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NCT Number: NCT07420426

Instant Message-delivered Personalised Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (IMPACT) for Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Persons With Mild Cognitive Impairment

This study aims to develop an automated instant message-delivered intervention (i.e., EMI) for people with mild cognitive impairment to reduce their NPS, and to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention.

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Key information

Conditions

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Cognition Disorders Cognitive Dysfunction Mental Disorders Neurocognitive Disorders

Age range

50 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

About this study

  • Message contents:

The message content library will consist of four parts: 1.orientation, 2. brief mild cognitive impairment education messages, 3. acceptance and commitment therapy messages, 4.booster message.

  • Message delivery
  • Regular messages: The messages in the four parts will be sent regularly to each participant. As personalisation is a core process subject to behavioural changes, the timing of the messages will be determined based on participants' preferences. To save labour and increase efficiency, the investigators will develop a message 'scheduler' program. The investigators will pre-set the message scheduler, which will then automatically send out content to the participants according to their preferences. The development of the program is highly useful particularly in cases which participants prefer to receive messages during non-office hours.
  • Real-time support messages (chat-type): Chat-based support will be given to the participants as an extension of the regular messages. However, the participants will be informed beforehand that the RA will only play a supportive role and will not provide formal care. The number of the chat messages will not be limited, but the real-time support messages will only be provided during working hours on weekdays to limit the RA's workload.

Control Group:

The control group will receive instant messages about mental health management from GovHK website (https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/health/mental/), which is open to the public.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 50 years
  • HK-MoCA score ranged from 18 to 22
  • MBI-C ≥7
  • SCD-9 ≥3
  • IADL =18
  • Able to read and communicate in Chinese
  • Able to use the text or voice messaging function on a smartphone

Exclusion criteria

  • Clinical diagnosis of dementia
  • Clinical diagnosis of psychiatric disease
  • Currently participating in any type of psychological or behavioural intervention for NPSs
  • Currently taking psychiatric medication
  • Currently receiving acute care or post-acute hospitalization care

Treatment and study plan

automated instant message-guided neuropsychiatric symptoms management

Behavioral

Participants in intervention group will receive the EMI for 9 weeks. Based on the steps of mobile message development recommended by Abroms, et al., we will develop a message content library and protocol for EMI delivery.

general mental health management

Behavioral

Participants in control group will receive the messages for 9 weeks. The control group will receive instant messages about general mental health management from the HKSAR Government website, which is open to the public (https://www.shallwetalk.hk/en/mental-well-being/mental-well-being-is-related-to-you/), with reminder text messages of follow-up surveys.

Primary outcomes

  1. MBI-C scores

    Time frame: at baseline, 10th week and 24th week

    The primary outcome will be MBI-C scores to assess NPSs. A higher MBI-C scores will indicate a higher level of neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Depressive symptoms (PHQ-9)

    Time frame: at baseline, 10th week and 24th week

    Each item was scored on a 4-point scale (0 "not at all" to 3 "nearly every day"). The total score is calculated by summing up the score of all items (range 0-27). High scores indicate worse depressive symptoms.

  2. Anxiety symptoms (GAD-7)

    Time frame: at baseline, 10th week and 24th week

    A 7-item scale with score ranging from 0 to 21, higher scores indicate higher severity of anxiety symptom

  3. Quality of life (EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level questionnaire [EQ-5D-5L])

    Time frame: at baseline, 10th week and 24th week

    The EQ-5D-5L assesses five health dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression, each rated on five levels of severity, with scores ranging from -0.864 to 1, where higher scores indicate better quality of life. Additionally, it includes a visual analogue scale (VAS), ranging from 0 (the worst health imaginable) to 100 (the best health imaginable).

  4. Cognitive functions (HK-MoCA)

    Time frame: at baseline, 10th week and 24th week

    The total score is calculated by summing up the score of all items. Higher scores indicate better cognitive function.

  5. Acceptance of negative emotions and valued-based actions (AAQ-II)

    Time frame: at baseline, 10th week and 24th week

    AAQ-II is a measure of psychological flexibility. Each item is rated on a 7-point scale from 1 = never true to 7 = always true. Scores range from 1-49. A lower score indicates a lower level of psychological flexibility.

  6. Subjective Cognitive Decline scale (SCD-9)

    Time frame: at baseline, 10th week and 24th week

    SCD-9 is a scale detecting subjective cognitive function. Higher socre indicate worse subjective cognitive function.

Study contacts

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

Doris Sau Fung Yu, Professor

CONTACT

[email protected]

+852 3917 6319

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The University of Hong Kong

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Instant Message-delivered Personalised Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (IMPACT) for Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Persons With Mild Cognitive Impairment: a Mixed Methods Study

Acronym: IMPACT

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Feb 19, 2026
Registry last updated
May 18, 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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