An Intervention Study: Shaping a Healthier Child

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Parent-Child Relationship

Treatments: Other: Brief Parental Training Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02366000

AP-J86

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this study is to identify parent-children communication in relation to health risk behaviors (smoking, drinking and illegal drug taking) in adolescents, and to enhance better parental skills in preventing these behaviors in children.

Full description

Previous research found that parent-children communication is the best predictor of health risk behaviors among adolescents. However, longitudinal studies of parent-adolescent communication on the subject of health risk behavior such as alcohol, tobacco and other drug use (ATOD) remain relatively scarce, and none of this kind of work has been done among Chinese sample. Such information is urgently needed given the increasing trend of drug use among adolescents in Hong Kong, and the severe burden of morbidity and mortality related to ATOD.

The study aims to examine parent-children communication in relation to health risk behaviors and to explore the potential efficacy of a brief intervention which is designed to assist parents of primary school children to communicate with their children about issues in the prevention of health risk behaviors. The efficacy of the intervention will be compared with a waiting-list control group using a randomized controlled trial. There will then be two telephone follow-ups to reinforce learnt strategies and skills for home practice in between the two workshops. There will also be assessments post-intervention and at 1 year follow-up. Evaluation focus groups will also be conducted after the intervention program.

Enrollment: 88 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Parent of a child in primary five or six
• Cantonese-speaking
• Consent to their participation in the program and the inclusion of their children in the assessments

Exclusion criteria

• none

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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88 participants in 2 patient groups

Brief Parental Training Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will have to attend two 3-hour Brief Parental Training Intervention Programme, with three weeks apart. There will also be two telephone follow-up sessions to reinforce learnt strategies and skills for home practice between workshops.

Treatment:

Other: Brief Parental Training Intervention

Wait-list Group

Other group

Description:

Participants will receive the same Brief Parental Training Intervention Programme as the intervention group. However, they will wait until the questionnaires have been completed by the intervention group for the second time (i.e. immediately after intervention) before they receive their programme.

Treatment:

Other: Brief Parental Training Intervention