Improving Family Communication in Older Adults: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: ReFrame-R.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Intergenerational Relations. Basic parameters: from 60 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Pilot Evaluation of ReFrame-R: A Communication Training to Reframe Older Adults' Family Roles and Promote Active Aging
Overview
This study evaluates the effectiveness of "ReFrame-R," a communication training program designed to help older adults in Hong Kong navigate intergenerational challenges. By focusing on enhancing communication competence and clarifying role boundaries within parent-child relationships, the research seeks to determine if this specialized intervention can improve the mental well-being of both older and younger generations. The study asks whether participating in the "ReFrame-R" curriculum leads to measurable improvements in how families interact, hypothesizing that older adults in the training group will demonstrate significantly better communication quality and a stronger sense of meaning compared to those in a control group. This study also aims to evaluate the program's overall feasibility and acceptability.
Interventions
- Behavioral ReFrame-R
The ReFrame-R program is adapted from an established Motivational Interviewing (MI) protocol for laypersons (Kline et al., 2022). Grounded in Family Systems Theory, the curriculum specifically addresses over-functioning and under-functioning dynamics often found in older parent-adult child dyads and the cultural specific context of Hong Kong. Unlike general communication workshops, this program emphasizes role boundaries within parent-adult child relationship.
Primary outcome measures
- Perceived communication competence [Time frame: Baseline, Week 4 (end of training), Week 6 (2 weeks follow-up)]
- Meaning in life [Time frame: Baseline, Week 4 (end of training), Week 6 (2 weeks follow-up)]
Secondary outcome measures (7)
- Self-efficacy [Time frame: Baseline, Week 4 (end of training), Week 6 (2 weeks follow-up)]
- Well-being [Time frame: Baseline, Week 4 (end of training), Week 6 (2 weeks follow-up)]
- Role boundaries [Time frame: Baseline, Week 4 (end of training), Week 6 (2 weeks follow-up)]
- Family functioning [Time frame: Baseline, Week 4 (end of training), Week 6 (2 weeks follow-up)]
- Training appropriateness [Time frame: Week 4 (end of training)]
- Training acceptability [Time frame: Week 4 (end of training)]
- Training feasibility [Time frame: Week 6 (2 week follow-up)]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Cantonese-speaking older adults
- have regular contact with adult children
- can comprehend traditional Chinese
Exclusion criteria
- known mental health diagnosis
- mild or higher depressive symptoms (scored ≥5 on the Patient Health Questionnaire \[PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001; Manea et al., 2015\])
- communication difficulties
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Other
Study locations
Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
Publications
- Yu, Y. M. B., Lam, C., & Chan, C. S. (2024). All We Need is Love? Irreconcilable Political Incongruence in Families after the 2019 Social Unrest in Hong Kong. Political Psychology, 45, 643-665. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12941
- Youth Research Centre. (2019). Strengthening Intergenerational Understanding (Society and Livelihood, Issue. The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups. https://yrc.hkfyg.org.hk/2019/12/09/yi048
- Xiao, C. (2023). A comparative review of communication differences between Chinese and American families in child upbringing. Journal of Linguistics and Communication Studies, 2(3), 50-57. https://doi.org/10.56397/JLCS.2023.09.07
- Wu, M. Y. (2023). The concept of guan in the Chinese parent-child relationship. In C. C. Yi (Ed.), The psychological well-being of East Asian youth (pp. 29-49). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2022.2081494
- Whitehead AL, Julious SA, Cooper CL, Campbell MJ. Estimating the sample size for a pilot randomised trial to minimise the overall trial sample size for the external pilot and main trial for a continuous outcome variable. Stat Methods Med Res. 2016 Jun;25(3):1057-73. doi: 10.1177/0962280215588241. Epub 2015 Jun 19. PMID 26092476
- Weiner BJ, Lewis CC, Stanick C, Powell BJ, Dorsey CN, Clary AS, Boynton MH, Halko H. Psychometric assessment of three newly developed implementation outcome measures. Implement Sci. 2017 Aug 29;12(1):108. doi: 10.1186/s13012-017-0635-3. PMID 28851459
- Wang YL, Wang YH, Leung DKY, Wong SMY, Ng ZLY, Chan RCL, Chan OLH, Chan WC, Wong GHY, Lum TYS. Peer-supported mindfulness-based intervention for managing depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2025 Aug;155:107991. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2025.107991. Epub 2025 Jun 20. PMID 40544956
- Tsai FJ. The maintaining and improving effect of grandchild care provision on elders' mental health-Evidence from longitudinal study in Taiwan. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2016 May-Jun;64:59-65. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2016.01.009. Epub 2016 Jan 16. PMID 26952378
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07494071 · EA260121 · 2501262488