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A Family-based Intervention for Drug-abusing Adults in Hong Kong

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Drug Abuse
Interventions
Behavioral: Family-based intervention
Other: routine care
Registration Number
NCT04725266
Lead Sponsor
The University of Hong Kong
Brief Summary

To develop a family-based intervention with components of engagement, family roles, affection, and competence and verify its effectiveness on drug abstinence and family functioning for drug-abusing adults in Hong Kong; To compare the difference between family-based intervention and routine care which mainly consists of individual counselling services for drug abusers.

Detailed Description

This is a quasi-experimental trial examining the effects of a proposed family-based intervention for drug abusers on motivating them to stay drug abstinence and improve family functioning, in which 40 drug abusers with focal families (including spouses and/or children) will be recruited for intervention group receiving both family-based intervention and routine care and 40 drug abusers without involving family will be recruited for comparison group receiving routine care. In the in-take, drug-abusing subjects will be given a brief introduction and invited to provide basic background information about themselves and families. After filling the informed consent, participants will be assigned to intervention group or comparison group according to whether their family will join sessions together. After drug abusers and families fill in the online questionnaire at the baseline (T0), the intervention group will receive family-based intervention and routine care in one month, while the comparison group will receive only routine care in one month. Both groups will be assessed at two time points after intervention period (T1 = 1-month after baseline; T2 = 2-month after baseline). As hypothesized, the intervention group will show a greater reduction in the primary outcomes of drug use and greater increase in the secondary outcomes of family functioning than the comparison group. A repeated-measures analysis of covariance will be conducted to assess the effects of family-based intervention.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
82
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
family-based intervention plus routine careFamily-based interventionThis group of participants including drug abusers and their families will be receiving family-based intervention which is a well-designed intervention with group sessions and routine care provided by professional social workers in local social service center.
family-based intervention plus routine careroutine careThis group of participants including drug abusers and their families will be receiving family-based intervention which is a well-designed intervention with group sessions and routine care provided by professional social workers in local social service center.
routine careroutine careThe group of participants will receive routine care which is widely used in social service providers and mainly includes individual counselling service for drug abusers.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Changes from baseline measurements of drug abstinenceat at 1- and 2-monthsBaseline, 1- and 2-months

Changes in scores on drug abstinence is assessed by Timeline Followback (TLFB) in which participants will report the specific date and time of using drugs in the past one month.

A higher score suggests a longer time for drug abstinence.

Changes from baseline measurements of frequency of drug use at 1- and 2-monthsBaseline, 1-, and 2-months

Changes in scores on frequency of drug use is measured by Frequency of Drug Use in Past Three Months by Beats Drug Fund.

A higher score suggests a higher frequency of drug use.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Changes from baseline measurement of marital affection at 1- and 2-monthsBaseline, 1- and 2-months

Changes in scores on marital affection will be measured by the Chinese version of Dyadic Adjustment Scale (C-DAS) with good psychometric properties.

A higher score on this scale indicates a higher level of marital affection.

Changes from baseline measurement of family functioning at 1- and 2-monthsBaseline, 1- and 2-months

Changes in score on general family functioning will be assessed by Subscale of general functioning of Chinese version of Family Assessment Device (C-FAD). The participants answer each question with a 4-point Likert scale (1=strongly agree, 4=strongly disagree) and the total scores range from 12 to 48.

A higher score suggests a higher level of family functioning.

Changes from baseline measurement of family roles at 1- and 2-monthsBaseline, 1- and 2-months

Changes in score on family roles will be measured by Perceived Family Responsibility Scale (PFRS) on a 7-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

A higher score of family roles suggests that the participants are more responsibility for their families.

Changes from baseline measurement of parenting competency at 1- and 2-monthsBaseline, 1- and 2-months

Changes in score on parenting competence is assessed by Parenting Sense of Competency Scale (PSOC). Parents rate their level of agreement with each item by scores ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).

A higher score indicates a higher level of perceived parenting self-efficacy.

Changes from baseline measurement of mental health at 1- and 2-monthsBaseline, 1- and 2-months

Changes in score on mental health will be assessed by the Chinese version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) on whether they had been bothered by some mental problems in the past two weeks with a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (nearly every day).

A higher score suggests a lower level of mental health status.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Neo-Horizon of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited

🇭🇰

Kowloon, Hong Kong

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