Mental Health Help-seeking Promotion in Older Adults

NCT ID: NCT06707935

Last Updated: 2026-02-06

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

540 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-12-01

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

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The present study aims to examine the effectiveness of descriptive social norm nudges and pictorial social norm nudges in improving mental health help-seeking intention compared to educational information.

Detailed Description

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This study is a three-arm randomised controlled trial (RCT) in 540 older adults aged 60 years and above recruited through NGOs, testing the utility of revised TPB with baseline data, and the effectiveness of descriptive social norm-nudges (intervention group 1) and pictorial social norm- nudges (intervention group 2) comparing to traditional mental health education (control). Participants will be evenly randomised and receive 1 message/picture per day consecutively for 2 weeks. Researchers blind to group allocation will interview participants at baseline (T0), 2 weeks (post-intervention, T1), and 12 weeks (follow-up, T2). The primary outcomes are changes in subjective norms and help-seeking intention assessed using a revised Chinese version of the theory of planned behaviour questionnaire (C-TPB); secondary outcomes include perceived behavioural control, help-seeking attitude, perceived barriers to help-seeking (C-TPB subscales), and mental health assessed by PHQ-9, GAD-7 and UCLA-3.

Conditions

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Mental Health Help-seeking

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Descriptive social norm nudges

Participants receive messages with social norm nudges presented in the word form.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Descriptive social norm nudges

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A set of messages with descriptive social norm nudges sent to participants.

Pictorial social norm nudges

Participants receive messages with social norm nudges presented in graphic form.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Pictorial social norm nudges

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A set of messages with pictorial social norm nudges sent to participants.

Active control

Participants receive messages with generic mental health knowledge or information.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Service as usual

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Traditional mental health education information disseminated to participants.

Interventions

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Descriptive social norm nudges

A set of messages with descriptive social norm nudges sent to participants.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Pictorial social norm nudges

A set of messages with pictorial social norm nudges sent to participants.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Service as usual

Traditional mental health education information disseminated to participants.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* aged 60 years or above at the time of the baseline assessment
* have no severe mental disorder or cognitive impairment
* have no severe visual impairment
* be able to read Chinese
* have a smartphone with an instant communication application to receive text and images

Exclusion Criteria

* have severe difficulty in reading and communication
* show imminent suicidal risk at any stage of the study
Minimum Eligible Age

60 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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The University of Hong Kong

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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LIU Tianyin Bridget

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Tianyin Liu, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Locations

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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Hong Kong

Central Contacts

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Tianyin Liu, PhD

Role: CONTACT

2766 ext. 5015

Ken Liu, MSc

Role: CONTACT

Facility Contacts

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Tianyin Liu, PhD

Role: primary

2766 ext. 5015

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

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HSEARS20231109001

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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