Cultural Arts Programme for Older Chinese

NCT06527625 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: HSEARS20240227002
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 63
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study examines the effectiveness of an innovative cultural arts program in reducing depressive symptoms and age-related self-stigma among older Chinese as compared to service as usual through a randomized waitlist controlled trial.

Conditions

Depressive Symptoms; Ageism; Older Adults; Psychosocial Intervention; Art

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Changes from baseline in depressive symptoms at 9 weeks

  Depressive symptoms are assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) (Kroenke et al., 2001). It is a 9-item instrument that incorporates depression diagnostic criteria with other leading major depressive symptoms and rates the frequency of the symptoms, factoring into the scoring severity index. PHQ-9 scores of 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20 and above represent mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression, respectively.

  Baseline (T0) and 9 weeks after baseline (T1)

• Changes from baseline in self-stigma of age at 9 weeks

  Self-stigma of age is assessed by the Internalized Stigma of old age scale (IS65+) (González-Domínguez et al., 2018). The IS65+ scale is a 9-item instrument comprised of five factors: alienation, discrimination experience, social withdrawal, stigma resistance, and stereotype endorsement. Participants responded to a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely disagree) to 4 (completely agree), and a higher score indicates more internalized ageism. The original scale had good internal consistency (α = 0.89).

  Baseline (T0) and 9 weeks after baseline (T1)

• Changes from baseline in self-stigma of depression at 9 weeks

  Self-stigma of depression is assessed using the 16-item Self-Stigma of Depression Scale (SSDS) (Barney et al., 2006). Questions begin with the stem "If I were depressed, I would …" and include items such as "feel inferior to others" (Shame), "think I should be able to cope with things" (Self-Blame), and "feel I could not contribute much socially" (Social Inadequacy). Participants responded using a 5-point Likert scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). A higher score indicates more self-stigma of depression, and the scale has good construct validity, internal consistency (α = 0.87) and satisfactory test-retest reliability (Cohen's d = 0.17).

  Baseline (T0) and 9 weeks after baseline (T1)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Changes from baseline in empowerment at 9 weeks

  Baseline (T0) and 9 weeks after baseline (T1)

• Changes from baseline in cognitive fusion at 9 weeks

  Baseline (T0) and 9 weeks after baseline (T1)

Study Arms (2)

Arts group

EXPERIMENTAL

A 9-week Cultural Art Program

Behavioral: Cultural Arts Program

Waitlist control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Treatment as usual

Behavioral: Treatment as usual

Interventions

Cultural Arts Program BEHAVIORAL

9-session group art program using Chinese calligraphy as the channel for gaining emotional awareness and facilitating expression

Arts group

Treatment as usual BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as usual provided in local community aged care centres

Waitlist control

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• aged 60 years or above;
• at risk for depression, i.e., Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score under 10; or
• having at least one risk factor of depression, including frequent loneliness, lack of social interaction, lack of meaningful/enjoyable activities, chronic pain, more than four chronic diseases, or bereavement.

You may not qualify if:

• known history of autism, intellectual disability, schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease, or dementia;
• illiterate;
• physically frail; or
• significant suicidal risk.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: lead
• The University of Hong Kong: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression; Ageism

Interventions

Therapeutics

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Prejudice; Social Behavior; Social Discrimination

Study Officials

• Tianyin Liu, PhD

  The Polytechnic University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 25, 2024
• First Posted: July 30, 2024
• Study Start: January 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2024
• Study Completion: June 30, 2025
• Last Updated: September 12, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)