Mental Health Literacy and Peer Support Among Caregivers

NCT07337148 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: HSEARS20230421001
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 727
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to assess the efficacy of an electronic painting and peer support platform on help seeking behaviour and emotion (depression, anxiety and stress) among caregivers. This is a 2-arm randomized controlled trial with 700 caregivers being randomized to intervention group (IG) or control group (CG). Participants of the IG will use the EPPS system for 8 weeks, making electronic paintings, sharing the paintings with peers, self-assessing emotion and use the provided list to seek for help if necessary. At the same time, they will continue to receive the usual supportive service to caregivers in the NGOs, while the caregivers in the CG will receive e-chat and usual care (the usual supportive service to caregivers in the NGOs). After 8 weeks, the caregivers in the CG will be given opportunities to draw paintings in the EPPS system. All caregivers are invited to complete an online survey at Week 0 (before they use the system), Week 8 (immediately after the system use) and Week 12 (4 weeks after the system use). 30 to 40 caregivers will be invited to attend focus group interviews to indicate their comments and views on the use of the EPPS system after Week 8. Such qualitative data collection will be ceased when no new comments is received. The findings of the study will provide evidence of technology use in supporting caregivers for help seeking and reducing depression, anxiety and stress.

Conditions

Mental Health

Keywords

Peer support; Caregivers; Electronic painting; Mental health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form (ATSPPH-SF)

  It consists of 10 items measuring the propensity for seeking help for mental disorders. A 4-point Likert scale ranging from "0=disagree" to "3=agree" is used as the response options. Total score, ranging from 0 to 30, is calculated by summing up all the items - higher scores indicate higher propensity to seek help. There are two subscales (1) openness to seeking treatment and (2) need in seeking treatment in this instrument.

  T0 (baseline), T1 (after the intervention at Week 9), and T2 (week 12)

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• DASS-8

  T0 (baseline), T1 (after the intervention at Week 9), and T2 (week 12)

• WHO-5

  T0 (baseline), T1 (after the intervention at Week 9), and T2 (week 12)

• Chinese version of Zarit Burden Interview (CZBI-short)

  T0 (baseline), T1 (after the intervention at Week 9), and T2 (week 12)

• Modified Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey (mMOS-SS)

  T0 (baseline), T1 (after the intervention at Week 9), and T2 (week 12)

• PHQ-2

  T0 (baseline), T1 (after the intervention at Week 9), and T2 (week 12)

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group (IG)

EXPERIMENTAL

Caregivers in the IG will use the e-painting and e-chat features in the EPPS system for 8 weeks (at the same time, they will continue to receive the usual supportive service to caregivers in the NGOs).

Behavioral: Electronic Painting and Peer Supportive

Control group (CG)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The caregivers in the CG will receive e-chat and usual care (the usual supportive service to caregivers in the NGOs). After 8 weeks, the caregivers in the CG will be given opportunities to use the e-painting in the EPPS system.

Behavioral: Usual Care

Interventions

Electronic Painting and Peer Supportive BEHAVIORAL

The EPPS system consists of five features: 1) electronic painting (e-painting); 2) picture sharing; 3) e-chat; 4) mood self-assessment and 5) announcement. The IG is given all the five features for 8 weeks. At the same time, they will continue to receive the usual supportive service to caregivers in the NGOs.

Intervention Group (IG)

Usual Care BEHAVIORAL

The CG receives usual supportive service to caregivers in the NGOs and get access to e-chat in the EPPS system.

Control group (CG)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Family caregivers who take care of elderly, disabled, demented, or mentally ill persons
• Able to speak Cantonese
• Live in Hong Kong

You may not qualify if:

• currently suffer from severe acute illnesses

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Location

Related Publications (10)

• Liang X, Guo Q, Luo J, Li F, Ding D, Zhao Q, Hong Z. Anxiety and depression symptoms among caregivers of care-recipients with subjective cognitive decline and cognitive impairment. BMC Neurol. 2016 Oct 3;16(1):191. doi: 10.1186/s12883-016-0712-2.

  PMID: 27716098 RESULT

• Ma M, Dorstyn D, Ward L, Prentice S. Alzheimers' disease and caregiving: a meta-analytic review comparing the mental health of primary carers to controls. Aging Ment Health. 2018 Nov;22(11):1395-1405. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2017.1370689. Epub 2017 Sep 5.

  PMID: 28871796 RESULT

• Xu XY, Leung D, Leung AYM, Kwan RYC, Liang TN, Chai AJ. "Am I entitled to take a break in caregiving?": Perceptions of leisure activities of family caregivers of loved ones with dementia in China. Dementia (London). 2022 Jul;21(5):1682-1698. doi: 10.1177/14713012221093879. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

  PMID: 35481765 RESULT

• Leung AYM, Cheung T, Fong TKH, Zhao IY, Kabir ZN. The Use of an Electronic Painting Platform by Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study. Healthcare (Basel). 2022 May 9;10(5):870. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10050870.

  PMID: 35628007 RESULT

• Confectioner K, Currie A, Gabana N, van Gerven N, Kerkhoffs GMMJ, Gouttebarge V. Help-seeking behaviours related to mental health symptoms in professional football. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2021 May 17;7(2):e001070. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2021-001070. eCollection 2021.

  PMID: 34055385 RESULT

• Ali AM, Alameri RA, Hendawy AO, Al-Amer R, Shahrour G, Ali EM, Alkhamees AA, Ibrahim N, Hassan BH. Psychometric evaluation of the depression anxiety stress scale 8-items (DASS-8)/DASS-12/DASS-21 among family caregivers of patients with dementia. Front Public Health. 2022 Oct 25;10:1012311. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1012311. eCollection 2022.

  PMID: 36388286 RESULT

• Topp CW, Ostergaard SD, Sondergaard S, Bech P. The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: a systematic review of the literature. Psychother Psychosom. 2015;84(3):167-76. doi: 10.1159/000376585. Epub 2015 Mar 28.

  PMID: 25831962 RESULT

• Tang JY, Ho AH, Luo H, Wong GH, Lau BH, Lum TY, Cheung KS. Validating a Cantonese short version of the Zarit Burden Interview (CZBI-Short) for dementia caregivers. Aging Ment Health. 2016 Sep;20(9):996-1001. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2015.1047323. Epub 2015 May 27.

  PMID: 26016419 RESULT

• Moser A, Stuck AE, Silliman RA, Ganz PA, Clough-Gorr KM. The eight-item modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey: psychometric evaluation showed excellent performance. J Clin Epidemiol. 2012 Oct;65(10):1107-16. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2012.04.007. Epub 2012 Jul 20.

  PMID: 22818947 RESULT

• Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The Patient Health Questionnaire-2: validity of a two-item depression screener. Med Care. 2003 Nov;41(11):1284-92. doi: 10.1097/01.MLR.0000093487.78664.3C.

  PMID: 14583691 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Study Officials

• Angela Leung, PhD

  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor, Associate Head (Research)

Model Details: We will recruit 700 caregivers through 30 units of NGOs over 2 years. Caregivers can join a 2-hour face-to-face workshop and learn how to download the EPPS system, all the features of the EPPS system, how to draw electronic paintings, share the paintings, and seek help from others via the system. In the workshop, caregivers are given opportunities to meet the designated caregiver support team member in person before they go for online interaction in the coming 8 weeks. The caregivers will also have hands-on practice (how to draw and share the paintings). This is to ensure the caregivers know how to use the EPPS system before they go home. Trained university students or volunteers from NGOs (about 80-100) will assist caregivers download and use the system in the workshop. If the caregivers are not able to join the workshop, the Project Team will share the Powerpoint (that shows how to download and use the system) with them. Telephone advice will be given to these caregivers to ensure t

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 9, 2025
• First Posted: January 13, 2026
• Study Start: May 1, 2023
• Primary Completion: October 30, 2025
• Study Completion: October 30, 2025
• Last Updated: January 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)