The Effect of the Young Ambassadors Supporting Caregivers (YASC) Program: A Dual Randomized Controlled Trial
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 尚未招募
- 入组人数
- 120
- 主要终点
- Preparedness for Caregiving Scale
研究概览
简要总结
This RCT will provide preliminary evidence on effective training for young adult volunteers to support older adult caregivers, addressing Hong Kong's aging crisis and caregiver burden. The objectives of this study include:
- To examine the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions in Hong Kong's cultural context.
- To evaluate the effects of three trainings (mindfulness/compassion, caregiving skills, communication skills) on young adult volunteers' preparedness for caregiving, meaning of life, and civic engagement.
- To assess the impact of volunteer services on caregivers' depression, anxiety, and caregiver burden.
详细描述
This study will train 60 university students to provide volunteer services to 60 paired caregivers. The 60 university students will be assiged to receive three types of training as intervention arms:
- Intervention 1: Mindfulness and Compassion Training (n=20)
o Training: 12 hours over 6 weeks (2-hour weekly sessions) teaching mindfulness meditation (e.g., loving-kindness, body scan) and compassion practices (e.g., self-compassion exercises). Content culturally adapted with Buddhist-influenced terminology and practices resonant with Hong Kong's context.
- Intervention 2: Caregiving Skills Training (n=20)
o Training: 12 hours over 6 weeks (2-hour weekly sessions) teaching OT (e.g., daily living support), PT (e.g., safe transfers), ST (e.g., communication aids), and RN (e.g., vital signs monitoring) skills, tailored to caregivers' needs.
- Control: Communication Skills Training (n=20) o Training: 12 hours over 6 weeks (2-hour weekly sessions) focusing on active listening, empathy, and basic conversational skills, without specific mindfulness or caregiving techniques.
After the training, the students will be paired with 60 caregivers of older adults to apply what they have learned during the training to offer services to reduce the psychological burden of the caregivers.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Treatment
- 盲法
- Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
盲法说明
Due to the nature of this trial, neither the staff, university students and caregivers can be masked to allocation. The investigator data analyst will be blinded after study completion by having the intervention group information coded.
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •Volunteer Recruitment and Eligibility
- •This study will recruit university students in Hong Kong as youth volunteers. Eligible participants must meet the following criteria:
- •Aged 18-35 years;
- •Willing to complete training and commit to at least 2 hours of volunteer service per week for 6 weeks;
- •No self-reported major physical or mental health conditions, including cognitive impairment;
- •Limited prior formal volunteering experience (≤4 engagements in the past year).
- •Older Adult Caregiver Recruitment and Eligibility
- •We will recruit community-dwelling Chinese adults in Hong Kong who provide care for older adults. Eligible caregivers must:
- •Be aged 50 years or older;
- •Consent to interact with youth volunteers at least four times during the intervention;
- •Report no major physical or mental health conditions, including cognitive impairment; and
- •Have resided with and provided care for an older adult (aged 65+) for a minimum of one year.
排除标准
- 未提供
结局指标
主要结局
Preparedness for Caregiving Scale
时间窗: Baseline (pre-test), immediately post-test
Preparedness for Caregiving Scale will be adopted to evaluate university student volunteers' self-perceived readiness to provide care across eight critical domains, including physical/emotional caregiving (e.g., "How well prepared are you to care for emotional needs?"), stress management, and emergency response. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0=Not at all prepared to 4=Very well prepared), providing a quantitative measure of skill development through the intervention. Higher score indicate higher level of preparedness for caregiving skills. Total score ranged from 0 to 32.
Patient Health Questionnaire
时间窗: Baseline (pre-test), immediately post-test
This scale will be applied to caregivers of older adults who joined this study. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a widely used, self-administered screening instrument designed to facilitate the identification and assessment of common mental health disorders in clinical and research settings. Developed as part of the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) project, the PHQ consists of several modules, each corresponding to specific psychiatric diagnoses according to DSM criteria. The most commonly used version, the PHQ-9, consists of nine items that assess the frequency of depressive symptoms over the past two weeks. Each item is scored on a four-point Likert scale (ranging from 0 = "not at all" to 3 = "nearly every day"), resulting in a total score ranging from 0 to 27. Higher scores indicate greater severity of depressive symptoms. The PHQ has demonstrated strong reliability and validity across diverse populations and is valued for its brevity, ease of use, an
次要结局
- Civic Engagement Scale(Baseline (pre-test), immediately post-test)
- Meaning in Life Scale(Baseline (pre-test), immediately post-test)
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale(Baseline (pre-test), immediately post-test)
- Zarit Burden Interview(Baseline (pre-test), immediately post-test)
研究者
Qi Wang
Research Assistant Professor
The University of Hong Kong