui Tik YAU

Role: primary

Pui Tik YAU

Role: primary

Pui Tik YAU

Role: primary

(852) 3943-9915

Other Identifiers

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NTEC-2023-058

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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