BrainLive Connect: Volunteer Training Programme

April 23, 2026 updated by: Choy Chak Pui Jacky, The University of Hong Kong

The goal of this mixed method clinical trial is to evaluate whether BrainLive Coach training can enhance knowledge, skills, and wellbeing among young old volunteers.

The main question it aims to answer are:

• Do trained BrainLive Coaches demonstrate greater CST-related knowledge/skills, self-efficacy, and improved quality of life compared with volunteers receiving only educational materials?

Researchers will compare the BrainLive Coach training group vs. general service group (young old volunteers) to see whether the intervention leads to enhanced dementia knowledge, sense of competence in dementia care, and approaches to dementia.

Participants will be:

  1. Adults aged 50 and over - volunteers (nRCT)

    • Participate in either 80-90 hours of BrainLive Coach training followed by volunteering in BrainLive Connect or receive educational materials on dementia and cognitive health.
    • Complete assessments at baseline (T0) and post intervention (T1) on dementia knowledge, competence in dementia care, self-efficacy, attitudes to dementia, quality of life, and social capital.
  2. Qualitative study participants • Take part in individual interviews or focus groups, including trained volunteers, and NGO staff, to explore perceived impacts, mechanisms, implementation facilitators/barriers, and areas for improvement.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The research design is a non-randomized controlled trial (nRCT), involving 90 healthy adults aged 50 and over in the experimental group (Training group) who will receive 80-90 hours of BrainLive Coach Training, and another 90 young-old in the control group (Education group) who will receive educational workshops for comparison. Data will be collected at two time points: baseline (T0) and after the completion of BrainLive Connect volunteering (T1). Participants in the control group (N=90) will be recruited from the HKU network. During the evaluation period, control group participants will attend educational workshops focused on dementia and cognitive health.

The BrainLive Coach training aims to enhance the skills and knowledge for delivering evidence-based dementia intervention (Primary outcomes); and improve self-efficacy, quality of life, and social capital of the young-old individuals. The outcome measures include Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool, Sense of Competence in Dementia Care, Approaches to Dementia, General Self-efficacy scale, Quality of Life and social capital assessment tool.

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: JACKY CP CHOY, PhD
  • Phone Number: 39170079
  • Email: cpchoy@hku.hk

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Shiyu LU, PhD
  • Phone Number: 39172074
  • Email: sylu@hku.hk

Study Locations

  • Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
        • Recruiting
        • The University of Hong Kong
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Shiyu LU, PhD
        • Contact:
          • JACKY CP CHOY, Philosophy of Doctor
          • Phone Number: 39170079
          • Email: cpchoy@hku.hk

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Hong Kong residents
  • Aged 50 and over
  • Had education level of Form 3 or above
  • Fluent in Cantonese
  • Able to read and write Chinese

Exclusion Criteria:

Unable to communicate and participate in interviews/training/intervention due to hearing impairment, visual impairment, or other conditions.

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) trained volunteers
Intervention group volunteers receive comprehensive CST training
Behavioral: BrainLive Coach training
Volunteers will be trained, supervised and supported to deliver one of three modes of CST (Exercise-enhanced CST, Home2Community CST, Living CST). Basic level training covering topics fundamental to dementia education and common across different CST modes to all recruited volunteers; and then advanced level training covering knowledge and skills specific to each CST mode and service settings.
Active Comparator: Non-cognitive stimulation therapy trained volunteers
Control group volunteers receive dementia-related educational materials
Other: Other intervention
Volunteers will receive dementia-related educational materials

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool (DKAT)
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 0 - 21, with higher scores indicate better knowledge
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Sense of Competence in Dementia Care (SCIDC)
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 17 - 68, with higher scores indicate better sense of competence in dementia care
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ)
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 19 - 95, with higher scores indicate more positive and person-centered attitude
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6)
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 0 - 30, with higher scores indicate greater social support and engagement. A total score of 12 or less is commonly used as a cut-off point to identify individuals at risk for social isolation
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
QoL: 8-item WHO quality of life scale
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 8 - 40, with higher scores indicate better quality of life
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
The General Self-Efficacy Scale
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 10 - 40, with higher scores indicate higher self-efficacy
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Bidirectional Social Support (2-Way SSS)
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 0 - 60, with higher scores indicate more bidirectional social support
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Sense of belonging
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 16 - 80, with higher scores indicate better sense of belonging
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Meaning in life
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 10 - 70, with higher scores indicate better meaning in life
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Well-being
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 7 - 35, with higher scores indicate better well-being
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Caregiver burden
Time Frame: Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)
Possible range: 0 - 48, with higher scores indicate higher caregiver burden
Baseline (T0) and 3 months after start of CST training (T1)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

The University of Hong Kong

Collaborators

Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association
Christian Family Service Centre
Simon K.Y.Lee Foundation
Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Shiyu LU, PhD, 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 (Actual)

February 13, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 10, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 10, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 23, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EA250765b

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Anonymised data will be available upon request.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Anonymised data will be available after the first manuscript using the study data is published.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Anonymised data will be available upon request.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE
  • CSR

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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