District Health Centre Membership Among Older Adults in Hong Kong (DHCRCT)

April 28, 2026 updated by: Wanjia, Aaron HE, The University of Hong Kong

Enhancing District Health Centre Membership Among Older Adults Through Intergenerational Home-based and AI-generated Digital Interventions

This study is a cluster randomized controlled trial study to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of intergenerational home-based and AI-generated digital interventions in improving the proportion of District Health Centre members among older adults in Hong Kong.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a two-group parallel cluster randomized controlled trial, involving 180 older adults recruited from 6 clusters. Clusters would be allocated to either the intervention or control arm in a 1:1 ratio Participants will receive home-based DHC intervention by trained students, followed by 1-month of AI-generated digital interventions, including infographics, videos, and messages on the introduction and promotion of DHC, via WhatsApp. The primary outcome is to increase the proportion of District Health Centre members. Secondary outcomes include the proportion of participants utilizing DHC services, physical well-being, mental health, and feasibility metrics. Data will be collected via surveys at baseline and follow-ups (1, 3, and 6 months).

This proposed pilot study aims to improve primary healthcare service uptake among older adults in Hong Kong. In doing so, it seeks to support healthier aging, improve health outcomes, alleviate pressure on hospitals, and offer evidence-based framework for addressing the needs of aging populations.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

180

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Wanjia Aaron He, PhD (HK PolyU)
  • Phone Number: 852 3917 6394
  • Email: aaronhe@hku.hk

Study Locations

  • Hong Kong
    • Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077
        • The University of Hong Kong

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 65 years or older
  • spoke Chinese
  • are physically, mentally, and cognitively capable of engaging in simple physical tasks
  • understanding survey questions
  • non district health centre member

Exclusion Criteria:

  • All subjects have the right to withdraw if they wish not to continue

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Education on primary health care utilization
Participants will receive education on primary healthcare services and their benefits for improving health outcomes. The education program includes a 1.5-hour face-to-face, home-based session and a 4-week AI-generated digital intervention.
Behavioral: Home-based and AI-generated digital intervention
The home-based intervention is a 90-minute face-to-face session, during which trained student interns collect health assessment data and deliver theme-based, tailored health interventions. The digital intervention is a 1-month follow-up support involving daily messages via instant messaging apps (e.g., WhatsApp) that include health-related infographics, videos, and personalized advice.
Active Comparator: Education on general health
Participants will receive general health education relevant to older adults. The program also includes a 1.5-hour face-to-face, home-based session and a 4-week AI-generated digital intervention.
Behavioral: Home-based and AI-generated digital intervention
The home-based intervention is a 90-minute face-to-face session, during which trained student interns collect health assessment data and deliver theme-based, tailored health interventions. The digital intervention is a 1-month follow-up support involving daily messages via instant messaging apps (e.g., WhatsApp) that include health-related infographics, videos, and personalized advice.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
District health centre membership
Time Frame: 3 months
The primary outcome is the proportion of older adults who become DHC members at 3 months.
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
District health centre utilization
Time Frame: 3 months
The proportion of older adults utilizing DHC service after 3 months
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The University of Hong Kong

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 25, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 26, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

November 28, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 28, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • DHCRCT

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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