Clinical Trial Details
— Status: Recruiting
Administrative data
| NCT number |
NCT03993951 |
| Other study ID # |
UW18-073 |
| Secondary ID |
|
| Status |
Recruiting |
| Phase |
|
| First received |
|
| Last updated |
|
| Start date |
January 1, 2018 |
| Est. completion date |
December 31, 2023 |
Study information
| Verified date |
November 2021 |
| Source |
The University of Hong Kong |
| Contact |
Tai-hing Lam, MD |
| Phone |
39179287 |
| Email |
hrmrlth[@]hku.hk |
| Is FDA regulated |
No |
| Health authority |
|
| Study type |
Observational
|
Clinical Trial Summary
In the past few decades, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have rapidly
developed as effective, and probably the most cost-effective, tools to connect most, if not
all, aspects of family lives.
To promote family harmony, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has initiated the Jockey
Club SMART Family-Link Project in collaboration with The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and
NGOs. This project, making effective use of information and communications technology (ICT)
and data analytics, is aimed at helping 26 NGO-operated Integrated Family Service Centres and
Integrated Service Centres (Centres) enhance the quality and efficiency of their family
service. The project is also aimed at building the capabilities of front-line workers so as
to achieve the goal of enhancing family well-being.
This study aim to gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the current level of
ICT use by the providers of family services in Hong Kong, and their anticipated future
direction regarding ICT use. In-depth and focus group interviews are conducted for the
stakeholders (such as heads of service, programme directors, counsellors and service users)
from the non-government organisations (NGOs) and the Social Welfare Department. The
interviews help identify the concerns of social service and related workers and the needs of
the participating NGOs in the development of the ICT system and the application in their
services. The needs and concerns of the stakeholders in using ICTs in family services will be
identified. It can facilitate the planning and designing of the system, the community
programmes, and the training and sharing platform. The system will better fit the needs of
the social service sector. In addition, the impact of JC SMART Family-Link Project on the
stakeholder in family services will be evaluated through questionnaire survey and focus group
interviews.
Description:
Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) as a global trend refers to a cluster of
technologies that are used to share, distribute, gather, and communicate information. ICTs
encompass hardware that is often Internet capable such as computers, smart phones, and
tablets, as well as the software and applications, such as email, social media sites, and
video conferencing that are used on these devices. In Hong Kong, as of March 2016, the number
of mobile service subscribers was 16.72 million, representing one of highest penetration
rates in the world at about 228.3 per cent; amongst these subscribers, 14.69 million were 3G/
4G service customers. As of March 2016, a surge to 20,557 Terabytes (or an average of 1,358
Megabytes per 2.5G/3G/4G mobile user) was recorded for local mobile data usage, representing
a growth of 1.18 times and 1.58 times over the same period in 2015 and 2014 respectively.
In light of the review on family services in Hong Kong in 2000, pilot projects on the
Integrated Family Service Centre (IFSC) service mode, were conducted in 2002. The Review
report "Building Effective Family Services: Review on the Implementation of the IFSC Service
Mode" stated that the IFSC service mode is an appropriate service mode for public-funded
family services in Hong Kong. However, the Review also identified factors hindering the
delivery of IFSC services. These hindering factors are the namely poor accessibility of some
IFSCs, heavy workload, and stigmatisation. With the use of ICT, these hindering factors can
be overcome, thus improving the IFSC service mode. The Review also recommended that "IFSCs
should explore service enhancement through appropriate use and sharing of information
technology."
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the current level of ICT use by providers of
family services in Hong Kong, and their anticipated future direction regarding ICT use, focus
group interviews are conducted with various stakeholders, including heads of service and
programme directors at Hong Kong NGOs running IFSCs, and social service workers and service
users of various IFSCs. Focus group interviews and survey questionnaires for service
providers and service users are used to collect the information on the view and use of ICT in
their daily practice.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has initiated the Jockey Club SMART Family-Link
Project in collaboration with The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and NGOs to promote the
effective use of information and communications technology (ICT) and data analytics in family
services. This project is aimed at helping 26 NGO-operated Integrated Family Service Centres
and Integrated Service Centres (Centres) devise an innovative and evidence-based family
service delivery model that leverages the effective use of ICT and data analytics and enhance
the quality and efficiency of their family service.
This study aims to (i) understand the current practice of ICT use in family services and
identify the needs and concerns of the stakeholders (heads of service, programme directors,
counsellors, social service and related workers, and service users) on using ICTs in family
services; and (ii) assess the impact of the Jockey Club SMART Family-Link Project.
