Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Older People

NCT05995587 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: EA220105
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 112
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 6

Brief Summary

Mindfulness-based interventions, such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), have the potential in improving psychological health in older people. With the growing older people population, there is a need for greater social welfare capacity to promote their well-being. The project aims to:

1. 1.Evaluate the effectiveness of MBCT in improving mental health and mindfulness in older people with depressive symptoms as compared to care as usual;
2. 2.Compare the effectiveness between MBCT led by mindfulness teacher and that led by social workers;
3. 3.Examine psychological flexibility as a potential mechanism of change in MBCT for depressive symptoms.

Conditions

Depressive Symptoms

Keywords

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Change from baseline depression at Week 8

  Depression will be measured by the validated Chinese version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The total score will be used, ranging from 0 to 27. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depressive symptoms.

  Baseline and Week 8

• Change from baseline anxiety at Week 8

  Anxiety will be measured by the validated Chinese version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). The total score will be used, ranging from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety symptoms.

  Baseline and Week 8

• Change from baseline stress at Week 8

  Stress will be measured by the Chinese validated Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The total score will be used, ranging from 0 to 40. Higher scores indicate greater stress.

  Baseline and Week 8

• Change from baseline mindfulness at Week 8

  Mindfulness will be measured by the Chinese validated Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire Short Form (FFMQ-SF). The total score of the FFMQ-SF (ranging from 20 to 100) as well as the total score (ranging from 4 to 20) of the five subscales (i.e., observe, describe, acting with awareness, nondjuding, and nonreactivity) will be used. Higher scores indicate higher mindfulness.

  Baseline and Week 8

• Change from baseline psychological flexibility at Week 8

  Psychological flexibility will be assessed by the Chinese version of the Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes (CompACT). Items are rated on a 0 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) scale. The total score of the CompAct scale (ranging from 0 to 48), Valued Action subscale (ranging 0 to 18), Openness to Experience subscale (ranging from 0 to 18), and Behavioural Awareness subscale (ranging from 0 to 12) will be used. Higher scores indicate greater psychological flexibility.

  Baseline and Week 8

Other Outcomes (5)

• Change from baseline depression at Week 12

  Baseline and Week 12

• Change from baseline anxiety at Week 12

  Baseline and Week 12

• Change from baseline stress at Week 12

  Baseline and Week 12

Study Arms (3)

MBCT (mindfulness teacher)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the MBCT (mindfulness teacher) group will receive mindfulness training from a certified mindfulness teacher.

Behavioral: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)

MBCT (social workers)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the MBCT (social workers) group will receive mindfulness training from social workers (supervised by a certified mindfulness teacher).

Behavioral: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)

Care as usual group

NO INTERVENTION

The care as usual group will receive usual service provided in District Elderly Community Centres (DECC) and Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (ICCMW).

Interventions

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) BEHAVIORAL

MBCT combines mindfulness meditation with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) elements to reduce or prevent recurrent major depressive disorders.

MBCT (mindfulness teacher); MBCT (social workers)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years or older
• have depressive symptoms of mild level or above, as indicated by scoring 5 or more in PHQ-9
• can give informed consent to participate

You may not qualify if:

• known history of autism, intellectual disability, schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease, or dementia
• imminent suicidal risk
• difficulty in communication

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead
• The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust: collaborator
• Christian Family Service Centre: collaborator
• The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong: collaborator
• The Salvation Army, Hong Kong and Macau Command: collaborator
• Caritas Medical Centre, Hong Kong: collaborator
• Haven of Hope Hospital: collaborator

Study Sites (6)

Amity Place (Kwun Tong Central)

Kwun Tong, Hong Kong

Location

Shun On District Elderly Community Centre (DECC)

Kwun Tong, Hong Kong

Location

Haven of Hope District Elderly Community Service

Sai Kung, Hong Kong

Location

Wellness Zone - Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness

Sai Kung, Hong Kong

Location

Caritas Cheng Shing Fung District Elderly Centre (Sham Shui Po)

Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

Location

Tai Po Multi-service Centre for Senior Citizens

Tai Po, Hong Kong

Location

Related Publications (11)

• Geiger PJ, Boggero IA, Brake CA, Caldera CA, Combs HL, Peters JR, Baer RA. Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Older Adults: A Review of the Effects on Physical and Emotional Well-being. Mindfulness (N Y). 2016 Apr;7(2):296-307. doi: 10.1007/s12671-015-0444-1. Epub 2015 Sep 14.

  PMID: 27200109 BACKGROUND

• Hou J, Wong SY, Lo HH, Mak WW, Ma HS. Validation of a Chinese version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Hong Kong and development of a short form. Assessment. 2014 Jun;21(3):363-71. doi: 10.1177/1073191113485121. Epub 2013 Apr 16.

  PMID: 23596271 BACKGROUND

• Ng SM. Validation of the 10-item Chinese perceived stress scale in elderly service workers: one-factor versus two-factor structure. BMC Psychol. 2013 Jun 19;1(1):9. doi: 10.1186/2050-7283-1-9. eCollection 2013.

  PMID: 25566361 BACKGROUND

• Shih VWY, Chan WC, Tai OK, Wong HL, Cheng CPW, Wong CSM. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Late-Life Depression: a Randomised Controlled Trial. East Asian Arch Psychiatry. 2021 Jun;31(2):27-35. doi: 10.12809/eaap2075.

  PMID: 34987115 BACKGROUND

• Sun WJ, Xu L, Chan WM, Lam TH, Schooling CM. Depressive symptoms and suicide in 56,000 older Chinese: a Hong Kong cohort study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2012 Apr;47(4):505-14. doi: 10.1007/s00127-011-0362-z. Epub 2011 Mar 8.

  PMID: 21384121 BACKGROUND

• Tong X, An D, McGonigal A, Park SP, Zhou D. Validation of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) among Chinese people with epilepsy. Epilepsy Res. 2016 Feb;120:31-6. doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2015.11.019. Epub 2015 Nov 28.

  PMID: 26709880 BACKGROUND

• Wang W, Bian Q, Zhao Y, Li X, Wang W, Du J, Zhang G, Zhou Q, Zhao M. Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) in the general population. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2014 Sep-Oct;36(5):539-44. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2014.05.021. Epub 2014 Jun 6.

  PMID: 25023953 BACKGROUND

• Thomas, R., Chur-Hansen, A. & Turner, M. A Systematic Review of Studies on the Use of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for the Treatment of Anxiety and Depression in Older People. Mindfulness 11, 1599-1609 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01336-3

  BACKGROUND

• Morris, J. (2019). Development and validation of a short form of the Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes (CompACT-SF). University of Nottingham.

  BACKGROUND

• Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2012). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression. Guilford Press.

  BACKGROUND

• Wang YH, Wang YL, Leung DKY, Ng ZLY, Chan OLH, Wong SMY, Chan RCL, Liu T, Wong GHY, Lum TYS. Effectiveness of an age-modified mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in improving mental health in older people with depressive symptoms: a non-randomised controlled trial. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2025 Feb 26;25(1):81. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-04781-6.

  PMID: 40011881 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression

Interventions

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mindfulness; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Terry Lum, PhD

  Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Gloria Wong, PhD

  Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Model Details: Participants in the intervention group will either receive mindfulness training from a certified mindfulness teacher or from social workers (supervised by a certified mindfulness teacher). The care as usual group will receive usual service provided in District Elderly Community Centres (DECC) and Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (ICCMW).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 8, 2023
• First Posted: August 16, 2023
• Study Start: May 31, 2022
• Primary Completion: October 4, 2023
• Study Completion: November 30, 2023
• Last Updated: April 1, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (6)