Reducing loneliness among Hong Kong older adults: a three-arm randomized controlled trial

INTERVENTION: Tele‐NT:Tele‐NT;Tele‐EP:Tele‐EP;Tele‐BF:Tele‐BF; CONDITION: Loneliness PRIMARY OUTCOME: Loneliness; SECONDARY OUTCOME: Sleep;Depressive Symptoms;Patient Health;Cognitive Functioning;Social Network;Social Support; INCLUSION CRITERIA: Our target population for the three‐arm RCT on reducing loneliness is Chinese older adults aged 65 and over. The inclusion criteria for participants in the loneliness intervention will be: 1) aged 65 and older; 2) able to communicate through Cantonese over the phone; 3) have no cognitive impairment; 4) no psychiatric disorder, learning disability, or active suicidal ideation; 5) not currently receiving any befriending services, narrative therapy or life review; and 6) feeling lonely (cut‐off <6 of 3‐item UCLA Loneliness Scale). A required sample size for the RCT on loneliness was estimated for our primary outcome, that is, loneliness assessed by UCLA Loneliness Scale.