Using Discrete-Event Simulation to Model Web-Based Crisis Counseling Service Operation: Evaluation Study.

Background: According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, its member states experienced worsening mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an increase of 60% to 1000% in digital counseling access. Hong Kong, too, witnessed a surge in demand for crisis intervention services during the pandemic, attracting both nonrepeat and repeat service users during the process. As a result of the continuing demand, platforms offering short-term emotional support are facing an efficiency challenge in managing caller responses.

Quality of life of services users in psychotropic drug treatment and rehabilitation services: a qualitative study from service user and provider perspectives.

Quality of life (QoL) is a widely recognized and valuable social outcome measure in drug treatment and rehabilitation services, but the discrepancies in QoL perceptions between service users and providers remain under-explored. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with service users ( = 22) and providers ( = 29) to capture their perceptions of QoL and explore the similarities and discrepancies between their views. A thematic analysis and contrast exploration revealed a shared understanding of QoL that extends beyond health to six dimensions and prioritizes empowerment and connection.

The Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence on Postpartum Depression: An Updated Meta-Analysis.

The associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and postpartum depression (PPD) have been well established in previous reviews. However, none has explored potential differences between IPV subtypes or exposure times, which could help healthcare providers recognize the adverse impacts of various IPV subtypes and conduct comprehensive IPV screening. This study aimed to estimate the impacts of overall IPV and its subtypes (physical, psychological, and sexual) on PPD using an updated meta-analysis and to examine the potential role of IPV exposure time and regional income levels.

Students' interaction anxiety and social phobia in interprofessional education in Hong Kong: mapping a new research direction.

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) has been promoted as a breakthrough in healthcare because of the impact when professionals work as a team. However, despite its inception dating back to the 1960s, its science has taken a long time to advance. There is a need to theorize IPE to cultivate creative insights for a nuanced understanding of IPE.

Rural-to-urban migration, discrimination experience, and health in China: Evidence from propensity score analysis.

This research examines how rural-to-urban migration influences health through discrimination experience in China after considering migration selection bias. We conducted propensity score matching (PSM) to obtain a matched group of rural residents and rural-to-urban migrants with a similar probability of migrating from rural to urban areas using data from the 2014 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Regression and mediation analyses were performed after PSM.

A Digital Game and School-Based Intervention for Students in Hong Kong: Quasi-Experimental Design.

Background: In Hong Kong, with an increasing number of children experiencing mental health issues, there is a need to not only develop innovative interventions but also develop comprehensive prevention interventions so as to reduce their anxiety symptoms and enhance their emotional management and interpersonal relationships.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of The Adventures of DoReMiFa, an integration model of the cognitive-behavioral approach and positive psychology by using digital game-based and school-based mental health enhancement intervention to magnify the social and emotional health and well-being of the school children in Hong Kong aged 9 to 11 years.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design method was used to evaluate this digital game and school-based intervention.

Online social work engagement and empowerment for young internet users: A quasi-experiment.

Background: The increasing penetration of Internet use among young people poses challenges for youth service engagement through bricks-and-mortar youth centers owing to the decline in the number of walk-ins. This study was to identify the psychosocial and behavioral outcome changes effected through online engagement and empowerment interventions offered to at-risk youths by three local social work youth service providers.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design was adopted to compare the effects of online engagement and empowerment on 182 young service users with 191 age- and gender-matched controlled participants over nine months.

Intergenerational support, satisfaction with parent-child relationship and elderly parents' life satisfaction in Hong Kong.

Objectives: This study examines in what exchange patterns that three types of intergenerational support are associated with elderly parents' life satisfaction, and whether elderly parents' evaluation on parent-child relationship plays a mediation role on those associations.

Method: Data were drawn from Hong Kong Panel Survey for Poverty Alleviation. Respondents aged 65 and over were included ( N=504).

Engagement of vulnerable youths using internet platforms.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the online distress and help-seeking behavior of youths in Hong Kong.

Methods: A cross-sectional telephone-based survey was conducted among 1,010 young people in Hong Kong. Logistic regression analysis was then performed to identify the factors associated with those who reported expressing emotional distress online and the differences in help-seeking behavior among four groups of youths: (1) the non-distressed (reference) group; (2) "Did not seek help" group; (3) "Seek informal help" group; and (4) "Seek formal help" group.

The Effectiveness and Sustainability of a Universal School-Based Programme for Preventing Depression in Chinese Adolescents: A Follow-Up Study Using Quasi-Experimental Design.

Background: A pilot study about the effectiveness of a universal school-based programme, "The Little Prince is Depressed", for preventing depression in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong was conducted and reported previously. This study used a larger sample to examine the effectiveness and sustainability of the programme.

Methods: This study used quasi-experimental design.

Effectiveness of a universal school-based programme for preventing depression in Chinese adolescents: a quasi-experimental pilot study.

Background: Evidence of the effectiveness, rather than efficacy, of universal school-based programmes for preventing depression among adolescents is limited. This study examined the effectiveness of a universal depression prevention programme, "The Little Prince is Depressed" (LPD), which adopted the cognitive-behavioural model and aimed to reduce depressive symptoms and enhance protective factors of depression among secondary school students in Hong Kong.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design was adopted for this pilot study.