NCT05877742

AA on Drug Abusers by Nursing Students

Around the Turn: A Feasibility Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Using Auricular Acupressure to Abstain From Drug Abuse Through Training Nursing Students

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 80 (estimated)
• Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Drug abuse is a serious public health issue. Despite the serious consequences of drug abuse, there are around 2000 new cases reported by drug abusers each year. There is growing evidence of the use of auricular acupressure (AA), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment modality, in reducing withdrawal symptoms among drug abusers. This study aims to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of training nursing students to deliver brief education on AA on drug abusers.

Detailed description

A 2-arm feasibility cluster RCT will be conducted in the 80 drug abusers from 7 substance abuse clinics in Hong Kong Hospital Authority following the CONSORT statement. The intervention group will receive AA intervention individually from trained nursing students. The control group will individually receive a 5-minute seminar delivered by a research assistant.

Conditions

• Drug Abuse

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	AA group	Participants will individually receive a 5-minute AA education delivered verbally at his/her respective clinic by a trained nursing student interventionist in addition to the usual scheduled follow-ups and activities at clinics.
OTHER	Control group	To mimic the time and attention spent, the control group will individually receive a 5-minute seminar delivered by an RA.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-03-20
• Primary completion: 2025-06-20
• Completion: 2025-06-20
• First posted: 2023-05-26
• Last updated: 2025-04-20

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Hong Kong