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

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Resilience; Autism Spectrum Disorder

Treatments: Other: A nurse-led community-based sailing programme; Other: Crafting activities

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07056387

CREC 2025.237-T

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full description

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that typically emerges in early childhood, characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction, with the presence of restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities. This study seeks to address the outcome gap in the literature, the resilience of children with ASD, and contribute to their holistic health through integrating nature and the community.

The study hypothesizes that, compared to the attention control group, school-aged children with ASD in inclusive education who participate in the intervention group will exhibit: (1) increased levels of resilience, (2) improved quality of life (QoL), (3) reduced depressive symptoms, (4) enhanced self-esteem, and (5) improved social functioning, both immediately post-intervention and at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups.

Enrollment: 184 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 7 to 12 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 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.

Exclusion criteria

• With sailing experience,
• With a history of severe motion sickness symptoms.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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184 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention group

Experimental group

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Other: A nurse-led community-based sailing programme

Attention controlled Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Other: Crafting activities