Pai.ACT: A Deep-learning-powered, Smartphone-delivered, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Parents of Children With Special Needs: A Feasibility Study
Trial ID: NCT06086951
Status: RECRUITING
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Phase: NA
Start date: 2023-10-01
Completion date: 2025-06-30
Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong
Collaborators: Hong Kong Christian Service; Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association; Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service; Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups; Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital
Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Intellectual Disability; Specific Learning Disorder; Communication Disorders; Motor Disorders
Interventions: Pai.ACT Group; Control Group
Locations: The Chinese University of Hong Kong; The Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital
Countries: Hong Kong; Hong Kong
Enrollment: 60
Age range: 19 Years - None
Sex: ALL

Summary:
Limited psychological support for parents of children with special needs in Hong Kong can profoundly impact the child rehabilitation process and the well-being of parent-child dyads. Leveraging previous evidence from our team's research, we have developed Pai.ACT, the first deep learning-based mental health advisory system for parents. Pai.ACT incorporates the counselling logic of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) through natural language processing, enabling parents to engage in human-like voice-to-text conversations and receive assessments and stepped-care mental health interventions, including guided self-help materials and real-time, individual-based counselling based on ACT. Following the research and development phases, we aim to kick off the utilisation of Pai.ACT by (1) pilot-testing its feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy in improving mental health outcomes for parents of children with special needs and (2) researching to determine the most optimal service model for parents by exploring their perceptions through focus group interviews. Pai.ACT offers accessible and comprehensive mental health services to all Chinese-speaking parents, addressing their psychological burden in caring for children with special needs. Pai.ACT could bring substantial and enduring societal benefits to Chinese-speaking families by integrating mental health support services for family caregivers with current child rehabilitation services and non-governmental organisations. Furthermore, this could contribute to reducing the public stigma attached to special needs children while increasing mental health awareness.

Eligibility criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Primary caregivers who are Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents.
* The caregiver must cohabitate with the child with special needs.
* The child under the participant's care should be aged between 2-8 years. The child should be either diagnosed or suspected to have one of the developmental conditions such as ASD, ADHD, or DD. These conditions must be recognised by the Child Assessment Service of the Department of Health and conform to the DSM-5 criteria. The diagnosis or suspected diagnosis should be documented in the electronic medical record at the study hospital or the case profile record at the collaborating non-governmental organisations.

Note: The age range of 2-8 years was selected due to the substantial impact of parenting on the developmental milestones of preschoolers and junior school-aged children.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Parents diagnosed with severe mental illnesses are excluded.
* Parents who are currently pregnant are excluded.
* Parents who are less than six months postpartum are excluded.
* Parents with a developmental disability that interferes with their ability to comprehend the program's content are excluded.
* Parents with cognitive, language, communication, visual, or hearing impairments or disorders that could impede their understanding of the intervention content are excluded.
* Parents currently participating in other psychosocial, psychoeducational, or parenting interventions are excluded.

Outcomes:
Parenting Stress; Child's Emotional and Behavioural Symptoms