Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based Intervention for Loneliness Among Older Adults Living Alone

NCT06719843 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: 2024.026-T
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 234
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The proposed cluster-randomised wait-list-controlled trial will (1) examine the effects of the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based intervention on loneliness, psychological flexibility, psychological distress, health-related quality of life, and healthcare utilisation among older adults living alone in Hong Kong; (2) investigate whether the effect of the ACT-based intervention on loneliness is mediated through psychological flexibility; and (3) explore the experiences and perceptions of older adults living alone who participate in ACT-based interventions, including their perceptions of the intervention's impact on their loneliness.

Conditions

Loneliness

Keywords

Loneliness; Older adults; Acceptance and committment therapy-based intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Loneliness

  The Chinese version of the six-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS) will be used to measure loneliness. This scale comprises six items measuring emotional and social loneliness. The scores range from 0 to 6, a higher score indicates a greater level of loneliness.

  Assessed at baseline (T0), within 1 day (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) after the completion of the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Psychological flexibility

  Assessed at baseline (T0), within 1 day (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) after the completion of intervention

• Psychological distress

  Assessed at baseline (T0), within 1 day (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) after the completion of the intervention

• Health-related quality of life

  Assessed at baseline (T0), within 1 day (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) after the completion of intervention

• Healthcare utilisation

  Assessed at baseline (T0), within 1 day (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) after the completion of intervention

• Experiences and perceptions of older adults in intervention group

  Assessed within 1 day (T1) after the intervention

Study Arms (2)

ACT-based intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

In addition to usual community support services, participants in the intervention group will receive the face-to-face ACT-based intervention weekly for 4 weeks (each session lasting approximately 90 minutes), with each group consisting of 6-8 older adults.

Behavioral: ACT-based intervention

Wait-list control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the wait-list control group will receive usual community support services (e.g. meal delivery) provided by the community centres they belong to.

Interventions

ACT-based intervention BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the intervention group will receive the face-to-face ACT-based intervention weekly for 4 weeks (each session lasting approximately 90 minutes), with each group consisting of 6-8 older adults. The intervention consists of 4 sessions: Session 1 (acceptance and cognitive fusion) Session 2 (contact with the present moment and self-as-context) Session 3 (values) Session 3 (committed action)

ACT-based intervention

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• older adults aged 60 years or above
• residing in the community (living at home without being institutionalised in the past 6 months)
• capable of speaking and understanding Chinese
• experiencing loneliness (scoring ≥3 on a three-item loneliness screening scale)
• living alone for more than 1 year

You may not qualify if:

• currently undergoing psychological intervention
• having a clinical diagnosis of mental illness
• being cognitively impaired (Abbreviated Mental Test score \<6)
• having visual/language/communication difficulties

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chinese University of Hong Kong: lead
• The Salvation Army, Hong Kong and Macau Command: collaborator

Central Study Contacts

Cho Lee Wong, PhD

CONTACT

852-39438166; jojowong@cuhk.edu.hk

Study Design

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

Model Details: Wait-list trial

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 27, 2024
• First Posted: December 6, 2024
• Study Start: January 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027
• Last Updated: December 6, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share