Clinical trials

Background. Almost two thirds of adolescents experience a mental disorder before the age of 25. Among mental disorders, depression is one of the most common among young people aged between 15 to 24, with a prevalence of 13.5% to 15.8% worldwide and 13.2% in Hong Kong, which is alarming. Cognitive behavioural therapy and online cognitive behavioural therapy has been shown to be effective on reducing depression. Also, online cognitive behavioural therapy has also been shown to be useful for people with mild to moderate depression. However, there is a lack of an effective short-term online cognitive behavioural therapy for adolescents with depression, named online cognitive behavioural therapy in Hong Kong. Objectives: This study aims to explore the efficacy and effectiveness of a short-term online cognitive behavioural therapy for adolescents with depressive symptoms. Hypothesis: i. The online cognitive behavioural therapy, as compared to an online relaxation program, is significantly more effective on improving mental health, including reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms, and increasing psychological well-being for participants. iii. The treatment outcomes, as stated in (i), are predicted by individual's uptake, adherence and dropout rate of online cognitive behavioural therapy. Research Design. A multicentre blinded randomized controlled two-arm parallel-group trial will be adopted. Participating adolescents will be recruited from collaborating secondary schools. Using block randomization, subjects will be assigned in a 1:1 ratio to an online cognitive behavioural therapy and an online relaxation program. Both online cognitive behavioural therapy and online relaxation program will provide six online modules for participants to learn through computer and/or smartphone. Participants will complete the same online assessment tools at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 2-month follow-up periods. Subjects Inclusion Criteria. Subjects inclusion criteria includes: (a) aged between 12 and 18 years old; (b) students of a local collaborating secondary school; (c) having mild to moderate depressive symptoms as assessed with a standardized assessment tool, i.e. Chinese Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-Y; Cao et al., 2023) with a DASS Depression score of between 7 and 13; and (d) provide parental consent. Those with severe depression or at risk of suicide are excluded from this study. Significance: This study aims to make a significant contribution to the development of an online cognitive behavioural therapy for Chinese adolescents with depressive symptoms. In particular, the online cognitive behavioural therapy could be used in secondary schools to serve those students with mental health problems who are reluctant to seek help from traditional face-to-face counselling.

The research aims to investigate the effectiveness a mobile phone application-based (app-based) mindfulness interventions for university students with mild depressive symptoms. This study adopts a multicentre randomized control trial two arms research design. A randomised controlled trial will compare a newly designed mobile phone application-based (app-based) mindfulness interventions, named MindfulCityU, with a waitlist control group to determine whether the MindfulCityU produces better intervention outcomes on promoting mental health for university students, including depressive symptoms, mindfulness, and wellbeing. The MindfulCityU provides 8 online modules on mindfulness for participants to access and learn at home through their smartphones and/or computer. Participants of waitlist control group participants receive no active intervention at the initial stage and receive the same MindfulCityU at a later stage. Participants will complete online standardized assessment tools on their intervention outcomes before and after the intervention and 2-months follow-up. The ethical considerations of this study were reviewed and approved by the Human and Artefacts Ethics Sub-Committee of the City University of Hong Kong in 2025.

The research aims to investigate the efficacy of a narrative therapy group in reducing depressive symptoms among older people. This study adopts a mixed methods research design, involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the quantitative study, a randomised controlled trial will compare a narrative therapy group with a waitlist control group to determine whether an eight-session narrative therapy group can reduce depressive symptoms in older people. The eight-session narrative therapy group will be delivered by a trained and experienced social worker or counsellor, and intervention outcomes will be assessed before and after the intervention using a standardised assessment tool for depressive symptoms. The qualitative study aims to examine the benefits, advantages, and limitations of the narrative therapy group from the users' perspective.

The research aims to investigate the effectiveness a cognitive stimulation therapy group for older adults with dementia and mild cognitive impairment living in residential homes. This study adopts a multicenter randomized control trial two arms research design. The randomized controlled trial will compare a typical 14-session cognitive stimulation therapy group with a calligraphy group to determine whether the 14-session cognitive stimulation therapy group can produce better intervention outcomes for older adults with dementia and mild cognitive impairment, including cognitive functions, depressive symptoms, activities engagement, social functioning and, quality of life.

The research aims to investigate the effectiveness of a new short-term multicomponent intervention to promote the bio-psycho-social-spiritual health of older adults with MCI to improve their cognitive abilities. In this study, the multicomponent intervention consists of healthy lifestyle psychoeducation and cognitive stimulation. This study is a double-blind, clustered, randomized, controlled, four-arm parallel group study. 200 eligible older adults with MCI are openly recruited into activity groups in local elderly centres. The activity groups are randomly allocated to three intervention groups (i.e., multicomponent intervention, cognitive stimulation and lifestyle psychoeducation) and a control group in a 1:1:1:1 ratio. The participants with MCI are blinded on group allocation and kept uninformed which type of intervention they are receiving. An investigator, blinded to group allocation and intervention, assess outcomes using standardized assessment tools before and after the intervention and after 3 months.

The research aims to investigate the effectiveness of playback theatre program on improving mental health for adolescents and youth. This study adopts a multicentre randomized control trial two arms research design. A randomised controlled trial will compare a typical 7-session therapeutic song-writing program with a waitlist-control group to determine whether the 7-session playback theatre program can produce better outcomes for young people with depressive symptoms, including improvement in depressive symptoms, self-stigma, self-esteem, sense of hope and social support at post-intervention. The 7-session playback theatre program will be delivered by trained and experienced social workers and helping professionals who are familiar with music therapy. A research staff, who does not involve in the group allocation and delivery of group intervention, conduct the intervention outcomes assessment of the participants before and after the intervention. Standardized assessment tools are used to assess the intervention outcomes. The ethical considerations of this study were reviewed and approved by the Human and Artefacts Ethics Sub-Committee of the City University of Hong Kong in 2026.

The research aims to investigate the effectiveness of the therapeutic song-writing program on young people with depressive symptoms. This study adopts a multicentre randomized control trial two arms research design. A randomised controlled trial will compare a typical 7-session therapeutic song-writing program with a waitlist-control group to determine whether the 7-session therapeutic song-writing program can produce better outcomes for young people with depressive symptoms, including improvement in depressive symptoms, self-stigma, self-esteem, sense of hope and social support at post-intervention. The 7-session therapeutic song-writing program will be delivered by trained and experienced social workers and helping professionals who are familiar with music therapy. A research staff, who does not involve in the group allocation and delivery of group intervention, conduct the intervention outcomes assessment of the participants before and after the intervention. Standardized assessment tools are used to assess the intervention outcomes. The ethical considerations of this study were reviewed and approved by the Human and Artefacts Ethics Sub-Committee of the City University of Hong Kong in 2025.

Guided by the process model of emotion regulation, integrative affect-regulation framework for resilience, and the reciprocal dynamics of emotion, affect, and resilience in the family system, researchers will develop a parallel intervention to incorporate two key members in Mainland-Hong Kong cross-boundary families: a parent and a child by improving their affect/emotion regulation skills, de-escalate family conflicts, and flourish under hardships. Specifically, researchers predict that participants in the intervention group will report greater improvement in resilience, emotion regulation, psychological well-being, family harmony, and social connectedness than those in the control group.

HIV-serodiscordant male couples, in which one male partner is HIV-seropositive and the other is HIV-seronegative, experience multiple risks in HIV care and prevention. As stigma often hinders such couples' access to support and services, leveraging their relational resources is crucial for optimizing their outcomes. The proposed study will assess the efficacy of the three-session We-INtervention focusing on their relationship dynamics to enhance Chinese HIV-serodiscordant male couples' health and well-being. A total of 160 Chinese HIV-serodiscordant male couples (320 individuals: 160 HIV-seropositive and 160 HIV-seronegative) will be randomized at a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention or control arm. In the intervention arm, the We-INtervention will be delivered to both partners of each couple separately. In the control arm, each couple will receive health information pamphlets.

the study is to evaluated dopplar guided angiopuncture efficacy and safety in patients with dysmenorrhea