AA on Drug Abusers by Nursing Students

NCT05877742 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: AA-drug abusers
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Drug abuse is a serious public health issue. Despite the serious consequences of drug abuse, there are around 2000 new cases reported by drug abusers each year. There is growing evidence of the use of auricular acupressure (AA), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment modality, in reducing withdrawal symptoms among drug abusers. This study aims to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of training nursing students to deliver brief education on AA on drug abusers.

Conditions

Drug Abuse

Keywords

Auricular Acupressure; Nursing Students

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (10)

• Screening rate

  calculated as the number of abusers screened at participated clinics divided by number of abusers at participated clinics during the recruitment period.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Eligibility rate

  calculated by dividing the number of abusers who are eligible by the number who are screened.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Consent rate

  calculated by dividing the number of abusers who consent to join the study by the number who are eligible.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Randomization rate

  calculated by dividing the number of abusers who are randomized into intervention and control groups by those who provide consent.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Attendance rate

  calculated by dividing the number of abusers who complete the intervention by those who are randomized.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Retention rate

  : calculated by dividing the number of abusers who remain in the study by those who are randomized. Retention rates for the intervention and control groups will be calculated at each follow-up.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Adherence to intervention protocol

  calculated by dividing the number of abusers who follow the intervention protocol by those who are randomized.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Complete rate

  calculated by dividing the number of abusers who returned questionnaires by the number of questionnaires distributed. This will be calculated by groups at baseline and each follow-up.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Missing data

  calculated as the percentage of missing values in the dataset. Unknown or blank values will be considered missing values.

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Adverse events

  defined as unfavorable and unintended events that are not present at baseline, or appear to have worsened during the study.

  at the 6-month follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Self-reported abstinence

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Abstinence with urine testing

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Self-reported levels of craving

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Anxiety

  at the 6-month follow-up

• Quality of life measures by short-Form Six-Dimension

  at the 6-month follow-up

Study Arms (2)

AA group

EXPERIMENTAL

AA for drug abusers.

Other: AA group

Control group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Routine seminar for drug abusers.

Other: Control group

Interventions

AA group OTHER

Participants will individually receive a 5-minute AA education delivered verbally at his/her respective clinic by a trained nursing student interventionist in addition to the usual scheduled follow-ups and activities at clinics.

AA group

Control group OTHER

To mimic the time and attention spent, the control group will individually receive a 5-minute seminar delivered by an RA.

Control group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 18 or above
• Have reported to abuse drugs within the past 30 days
• Can communicate in Cantonese and read Chinese

You may not qualify if:

• Unstable mental conditions that are not suitable for the intervention
• Receiving acupuncture or acupressure treatment currently or in the previous 30 days

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Katherine Lam

Hong Kong, 0000, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Substance-Related Disorders

Interventions

Control Groups

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Epidemiologic Research Design; Epidemiologic Methods; Investigative Techniques; Research Design; Methods

Study Officials

• Ka Wai Katherine Lam

  School of Nursing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Ka Wai Katherine Lam

CONTACT

27666420; kw-katherine.lam@polyu.edu.hk

Ka Yan Ho

CONTACT

2766417; kyeva.ho@polyu.edu.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Research Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 16, 2023
• First Posted: May 26, 2023
• Study Start: March 20, 2023
• Primary Completion: June 20, 2025
• Study Completion: June 20, 2025
• Last Updated: April 20, 2025

Record last verified: 2024-05

Locations

HK (1)