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NCT Number: NCT07052110

DST in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Enhancing Self-esteem, and Promoting Quality of Life Among CCSs

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of Digital storytelling (DST) in reducing depressive symptoms, enhancing self-esteem, and promoting quality of life among Chinese survivors of childhood cancer.

Participants in the experimental group will be divided into groups of 6 to 8 childhood cancer survivors to receive the intervention, which comprises four workshops. Each workshop will last 2.5 hours and will be conducted by a qualified interventionist. Parents are not required to attend the workshop. The investigators will provide a waiting room for them. Parents will also be provided with a leaflet developed by Hong Kong Department of Health which contains self-help material for depression.

No intervention will be carried out among participants in the control group. However, customary care including medical follow-up, medication prescription, and nursing interventions will be provided, as usual. Parents will also be provided with a leaflet containing self-help materials for depression.

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Key information

Conditions

Cancer Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression Neoplasms

Age range

13 year–18 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,

Hong Kong

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Ting MAO

CONTACT

[email protected]

66754757

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • (1) age between 13 and 18 years;
  • (2) able to speak Cantonese and read Chinese; and
  • (3) completed the active treatment of cancer.

Exclusion criteria

  • survivors with mental and behavioural problems documented in their medical records.

Treatment and study plan

Digital storytelling

Other

DST is an intervention that can potentially mitigate the psychological impact of traumatic experiences. People can usually find positive meaning in a traumatic experience by communicating their experience using narratives like storytelling. In particular, by externalising the traumatic experience in the form of a narrative, the individual can become an objective agent, distancing themselves from negative meanings attached to the experience. This lowers people's resistance to and defence against the experience, assisting them to explore alternative perspectives regarding the experience and to identify its positive aspects, which boost self-esteem. Likewise, storytelling engages different areas of the brain, including those responsible for visual, language, and hearing functions, to reorganise the disorganised traumatic experience into a coherent story, facilitating integration of the experience into existing memories.

Primary outcomes

  1. Depressive symptoms: Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)

    Time frame: The CES-DC will be conducted immediately after the completion of the intervention, and at 1-, 3- and 6-month follow-up via telephone interview.

    The CES-DC will be used to assess the number of depressive symptoms among participants. This instrument contains 20 items evaluated on a 4-point scale, from 0 (not at all) to 3 (a lot). The possible range of scores is between 0 and 60, with higher scores indicating more depressive symptoms. The cut-off score is 15. Participants with scores higher than 15 are considered to be experiencing significant levels of depressive symptoms. This scale has been widely applied in studies among Hong Kong Chinese children with cancer, and its psychometric properties have been well-established in this population.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Self-esteem: Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)

    Time frame: The RSES will be conducted immediately after the completion of the intervention, and at 1-, 3- and 6-month follow-up via telephone interview.

    The RSES will be used to assess participants' self-esteem. This scale contains 10 items that are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 4. Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-esteem. This scale has been widely applied in paediatric oncology research and has been previously validated in Hong Kong Chinese children.

  2. Quality of life: Chinese version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scale (PedsQL 4.0)

    Time frame: The PedsQL 4.0 will be conducted immediately after the completion of the intervention, and at 1-, 3- and 6-month follow-up via telephone interview.

    The PedsQL 4.0 will be used to assess participants' QoL. This scale includes 23 items that can be categorised into four subscales, including physical functioning, emotional functioning, social functioning, and school functioning. Participants will asked to rate their experience in the past 1 month using a 5-point scale. All items will be reverse scored and linearly transformed into a 0- to 100-point scale. Higher scores represent better quality of life. This scale has been extensively applied in studies among paediatric oncology populations and has well-established psychometric properties.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Ka Yan Ho, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

+8527666417

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Other

Collaborators

  • Hong Kong Children's Hospital
  • Research Grants Council, Hong Kong

Registry information

Official study title

Listening to the Patient's Cancer Journey: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Digital Storytelling (DST) in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Enhancing Self-esteem, and Promoting Quality of Life Among Hong Kong Chinese Childhood Cancer Survivors

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jul 4, 2025
Registry last updated
Mar 12, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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