NCT05803252

Videoconferencing-based Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Parents of SHCN Children

Videoconferencing-based Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Parents of Children With Special Health Care Needs: A Non-randomised Controlled Feasibility Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 104 (actual)
• Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 21 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of the proposed non-randomized waitlist-controlled design study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of using a Videoconferencing-based Individual Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT) approach to enhance the mental well-being of parents of children with special healthcare needs (SHCN) over a three-month period after the intervention has taken place.

Detailed description

Parents of children with special health care needs (SHCN) have always been under tremendous pressure to care for their children. The parental well-being, as well as family functioning, are at risk. In literature, there has been increasing evidence supporting the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on mental health in different populations, including healthy individuals, parents, children and those with mental health problems. The previous studies done by the PI in using ACT for improving parental well-being and management have proven the intervention effective for Hong Kong parents. Her work showed that ACT training effectively enhanced the parental well-being of parents of children with asthma and autism spectrum disorder. Though the result was promising, the previous clinical trials in Hong Kong showed a limited effect size. This is due to the need for extensive manpower in ACT intervention, yet there are very limited trained ACT interventionists in Hong Kong. On top of that, past interventions have failed to target impaired psychopathological processes as well as identify and determine which psychopathological processes require intervention in the first place. This study aims to overcome the limitations mentioned above. The proposed study will follow the model and principles of Focused Acceptance Commitment Therapy (FACT) to increase the psychological flexibility of parents of children with SHCN. FACT is a new model of brief therapy that is a highly condensed version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which has been proven to be effective in the long term in improving one's mental well-being through increasing one's psychological flexibility. The time-limited and brief FACT intervention targets the impaired psychopathological processes and determines what process(es) need to work on first, which also eases the demand for ACT interventionists. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and possible effectiveness of Videoconferencing-based Individual Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT) in enhancing the mental health of parents of children with special healthcare needs (SHCN) by comparing the results to those of a waitlist control group. The study will assess the well-being of the participating parents before the intervention, immediately after the intervention and again three months later to determine the impact of the FACT intervention on their mental well-being.

Conditions

• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Development Delay
• Chronic Disease

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy	FACT aims to increase one's psychological flexibility so that one will not generate feelings of distress and suffering when confronted with painful life situations. The intervention of this study will follow the FACT principles laid out by Strosahl, Robinson and Gustavsson to increase parents' psychological flexibility. Three core processes influence one's psychological flexibility: awareness, openness, and engagement. The key objectives of each core process are: 1. Awareness: Able to experience the present moment, able to take perspective on self 2. Openness: Able to detach distressing private experiences and associated rules, able to take a non-judgemental, accepting stance towards painful material 3. Engagement: Exhibits strong connection with values, able to sustain values-consistent action
OTHER	Waitlist Control	The waitlist control group participants will commence their FACT intervention immediately after they complete their follow-up assessment.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-03-15
• Primary completion: 2025-12-30
• Completion: 2026-02-28
• First posted: 2023-04-07
• Last updated: 2026-03-05

Locations

5 sites across 1 country: Hong Kong