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

NCT07056387 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: CREC 2025.237-T
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 184
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The goal of this randomised controlled trial is to evaluate the effect of a nurse-led community-based sailing programme on resilience of school-aged children with autism in inclusive education. 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 intervention (community-based sailing programme) to the attention control group (Crafting activities) at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups. 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

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Resilience

Keywords

Sailing; Nature-based interventions; School-aged children

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Resilience

  Resilience will be measured using the 14-item Resilience Scale (RS-14), which assesses personal competence, self-acceptance, and life acceptance. Each item is rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = "strongly disagree" to 7 = "strongly agree"), with total scores ranging from 14 to 98. Higher scores indicate greater resilience. The validated Chinese version of the RS-14, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.86, has demonstrated good internal consistency for assessing resilience in young adolescents in Hong Kong.

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention), and at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups.

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Depressive symptoms

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention), and at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups.

• Self-esteem

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention), and at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups.

• Quality of life (QoL)

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention), and at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups.

• Social functioning outcomes

  Pre-intervention, Post-intervention (within 1 week immediately after intervention), and at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups.

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.

Other: A nurse-led community-based sailing programme

Attention controlled Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The attention control group participates in crafting activities (e.g., making handicrafts or painting) to engage participants in an active process, allowing for a comparison of the intervention's effects (sailing programme) against an alternative active activity.

Other: Crafting activities

Interventions

A nurse-led community-based sailing programme 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.

Attention 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 an 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

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Myrian Sze Nga Fan, MSc

  Chinese University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• William Ho Cheung Li, PhD

  Chinese University of Hong Kong

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Laurie Long Kwan Ho, PhD

  Chinese University of Hong Kong

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Sek Ying Chair, PhD

  Chinese University of Hong Kong

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Myrian Sze Nga Fan, MSc

CONTACT

39438177; myrianfan@link.cuhk.edu.hk

William Ho Cheung Li, PhD

CONTACT

39430889; williamli@cuhk.edu.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The study employs single masking, where only the outcome assessor is blinded. Due to the nature of the interventions, masking the participants and intervention providers is not feasible.
• 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: June 29, 2025
• First Posted: July 9, 2025
• Study Start: August 15, 2025
• Primary Completion: April 15, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Last Updated: July 9, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share