A brief alcohol intervention during smoking cessation treatment in daily cigarette smokers: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Alcohol use attenuates successful smoking cessation. We examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a brief alcohol intervention in smokers. In this two-arm, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial, we randomized 100 daily smokers (82.

Mobile chat messaging for preventing relapse among people who recently quit smoking: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Most smokers who achieve short-term abstinence relapse even when aided by evidence-based cessation treatment. Mobile health presents a promising but largely untested avenue for providing adjunct behavioral support for relapse prevention. This paper presents the rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of personalized mobile chat messaging support for relapse prevention among people who recently quit smoking.

Effectiveness of mobile smoking cessation treatment with 1-week nicotine replacement therapy sampling at outdoor smoking hotspots: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of mobile smoking cessation (SC) treatment with 1-week nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) sampling on recruitment and quitting outcomes.

Design: Two-arm cluster RCT (1:1 ratio), single-blinded, at 244 recruitment sessions in Hong Kong outdoor smoking hotspots from October 2018-December 2019.

Setting: Participant were recruited by ambassadors and treated at the mobile SC truck.

Co-designing a culturally-sensitive theory-driven advance care planning game with Chinese older adults and healthcare providers.

Background: Advance care planning can be challenging because discussing end-of-life care often has negative connotations. Gamification is a novel approach to encourage advance care planning conversations in Western culture.

Aim: To co-design a game with multiple stakeholders to promote advance care planning in Chinese communities.

Social operant conditioning of autobiographical memory sharing.

The memories for past autobiographical experiences that we share can influence relationship formation and consolidation with important implications for our mental health. However, little is known about how people's responses to our memories can influence subsequent memory sharing. Previous research examined how operant processes (i.

A serious game for engaging older adults in end-of-life care discussion: A mixed method study.

Objective: To examine the acceptability of a board game newly developed through a co-design process for promoting end-of-life care discussion among Chinese older adults.

Methods: A multi-centre mixed method study, including a one group pre-test post-test study and focus group interviews, was conducted. Thirty older adults participated in a one-hour game session in a small group format.

The Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology consensus recommendations for the management of gout.

Gout is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases in Hong Kong. Although effective treatment options are readily available, the management of gout in Hong Kong remains suboptimal. Like other countries, the treatment goal in Hong Kong usually focuses on relieving symptoms of gout but not treating the serum urate level to target.

Effect of mobile interventions with nicotine replacement therapy sampling on long-term smoking cessation in community smokers: A pragmatic randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: Mobile interventions enable personalized behavioral support that could improve smoking cessation (SC) in smokers ready to quit. Scalable interventions, including unmotivated smokers, are needed. We evaluated the effect of personalized behavioral support through mobile interventions plus nicotine replacement therapy sampling (NRT-S) on SC in Hong Kong community smokers.

Use of Information and Communications Technology in Family Services and Its Perceived Benefits amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong-Jockey Club SMART Family-Link Project.

Introduction: We examined information and communications technology (ICT) use in family services and its perceived benefits and barriers amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong.

Methods: We invited all family service social workers of 12 NGOs to complete an anonymous online questionnaire in May 2020 (Part A) and a management representative from each NGO to provide written feedback on ICT use in January 2021 (Part B).

Results: In Part A, of 255 respondents (response rate: 67.

A Smartphone App for Promoting Mental Well-being and Awareness of Anxious Symptoms in Adolescents: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

To design a smartphone app and evaluate its effect on promoting mental well-being and awareness of anxious symptoms in adolescents. A pilot cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with two secondary schools (390 students, mean age 13.1 years) randomized to the intervention and control groups.

Treatment-emergent central sleep apnoea managed by CPAP with adjunctive acetazolamide: A case report.

Treatment-emergent central sleep apnoea (TECSA) refers to the emergence of central apnoea during treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), most commonly continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). It has been reported in 8% of OSA patients treated with CPAP and spontaneous resolution rate varies between 60% and 80%. Management options include watchful waiting with continuation of CPAP, bi-level positive pressure ventilation, adaptive servo-ventilation and CPAP with supplemental oxygen.

Mobile Chat Messaging for Preventing Smoking Relapse Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had reduced access to traditional, in-person smoking cessation treatment. We examined the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of mobile chat messaging in preventing smoking relapse in smokers who have recently quit smoking.

Methods: In this assessor-blinded, pilot randomized controlled trial in five cessation clinics, we recruited adult daily smokers who had been receiving cessation treatments and abstained for 3 to 30 days.

A Strengths-Based Longitudinal Career Intervention for Junior Secondary School Students with Special Educational Needs: a Mixed-method Evaluation.

The mixed-method study reported here was designed to evaluate a strengths-based career intervention program for secondary school students with mild special educational needs (SEN). A sample of 32 SEN students (19 boys: 13 girls) from 5 inclusive schools in Hong Kong were recruited to a treatment group. An additional 32 SEN students (19 boys: 13 girls) were selected to form the control group matched for age, gender and parents' education level.

Siponimod for multiple sclerosis.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system, with an unpredictable course. Current MS therapies such as disease-modifying therapies focus on treating exacerbations, preventing new exacerbations and avoiding the progression of disability. Siponimod (BAF312) is an oral treatment, a selective sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator, for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of MS including active, secondary progressive MS with relapses.

Process research: compare and contrast the recovery-orientated strengths model of case management and usual community mental health care.

Background: The strengths model of case management (SMCM), which was developed by Rapp and Goscha through collaborative efforts at the University of Kansas, assists individuals with mental illness in their recovery by mobilizing individual and environmental resources. Increasing evidence has shown that the utilization of the SMCM improves outcomes, including increased employment/educational attainment, reduced hospitalization rates, higher self-efficacy, and hope. However, little is known about the processes through which the SMCM improves outcomes for mental health service users.

Community palliative care services on addressing physical and psychosocial needs in people with advanced illness: a prospective cohort study.

Background: The integration of palliative care into primary health care has been advocated to improve its accessibility and the continuity of care. Recent studies on such an approach have mainly focused on health care cost and utilization. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a community interdisciplinary palliative care program on the symptom experience of patients with advanced disease.

Promoting Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Parents: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial.

We conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial of parents in 56 primary schools and community service centres (clusters) to evaluate the effectiveness of a single-session workshop on promoting more fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. A total of 803 parents were randomised to the FV intervention arm (16 clusters, = 197), the more appreciation control arm (19 clusters, = 270), or the less criticism control arm (21 clusters, = 336). The FV intake of the FV arm was compared with that of the combined more appreciation or less criticism (MALC) arm.

Development of salient medication reminders to facilitate information transfer during transition from inpatient to primary care: the Delphi process.

Objective: Transitional care is important to successful hospital discharge. Providing patients with a clear and concise summary of medication-related information can help improve outcomes, in particular, among older adults. The present study aimed to propose a framework for the development of salient medication reminders (SMR), which include drug-related risks and precautions, using the Delphi process.

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Efficacy of Virtual Reality Training for Older Adults and People With Disabilities: Single-Arm Pre-Post Study.

Background: Unlike most virtual reality (VR) training programs that are targeted at homogenous populations, a set of VR games for rehabilitation purposes targeted at a heterogeneous group of users was developed. The VR games covered physical training, cognitive training (classification and reality orientation), community-living skills training, and relaxing scenery experiences. Special considerations for local older adults and people with disabilities were made in terms of hardware choice and software design.