Prevent Non-communicable Diseases Through Screening and Educating Emergency Department Attendees to Adopt Healthy Lifestyles
Trial Parameters
Brief Summary
Objective: To examine the effectiveness of a general health promotion intervention based on self-determination theory in proactively helping emergency department (ED) attendees to adopt healthy lifestyles. Hypothesis to be tested: A general health promotion intervention based on self-determination theory will be effective in helping people adopt healthy lifestyles. Design and subjects: The investigators will conduct a randomised controlled trial involving 1,172 ED attendees from five major acute care hospitals in Hong Kong. Instruments: A behavioural risk factor questionnaire will be used to identify participants' health risk behaviours and document their blood pressure and body mass index. The EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-level will be used to assess participants' quality of life. Interventions: Participants in the intervention group will receive a brief health warning and advice on health-risk behaviours. In addition, participants will be asked about their priority in engaging in healthy lifestyles. Moreover, participants will receive WhatsApp/WeChat messages during the first 6 months as a reminder to adhere to their desired healthy lifestyle and a link to a 1-minute video relevant to their selected healthy lifestyle. Participants in the control group will receive brief advice on adopting healthy lifestyles through regular text messages. Main outcome measures: The number of healthy lifestyles adopted at 6 months. Data analysis and expected results: SPSS for Windows will be used for quantitative data analysis. A significantly higher proportion of participants in the intervention group will adopt healthy lifestyles and exhibit better quality of life than those in the control group at 6 and 12 months.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * being aged ≥18 years old Chinese * being triaged as semi-urgent (level 4) or non-urgent (level 5) and discharged home on the same day after receiving medical attention * having at least one health risk behaviour (tobacco use, harmful alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity) * owning a smartphone and having an ability to use instant messaging applications (e.g. WhatsApp or WeChat). Exclusion Criteria: * having a poor cognitive state or mental illness * being diagnosed with NCDs and undergoing regular follow-ups in outpatient clinics * participating in another related study