Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based Intervention for Parents of a Child With Medical Complexity

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based Intervention to Decrease Psychological Symptoms and Increase Psychological Flexibility for Parents of a Child With Medical Complexity: a Pilot Randomization-controlled Trial.

A pilot randomized controlled trial of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based intervention will be conducted to decrease psychological symptoms, while increase psychological flexibility for parents of a child with medical complexity during their difficulties.

Being a parent of the child with medical complexity poses enormous stress because CMC have a chronic complex health condition, which may result in premature death of the CMC. Psychological symptoms commonly experienced by the parents of a CMC. Having a CMC is an ongoing stressor including diagnosis, daily nursing care and symptom management, uncertainty of prognosis that can adequately fear the possibility of relapse. Therefore, seeking an intervention consisting of "Psychological flexibility" is crucial for these parents to manage their stress and difficult emotions more effectively. The ACT intervention help individuals concentrate more on their problems with positive attitude and take initiatives and workable actions to fix the problems associated from the caregiving activities. As a result, they will experience less stress when encountering difficulties and challenges and adapt more effectively. These individuals probably have the potential of natural recoveries from adverse events once the stressor is terminated.

Knowledge gap: A review of the literature reveals a paucity of studies on ACT for Chinese parents of the CMC to decrease their psychological symptoms while enhancing their psychological flexibility in local communities. To fill the knowledge gap, this proposal therefore endeavors to develop an ACT and test its preliminary effects and feasibility.

Inclusion Criteria:

• parent of a child with medical complexity aged 1-18
• able to communicate in Chinese and read Chinese
• willing to participate in face-to-face activities

Exclusion Criteria:

• a reported mental health disorder
• engaging in other psychosocial educational programs related to stress reduction
• inability to communicate in Cantonese