An Awareness, Courage, and Love Intervention to Help Chinese Older Adults in the Post-pandemic Era

NCT ID: NCT06524206

Last Updated: 2024-07-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 70 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-08-31
• Study Completion Date: 2025-03-31

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential effectiveness of a one-session online Awareness, Courage, and Love intervention for reducing loneliness, depression and anxiety symptoms, and enhancing social connectedness and subjective well-being among older adults. the study also aims to estimate the effect sizes of the Awareness, Courage, and Love intervention.

Detailed Description

The recruitment process will commence with referrals from local community organizations. Eligible individuals will be provided with detailed information about the study, and informed consent will be obtained from those willing to participate. After the confirmation of participant recruitment, a randomization process will be implemented to ensure the equitable distribution of participants between the intervention and waitlist control groups. An independent researcher will generate computer-generated random codes for group assignment, and these codes will be securely sealed in opaque envelopes. The envelopes will be sequentially numbered, and the randomization process will remain blinded throughout to prevent bias. Participants will be notified via email or text for the details of the condition they are assigned, and their willingness to engage in both the intervention and data collection will be confirmed.

Conditions

Loneliness; Depression; Anxiety; Social Connectedness; Subjective Well-being; Psychological Intervention; Older Adults

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Awareness, Courage, and Love intervention

The Awareness, Courage and Love intervention will consist of a single 120-minute online session delivered in a group format via a videoconferencing application (e.g., Zoom). The theme of the session will evolve around "making friends and being seen" to reinforce the appetitive functions of social connection.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

The Awareness, Courage and Love Intervention

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Derived from Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), the Awareness, Courage, and Love (ACL) Intervention brings the FAP principles to a broader population. In the ACL model, awareness is defined as engaging in mindful awareness of one's self (feelings, needs, values), other individuals, and the context in which interactions are taking place. Courage is defined as engaging in authentic, vulnerable self-disclosures (e.g. struggles, appreciation), and asking for what one wants and needs. Love is defined as providing empathically accurate responsiveness, including provision of safety, validation, and giving the other person what they have asked for when possible.

Waitlist control group

Waitlist control group will not receive the intervention

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

The Awareness, Courage and Love Intervention

Derived from Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), the Awareness, Courage, and Love (ACL) Intervention brings the FAP principles to a broader population. In the ACL model, awareness is defined as engaging in mindful awareness of one's self (feelings, needs, values), other individuals, and the context in which interactions are taking place. Courage is defined as engaging in authentic, vulnerable self-disclosures (e.g. struggles, appreciation), and asking for what one wants and needs. Love is defined as providing empathically accurate responsiveness, including provision of safety, validation, and giving the other person what they have asked for when possible.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. aged 60 years or older and dwelling in the community;

2. able to communicate in Cantonese;

3. have access to the internet and videoconferencing devices such as a mobile phone;

4. able to give informed consent to participate.

Exclusion Criteria

1. severe emotional distress based on PHQ-4 screening assessment or presenting an imminent suicidal risk;

2. known history of autism, intellectual disability, schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease, or dementia/significant cognitive impairment;

3. illiterate;

4. difficulty in communication.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Caritas Institute of Higher Education

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Stephen Cheong Yu Chan

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Cheong Yu Chan, Dr

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Caritas Institute of Higher Education

Locations

Caritas Institute of Higher Education

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Countries

Hong Kong

Central Contacts

Cheong Yu Chan, Dr

Role: CONTACT

cy4chan@sfu.edu.hk

37024525

Facility Contacts

Cheong Yu Chan, Dr

Role: primary

cy4chan@sfu.edu.hk

37024525

Other Identifiers

CIHE

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id