Tai Po Hidden Carers Support and Home-Based Respite Project

NCT07004855 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: EA250321
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 380
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The primary objective of this study is to identify and support hidden caregivers of older adults. Caregivers are assessed before the intervention on their mental well-being and social connectedness. Caregivers are triaged into four levels: low, mild, moderate and high. They will receive different types of services (intervention) accordingly. At the end of the service period (or 6-months after the baseline), caregivers and care recipients will complete the assessment again to measure the changes of the primary outcomes.

Conditions

Caregiver Wellbeing

Keywords

caregiver; respite

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Change from baseline in score in caregiving needs on the Carer Needs Screening Tool (CNST-11) after the intervention

  The Carer Needs Screening Tool (CNST-11) is a self-developed tool that measures different aspects of caregiving needs over the past 1 week period. It is a 11-item scale, with 8 items that determines the overall needs level and the others for four aspects of needs: physical health, mental health, social support and care needs. Possible score is from 8 to 32 with lower score indicates lower caregivers' needs. Change in score = Immediate after intervention - baseline

  Baseline and Immediate after intervention

• Change from baseline in score in social support on MOS Social Support Survey after the intervention

  The MOS Social Support Survey (MOSSSS) is a widely used tool that consists of 6 questions designed to measure the amount of support one needs. The total score ranges from 6 to 30, with higher scores indicating more support received. Change in score = Immediate after intervention - baseline

  Baseline and Immediate after intervention

• Change from baseline in score in the severity and disturbance of symptoms of care recipient on Neuropsychiatric Inventory after the intervention

  The Neuropsychiatric Inventory measures the severity and disturbance to caregiver of 13 common symtoms (e.g., dellusion, sleeping problem) of the care recipient. Severity is rated from 0 to 3, with 0 indicates no symptom and 3 indicates severe problem. Disturbance to caregiver is rated from 0 to 5, with 0 being not affected at all and 5 being extremely affected. The higher score in both subscales indicate worse problem. Change in score = Immediate after intervention - baseline

  Baseline and Immediate after intervention

• Change from baseline in score in social connectedness on Social Connectedness Scale after the intervention

  The Social Connectedness Scale consists of 6 items that measures how closely one feel that they are connected to the community. The total score on the scale can range from 8 to 48, with higher scores indicating a higher level of connectedness. Change in score = Immediate after intervention - baseline

  Baseline and Immediate after intervention

• Change from baseline in score in the view on gender role on Gender Role Attitude Scale after the intervention

  The Gender Role Attitude Scale consists of 3 items that measure the view on traditional gender role. The total score range from 3 to 15, with lower score indicate more traditional value. Change in score = Immediate after intervention - baseline

  Baseline and Immediate after intervention

• Change in score from baseline in quality of life measured by EQ-5D-5L after intervention

  The EQ-5D-5L is a standardized instrument used to assess health-related quality of life across five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. The responses are converted into a single index value representing overall health status using Hong Kong's normative value. The primary outcome measure in this study is the change in EQ-5D-5L index scores from baseline to post-intervention/follow-up assessments. 1 equals to perfect health and more negative numbers indicates worse health. Change in health index = Immediate after intervention - baseline

  Baseline and Immediate after intervention

• Changes in score from baseline in perception of caregiving measured by Positive Aspect of Caregiving scale after intervention

  The Positive Aspect of Caregiving scale is a 11-item scale that measures how the caregiver perceive caregiving experience, specifically in a positive aspect (e.g., caregiving makes me feel useful). It is rated in a 5-point Likert scale from "very disagree" to "very agree", with potential score from 0 to 44. A higher score indicates caregiving perceiving it in a more positive way.

  Baseline and Immediate after intervention

Study Arms (4)

Caregiver - Low level

EXPERIMENTAL

Caregivers in low level will receive case follow-up service from social workers

Other: Case follow-up

Caregiver - Mild level

EXPERIMENTAL

Caregivers in mild level will receive regular phone check-in and on-demand services provided by volunteers

Other: Phone Check-in

Caregivers - Moderate level

EXPERIMENTAL

Caregivers in moderate level will receive 30 hours of respite service within 6 months

Other: 30 hr Respite Service

Caregiver - High level

EXPERIMENTAL

Caregivers in high level will receive crisis management and counselling from social workers and professionals.

Other: Crisis management

Interventions

30 hr Respite Service OTHER

Caregivers will be provided with 30 hours of respite service within 6 months. Trained substitute caregivers will provide in-home elderly-sitting service.

Caregivers - Moderate level

Case follow-up OTHER

Case follow-up service provided by social workers. Social workers will call the caregiver regularly to see if situation changes.

Caregiver - Low level

Crisis management OTHER

Crisis management and councelling provided by social workers and professionals.

Caregiver - High level

Phone Check-in OTHER

Regular phone check-in and on-demand services (e.g., escort to hospital) provided by volunteers.

Caregiver - Mild level

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Provide ADL/IADL assistance to at least one older adult (aged 60+),
• Not currently using any types of respite service,
• Able to communicate in either Cantonese, English or Mandarin
• Voluntarily participate

You may not qualify if:

• The care recipient is not living in the community

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead

Study Sites (2)

University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

NOT YET RECRUITING

University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Crew Resource Management, Healthcare

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Patient Care Management; Health Services Administration

Central Study Contacts

Vivian Weiqun Lou

CONTACT

85239174835; wlou@hku.hk

Linda Dongling Wang, PhD

CONTACT

85239102278; ldlw@hku.hk

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 26, 2025
• First Posted: June 4, 2025
• Study Start: July 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2028
• Last Updated: May 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: ICF
• Time Frame: Beginning 3 months and ending 3 years after the publication of results
• Access Criteria: Informed consent form and anonymous data will be uploaded to HKU Data Repository under embargo protection.

Locations

HK (2)