An interventional study of Dyadic mindfulness in Mindfulness, Caregivers and Movement Disorders, sponsored by The University of Hong Kong. Recruiting at 1 site in Hong Kong. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-01.
Sponsored by The University of Hong Kong · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
The proposed two-arm randomized waitlist-controlled trial will use a mixed-methods design to investigate the effects of dyadic mindfulness on physio-psycho-spiritual outcomes in people with Parkinson's Disease (PwPD) and their family caregivers. One hundred Chinese patient-caregiver dyads will be randomized to receive eight weekly 90-minute dyadic mindfulness sessions or usual care. Outcome measures include negative emotions (primary outcome), patient-caregiver relationship, mindfulness, HRQOL, gut microbiome, PD-related symptoms, and caregiving burden. An actor-partner interdependence model will be used to explore the interactions of treatment effects within the dyads. The dyads will be assessed at baseline(T0), post-intervention(T1), and 4-months post-intervention(T2). The investigators will also invite 25 dyads to attend in-depth interviews exploring their experiences, perceived changes, and factors attributable to the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of the intervention. Generalized linear mixed-effects (GLME) with intention-to-treat analysis will be used to compare the changes in outcomes over time within and between the two arms. The findings will be triangulated to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the intervention's effectiveness. This study will generate rigorous scientific evidence to inform the application of dyadic mindfulness as a public health practice preventing the progression of psychological distress in PwPD and caregivers to clinically severe levels. Its self-help nature also enriches the primary care for this clinical cohort.
4,573 studies on the registry are indexed under Parkinson Disease; 1,086 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 200 is above the median of 40 across 3,353 interventional studies indexed under Parkinson Disease.
Browse Parkinson Disease studies →The University of Hong Kong is the lead sponsor of 1,292 studies on the registry; 348 are open to participants now.
Of its 9 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.
Compared within Parkinson Disease, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Movement Disorders. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Inclusion Criteria of PwPD:
Inclusion Criteria of caregivers of PwPD:
- Self-identified as the primary caregivers of their patient
Either patient or caregiver needs to experience at least mild negative emotions (as indicated by the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale [DASS21] score of Depression subscale ≥10, Anxiety subscale ≥8, or Stress subscale ≥15)
Both need to be able to communicate in Cantonese and provide written consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Behavioral: Dyadic mindfulness
The wait-list, usual care control group will continue with routine outpatient services (medication follow-up care with minimal health education on disease management/drug care) and then receive dyadic mindfulness training after the 6-month study period.
The dyadic mindfulness intervention group will receive 8 weekly 90-min sessions, with a total of 12 contact hours. The intervention will be delivered in a small group format with 6-8 dyads each and led by a certified yoga instructor with mindfulness qualifications. The program content mindfulness meditation, mindful breathing, and yoga sequences with warm-up and cool-down and each component is modified to pair-based practices.
Negative emotions
Negative emotions (primary outcome) will be measured by validated Chinese DASS-21 using a one-week recall period, which was developed to measure three related and clinically significant negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. Each item is rated on a 0-3 scale (0="Did not apply to me at all" to 3="Applied to me very much or most of the time"). The score of each subscale ranges from 0-42 and the total score ranges from 0-126, with higher score indicating greater self-reported levels of depression, anxiety and stress.
Time frame: A repeated outcome measure will be conducted at baseline (T0, prior to randomization), immediate post-intervention (T1, 2 months) and 4-months post-intervention (T2, 6 months).
Patient-caregiver relationship
Patient-caregiver relationship will be measured by the validated Chinese Dyadic Relationship Scale, which comprises two subscales: dyadic strain and positive dyadic interaction. Each item is rated on a four-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (strongly agree) to 3 (strongly disagree).
Time frame: A repeated outcome measure will be conducted at baseline (T0, prior to randomization), immediate post-intervention (T1, 2 months) and 4-months post-intervention (T2, 6 months).
Mindfulness
Mindfulness will be measured by the validated Chinese 32-item Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). 36 Using a six-point Likert scale, eight domains will be assessed: noticing, not-distracting, not-worrying, attention regulation, emotional awareness, self-regulation, body listening and trusting.
Time frame: A repeated outcome measure will be conducted at baseline (T0, prior to randomization), immediate post-intervention (T1, 2 months) and 4-months post-intervention (T2, 6 months).
HRQOL
HRQOL will be measured by the validated Chinese EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L). It comprises 2 main components: a description of health status in 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression), and a numeric value of overall health status perceived by the respondents (EQ-VAS). Each dimension is scored on a 5-point Likert scale, from 0 (no problems) to 4 (extreme problems). The EQ-VAS records an individual's self-rated health on a numeric analogue visual scale from 0 (the worst health) to 100 (the best health).
Time frame: A repeated outcome measure will be conducted at baseline (T0, prior to randomization), immediate post-intervention (T1, 2 months) and 4-months post-intervention (T2, 6 months).
Gut microbiome
Gut microbiome. All participants will be instructed to self-collect a fecal sample any time during the week of the study visits. Samples will be kept in a collection tube with a stabilizer and stored at room temperature. The fecal sample collection procedure will be guided by a previously tested information leaflet and YouTube video. The research team will collect the samples during the study visits and transfer them to labeled cryovials within 60 days of collection according to the manufacturer's protocol. The samples will then be stored at -80◦C until further analysis.
Time frame: A repeated outcome measure will be conducted at baseline (T0, prior to randomization), immediate post-intervention (T1, 2 months) and 4-months post-intervention (T2, 6 months).
PD-related motor and non-motor symptoms
PD-related motor and non-motor symptoms will be measured by the validated Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (Chinese) Parts I-III, which examine non-motor experiences, motor experiences of daily living, and clinical examination of motor symptoms, respectively. Higher scores indicate greater disease severity.
Time frame: A repeated outcome measure will be conducted at baseline (T0, prior to randomization), immediate post-intervention (T1, 2 months) and 4-months post-intervention (T2, 6 months).
Caregiving burden
Caregiving burden will be made using the validated 12-item Zarit Burden Interview-short version, which assesses three domains on a five-point scale (0= "never"; 4="very frequently"): perceived role strain, self-criticism, and negative emotion. Higher scores indicate a heavier caregiving burden.
Time frame: A repeated outcome measure will be conducted at baseline (T0, prior to randomization), immediate post-intervention (T1, 2 months) and 4-months post-intervention (T2, 6 months).
Plan to share: No — The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon request from the principal investigator, Prof. Kwok. These data are not publicly available, as they contain information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Feb 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jun 2027, 28 months after the start.
Of 1,291 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Parkinson Disease, half reached primary completion within 24 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 11 and three quarters within 44. This study's planned 28 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 1,367 studies reached it within 25 months; a quarter within 11 and three quarters within 44.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.