The Effects of a Nurse-led Community-based Sailing Programme on Resilience of School-aged Children With Autism

NCT06575244 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: NTEC-2025-237-T
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 36
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this pilot RCT is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the community-based sailing program and to assess the preliminary effects before the main RCT, given the literature on sailing for children with ASD has not yet been established. Does intervention improve the resilience of participants? Does intervention improve the quality of life, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and social functioning outcomes of participants? Researchers will compare the effect of community-based sailing to the attention control group at baseline, following randomisation, and post-intervention Participants will: Participants in the intervention group will participate in a nurse-led community-based sailing programme over six days, with each day consisting of 4 sessions, each lasting an hour, for a total of 24 hours. Participants in the attention control group will engage in crafting activities with minimal difficulty, focusing on maintaining attention without any emotional or reflective discussions.

Conditions

Autistic Disorders Spectrum; Child Development

Keywords

Autism spectrum disorder; Children; Sailing; Resilience; Nature-based intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Resilience

  The Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14) consists of 14 items assessing personal competence, acceptance of self, and life. Each item is rated on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." The total possible scores on the RS-14 range from 14 to 98, with higher scores indicating higher levels of resilience. The Chinese version of the RS-14 has been validated for evaluating the resilience of young adolescents in Hong Kong. It demonstrates good internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.86.

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Depressive symptoms

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention)

• Self-esteem

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention)

• QoL

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention)

• Social functioning outcomes

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention)

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Eligible participants will participate in the nurse-led CBS programme, utilising dinghies with a universal design known for their exceptional stability to prioritize safety. The concrete experience will be introduced through sailing activities. The instructor-to-participant ratio will be 1:6 with a safety boat present. The programme will conclude with participants receiving a certificate of participation.

Other: Community-based sailing

Controlled group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Participants in the attention control group will participate in crafting activities. These activities will match the time and attention dedicated by the intervention group but are designed to have no impact on resilience.

Other: Crafting activities

Interventions

Community-based sailing OTHER

A nurse-led community-based sailing programme is validated by an expert panel including professionals from various fields, such as a registered nurse, academia, and qualified sailing instructors, delivered in a group of 6 participants, incorporating experiential learning, with the aid of materials including dinghies with Universal design, safety boats, buoys, buoyancy aids, supplementing with a waterproof sailing booklet. The intervention is developed and facilitated by a registered nurse (principal investigator).

Intervention group

Crafting activities OTHER

Participants in the attention control group will participate in crafting activities. Activities match the time and attention dedicated by the intervention group. Activities are designed to have no impact on resilience.

Controlled group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 7 Years - 12 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• be between the ages of 7 and 12,
• have a confirmed diagnosis of ASD,
• be enrolled in inclusive education school,
• possess the ability to complete the questionnaire in Chinese,
• be able to communicate in Chinese.

You may not qualify if:

• With sailing experience,
• With a history of severe motion sickness symptoms.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chinese University of Hong Kong: lead
• Sailability Hong Kong: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

The Nethersole School of Nursing, the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Autism Spectrum Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Myrian Sze Nga Fan, MSc

  Chinese University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Professor William Ho Cheung Li, PhD

  Chinese University of Hong Kong

  STUDY CHAIR

• Professor Laurie Long Kwan Ho, PhD

  Chinese University of Hong Kong

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Chair Sek Ying Professor Chair Sek Ying, PhD

  Chinese University of Hong Kong

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Myrian Sze Nga Fan, MSc

CONTACT

852-39438177; myrianfan@link.cuhk.edu.hk

William Ho Cheung Li, PhD

CONTACT

852-39430889; williamli@cuhk.edu.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Due to the limited resources available, the study team has decided to adopt a volunteer-based approach for the blinded outcome assessor. Individuals with relevant experience working with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will be recruited and trained to perform the data collection for the study. The researchers recognize the importance of ensuring the reliability and validity of the study's findings. To address this, the volunteer assessors will undergo appropriate training and supervision to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to conduct the assessments in a rigorous and unbiased manner. By leveraging the expertise and commitment of volunteers with prior experience in the ASD population, the study team aims to overcome the challenge of limited resources and implement the blinded assessment protocol as intended. This approach will help maintain the integrity of the study's methodology and the credibility of the final results.
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhD Candidate

Model Details: The intervention is guided by the Synergy Model of Resilience, integrating Kolb's theory of experiential learning.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 23, 2024
• First Posted: August 28, 2024
• Study Start: July 14, 2025
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2025
• Study Completion: September 30, 2025
• Last Updated: July 2, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)