Chinese Poem Writing for Improving Mental Wellbeing
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorHong Kong Metropolitan University
About this trial
This research proposal aims to explore the impact of poem writing on the well-being of adult volunteers serving patients recovering from mental illness in Hong Kong. The research design was a single-arm intervention study with 30 participants. The intervention consists of two sessions of poem writing, each lasting for 3 hours, led by experienced Chinese teachers or drama directors. The themes of the poems will focus on accomplishment, joy, and gratitude. The primary outcomes are mental well-being and happiness, measured using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and a single-item happiness scale. Feasibility outcomes include recruitment rate, retention rate, and acceptability of the interventions. Secondary outcomes include depressive symptoms, anxiety, interest in poem writing, perceived benefits after the activity, and the number of successfully written poems. The proposal also includes plans for in-depth interviews with participants to gather qualitative data. The results will be analyzed descriptively and narratively, with no efficacy statistical tests due to the nature of this feasibility study. The proposal highlights the potential of poem writing as a therapeutic tool for volunteers serving patients recovering from mental illness, enhancing their overall well-being.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
Volunteers serving for people recovering from mental illness or other community residents
Aged 18 years old and above
Able to understand Cantonese and read Chinese
Disqualifiers
Physically or mentally unable to communicate
Unwilling to participate or give consent
Being involved in other similar activities or research
Trial design
Design model
Single group
Treatments tested in this trial
Poem writing
BehavioralThe poem themes will focus on accomplishment moments, joyful moments, and gratitude. Participants will be motivated to write at least one poem in each session. The instructor will lead the participants to improve the poem after the participants complete the first draft. The participants will be encouraged to perform in reading their completed poem, sharing their feelings and expressing the meaning of the poems during the session. In the second session, participants will be invited to do a poem reading performance using one of their newly written poems.
Treatment groups
30 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment groupGroup A: Two poem writing sessionsExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Changes in well-being
The 7-item Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale with the 5-point Likert scale ("1" means "None of the time", while "5" means "All the time") will be used to measure participants' well-being. The score is calculated by summing up all seven items and with a range of 7 to 35. A higher score indicates a higher positive mental well-being.
Time frame
Baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks2
Changes in happiness
Happiness of participants across four timeslots were measured by a single item question, which was "How happy do you think you are" (from "0" = "Not at all" to "10" = "very happy").
Time frame
Baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeksSecondary outcomes
1
Changes in depressive symptoms
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 will be used to measure depressive symptoms among all participants. Participants rate the frequency of nine symptoms over the past two weeks on a 4-point Likert scale (from "0" = "Not at all" to "3" = "Nearly every day"). The total score ranges from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating a greater severity of depressive symptoms.
Time frame
Baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks2
Changes in perceived knowledge about limericks (Chinese poem)
The changes in participants' perceived knowledge about limericks (Chinese poem) were measured by a single item question, which was "How much do you know about limericks", scoring from "0" (very little understanding) to "10" (very much understanding).
Time frame
Baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks3
Changes in perceived interest in limericks writing
The changes in participants' perceived interest in limericks writing were measured by a single item question, which was "How interested are you in limerick writing?", scoring from "0" (very little interest) to "10" (very much interest).
Time frame
Baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks4
Changes in perceived confidence in limericks writing
The changes in participants' perceived confidence in limericks writing were measured by a single item question, which was "How confident are you in writing limerick?", scoring from "0" (very little confidence) to "10" (very much confidence).
Time frame
Baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeksOther outcomes
1
Recruitment rate
The percentage of enrolled participants in the approached participants
Time frame
12 weeks2
Retention rate
The percentage of adhered participants in the enrolled participants
Time frame
2 weeks, 4 weeks3
Acceptability of the intervention
Participants' engagement level (from 0 "did not engage at all" to 10 "totally engaged") and happiness level (from 0 "not at all" to 10 "very happy") after joining the activity, satisfaction towards the activity (from 0 "not at all" to 10 "very satisfied"), willingness to write poems after the activity (from 0 "not at all" to 10 "very willing to") and willingness to attend similar activities in the future (from 0 "not at all" to 10 "very willing to"). An average score will be calculated.
Time frame
2 weeks, 4 weeksSponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Hong Kong Metropolitan University
Lead sponsor
Bestreben Drama Association Limited
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov