A proactive child protection programme for mothers with psychological distress: A pilot project
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN15331083 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN15331083 |
- Submission date
- 12/07/2022
- Registration date
- 02/08/2022
- Last edited
- 03/07/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Psychological distress is an emotional state associated with depression, anxiety and stress. The postpartum period is a vulnerable time for the onset or relapse of psychological distress in women due to new challenges, and physiological and psychological changes. Mothers with psychological distress or emotional problems tend to express behaviours that have a negative impact on their family relationships and children’s development. While the needs of this vulnerable group are increasingly being recognised in Hong Kong, there is currently a lack of supportive programmes to assist them during the transition period of motherhood, improve maternal mental health, and facilitate child health and development. In this pilot project, we would like to provide a proactive child protection programme involving a confinement nanny (Pui Yuet) who cares for a new mother and the newborn using traditional Chinese confinement methods lasting one month, including diet, well-being, and other post-natal practices. The Pui Yuet acts as a child care provider and volunteers as a neighbourhood buddy for conducting supportive home visits and child care services to mothers with psychological distress in order to enhance their parenting competency, and reduce their parental stress, anxiety and depression.
The objectives of the project are to:
1. Provide an advanced training course for certified Pui Yuet and volunteers, and recruit trained Pui Yuet to act as child care providers and trained volunteers as neighbourhood buddies
2. Provide perinatal and child care support service, by trained Pui Yuet and volunteers, for families in poverty with 0-24-month-old babies for 3-6 months
3. Provide parenting coaching for mothers in need
4. Establish a supportive network for mothers
5. Evaluate the effects of the proactive child protection programme in terms of maternal, children, Pui Yuet and volunteer outcomes
Who can participate?
Certified Pui Yuet, volunteers and women with emotional problems/psychological distress who have 0-24 months babies (phase two only)
What does the study involve?
In phase one, an advanced training course will be delivered to 100 certified Pui Yuet and volunteers in 6 half-days via synchronous online sessions. In phase two, 50 mothers with emotional problems/psychological distress will be recruited to attend a 12- week neighbourhood buddies programme. During the programme, each mother will receive support from a trained Pui Yuet with volunteer participation for a period of 12 weeks with 10 hours each week in three home visits.
The quantitative outcomes of the mothers (parenting competency, parental stress, and anxiety and depression), trained Pui Yuet and volunteers (empathy) will be measured before and after the programme.
Individual semi-structured interviews will be conducted with mothers, Pui Yuet and volunteers to explore their experiences of and feelings towards the programme after its completion, with audio-recording.
Babies’ growth and development will be monitored by reviewing the data on body weight and length. The attachment between babies and their mothers will be observed during the semi-structured interviews after the programme completion. The medical attendance of babies will also be monitored. The cost-effectiveness of the programme will be estimated with such information.
Recruitment, retention and drop-outs of the trained Pui Yuet and volunteers, as well as recruitment, compliance and drop-outs of the participating women, will also be monitored.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The potential benefits of participating in the study include improvements in parenting competency, parental stress, anxiety and postnatal depression among mothers with psychological distress; and enhanced empathy among Pui Yuet and volunteers. The interventions are not expected to cause any pain, discomfort, or harm to participants.
Where is the study run from?
Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
April 2022 to June 2024
Who is funding the study?
Adrian and Jennifer Cheng Foundation Limited (Hong Kong)
Who is the main contact?
Prof Ka Ming Chow
kmchow@cuhk.edu.hk
Contact information
Principal Investigator
The Nethersole School of Nursing
6/F, Esther Lee Building
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin
Hong Kong
None available
Hong Kong
| Phone | +852 39434431 |
|---|---|
| kmchow@cuhk.edu.hk |
Study information
| Study design | Non-randomized pilot pre-/post-test quasi-experimental study supplemented by semi-structured individual interviews |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Non randomised study |
| Study setting(s) | Community |
| Study type | Other |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | A proactive child protection programme for mothers with psychological distress: A pilot project with outcome evaluation |
| Study objectives | The objectives of the project are to: 1. Provide an advanced training course for certified Pui Yuet and volunteers, and recruit trained Pui Yuet to act as child care providers and trained volunteers neighbourhoodood buddies 2. Provide perinatal and child care support service, by trained Pui Yuet and volunteers, for poverty families with 0-24 month babies for 3-6 months 3. Provide parenting coaching for mothers in need 4. Establish a supportive network for mothers living in the district of NTEC 5. Evaluate the effects of the proactive child protection programme in terms of maternal, children, Pui Yuet and volunteer outcomes |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 13/06/2022, Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committees of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Faculty Office, The Faculty of Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR; +852 39439263; fssc02@cuhk.edu.hk), ref: SBRE-21-0601 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Mothers with psychological distress |
| Intervention | This study will be conducted in two phases. In Phase one, an advanced training course will be delivered to 100 workers (certified Pui Yuet and volunteers) in 6 half-days via synchronous online sessions. The training contents include: 1. Managing mothers with emotional problems/psychological distress 2. Counselling technique 3. Identifying crisis conditions 4. Seeking for intervention 5. Getting known to all sort of available services to support family 6. Collaborating with a Comprehensive Child Development Surveillance (CCDS) team for medical and social support 7. Advance in child nutrition and child health (physical, psychological and well-being 8. How to establish daily routine for infants including sleep 9. Early childhood development and identification of special educational needs children 10. Community service on rehabilitation services for children 11. Parenting techniques and demonstration In Phase two, 50 mothers with emotional problems/psychological distress and having 0-24 month babies will be recruited to attend a 12- week neighbourhood buddies programme. During the programme, each mother will receive support from the a trained Pui Yuet with volunteer participation for a period of 12 weeks with 10 hours each week in three home visits regarding the following aspects: 1. Medical service: Accompany for medical service including psychiatric follow up or CCDS assessment of both mothers and their babies 2. Parenting service: Parenting workshop and peer support group 3. Community service: Build up an informal neighborhood supporting network 4. Counselling service: Individual cases might need family therapist for intervention 5. Pui Yuet service: Perinatal nursery, emotional support, Chinese “po” soup and child care 6. Volunteer service: Pair up with Pui Yuet and visit regularly, hopefully can build up a friendship relationship with the family |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Parental competency measured using the Chinese version of the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (C-PSOC) at baseline and after the programme |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Parental stress of the mothers measured using the Chinese version of Parental Stress Scale (C-PSS) at baseline and after the programme 2. Anxiety of the mothers measured using the Chinese version of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (C-STAI) at baseline and after the programme 3. Depression of the mothers measured using the Chinese version of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (C-EPDS) at baseline and after the programme 4. Empathy of the workers measured using the subscales of perspective taking and empathic concern in the Chinese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (C-IRI) before and after the advanced training programme 5. Mothers' and workers' experiences of and feelings towards the programme explored by semi-structured interviews after completion of the programme 6. Baby outcomes: Babies’ growth and development will be monitored by reviewing the data of body weight and length. The attachment between babies and their mothers will be observed during the semi-structured interviews after the programme completion. Medical attendance of babies will also be monitored. Cost-effectiveness of the programme will be estimated with such information. 7. Feasibility outcomes: Recruitment, retention and drop-outs of the trained Pui Yuet and volunteers, as well as recruitment, compliance and drop-outs of the participating women will also be monitored |
| Overall study start date | 01/04/2022 |
| Completion date | 30/06/2024 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Mixed |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Sex | Female |
| Target number of participants | Phase one: 100 certified Pui Yuet and volunteers. Phase two: 50 mothers |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Phase one: Certified Pui Yuet and volunteers 2. Phase two: Mothers with emotional problems/psychological distress and having 0-24 month babies |
| Key exclusion criteria | Does not meet inclusion criteria |
| Date of first enrolment | 19/06/2022 |
| Date of final enrolment | 31/12/2023 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Hong Kong
Study participating centres
Shatin
None available
Hong Kong
20/F
Galaxy Factory Building
25-27 Luk Hop Street
San Po Kong
None available
Hong Kong
4/F
Hong Kong Industrial Centre Block A
Hong Kong Industrial Center
489-491 Castle Peak Road
Lai Chi Kok
None available
Hong Kong
Sponsor information
University/education
The Nethersole School of Nursing
6/F, Esther Lee Building
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin
Hong Kong
None available
China
| Phone | +852 39438174 |
|---|---|
| nursing@cuhk.edu.hk | |
| Website | https://www.nur.cuhk.edu.hk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/00t33hh48 |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 30/06/2025 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the study will be anonymised and available upon reasonable request from the Chief Investigator Prof Ka Ming Chow (kmchow@cuhk.edu.hk) on a case-by-case basis after publication. Anonymised participant-level data will be available 1 year following completion of the study and for up to 5 years. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic results | 03/07/2025 | No | No |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
03/07/2025: The basic results have been uploaded as an additional file.
02/02/2023: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The recruitment end date was changed from 28/02/2023 to 31/12/2023.
2. The overall end date was changed from 30/09/2023 to 30/06/2024.
3. The intention to publish date was changed from 30/09/2024 to 30/06/2025.
4. The plain English summary was updated to reflect these changes.
01/08/2022: Trial's existence confirmed by the Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committees of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
