The Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Mental Wellness Youth Hub

Summary

The proposed study is to be carried out with 6000-7000 youths aged 12 - 24 in Hong Kong. The purpose of the study is to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a Hub project for young people: LevelMind@JC. This study is conducted by LevelMind@JC in collaboration with partnering NGOs including the Boys' \& Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong (BGCA), Caritas Hong Kong, Hong Kong Federation of Youth's Group (HKFYG), Hong Kong Playground Association (HKPA), Hong Kong Children and Youth Services (HKCYS) and St James' Settlement (SJS). It is a 1-year quasi experimental controlled study which aims to examine if these hubs can enhance young people's cognitive abilities, personal strengths and overall mental well-being. 1800 participants would be recruited, including 600 Hub users, 600 non-hub users (but receiving services from participating NGOs), and 600 community youth not receiving any youth services. Participants will be assessed at baseline and follow-ups (e.g., 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months); completing questionnaires and answering questions during a 3- hour interview. Hub users with mild to moderate mental distress will receive different psychological treatments according to their needs. For youths who are at risk for mental disorders, diagnostic and medical assessment services will be delivered by psychiatrists or clinical psychologists. Findings will allow us to better understand the effectiveness of this kind of community-based hubs for young people, improve mental wellness training of youth social workers; and in a long run, develop a community-based support model that is sustainable, scalable and replicable.

Conditions

• Mental Stress

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

LevelMind@JC Mental Wellness Youth Hubs

Mental Wellness Youth Hubs Intervention aims to set up a series of community-based hubs for young people to enhance cognitive abilities, personal strengths and overall mental well-being. Among the experimental group participants (hub users), they are further divided into three tiers according to their psychological distress level. Tier 1 are youths with mild psychological distress level, who will be invited to participate in some innovative and interesting youth projects and activities (e.g., board game and floral artistry). Tier 2 are youths who have moderate level of psychological distress, or at risk for mental illness. Trained social workers will offer them with specific interventions (e.g., CBT, sleep intervention) according to their needs. Tier 3 are youths with severe level of psychological distress who are at risk for mental disorders. Diagnostic and medical assessment services will be delivered by psychiatrist or clinical psychologists.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust

  collaborator OTHER

• The Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong

  collaborator OTHER

• Caritas Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Hong Kong Federation of Youth's Group (HKFYG)

  collaborator OTHER

• Hong Kong Playground Association

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Hong Kong Children and Youth Services

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• St. James' Settlement

  collaborator OTHER

• The University of Hong Kong

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Eric Yu Hai Chen, FHKAM(Psychiatry) · The University of Hong Kong

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

24 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-11-01

Primary Completion

2024-04-30

Completion

2024-04-30

Countries

• Hong Kong

Study Locations