Using Life History Calendars to Improve Measurement of Mental Disorders in Adults 25 and Older in Hong Kong

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating a tool called the Life History Calendar LHC combined with the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview-5th edition CIDI-5 to improve how mental disorders are measured over a lifetime in Hong Kong. The study aims to see if using the LHC with the CIDI-5 helps people better remember and report mental health experiences compared to the CIDI-5 alone. This method builds on previous findings from Nepal, where the LHC improved detection without increasing false positives. Participants will be divided into two groups. One group will complete the standard CIDI-5 interview alone, while the other group will first complete the LHC by recalling important personal events from birth to the present before taking the CIDI-5. The LHC session takes about 15 minutes and helps respondents remember key life events as memory cues during the CIDI-5 interview. Both interviews are conducted by trained interviewers using computer-assisted tools. Additionally, clinical re-interviews will be done for certain disorders in the LHC group to validate the results. During the study, participants will answer questions about various mental health symptoms including depression, anxiety, mood changes, self-harm, panic attacks, and substance use immediately after the interviews. The study involves adults aged 25 and older living in Hong Kong who can communicate in Chinese or English. Researchers will carefully monitor and compare how well each method identifies mental disorders based on participant responses and clinical assessments. The study will run until April 2027.

LHC-CIDI-5 in Hong Kong