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Introduction: Mental well-being is associated with many mental health symptoms, including depression and health-related quality of life. Digital divide could impact mental health, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information and communication technology (ICT)-based tools and interventions could effectively provide social support. Intergenerational mentoring between college students and older adults could promote eHealth literacy and self-efficacy, and it is advocated to bridge the digital divide for older adults. However, the effectiveness of an intervention which employs ICT-based tools and intergenerational mentoring strategies (i.e. Digital Buddy) on mental well-being is unclear. Methods: This study will employ a multi-centre, cluster-randomized, two-parallel-group, noninferiority, controlled trial design with a 1:1 group allocation ratio. In the intervention group, a Digital Buddy (i.e. a young volunteer) is assigned to a group of older adults in a 1:10 ratio. A series of training sessions for a minimum of 23 h will be provided to the older adults by Digital Buddy, who will also follow through the intervention period with the older participants. The training contents include ICT and mental health care knowledge and skills. The whole intervention period will last for 6 months between 14 sessions. In the control group, participants will receive the usual care. The primary outcome measure is mental well-being. We aim to recruit 292 older participants. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) will be used to examine the effects of the intervention. Ethics and dissemination: This trial has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05553730) on 23 September 2022, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05553730, and all items come from the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set. It has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Tung Wah College, Hong Kong (reference number: REC2022143). The findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences relevant to the subject fields.

Background: Mental well-being is poor in long-term care facilities (LTCF) residents. Physical disabilities, impaired social engagement, and environmental stress are also common in LTCF which exacerbate the decline of the mental well-being of older people living in LTCF. Protective elements, including nature-based, reminiscence, outdoor, and group activities, are known to be effective to promote the mental well-being of older people living in LTCF. However, limited by their physical disabilities and poor social support, older people living in LTCF are not likely to benefit from these effective measures. Virtual reality has been proven to be feasible to be environmentally unrestricted to providing LTCF residents with all protective elements promoting mental well-being. However, its effects on the mental well-being of LTCF residents living with physical disabilities are unclear. Methods: This study employs a single-blinded, two-parallel-group (intervention-to-control group ratio = 1:1), non-inferiority, randomized controlled trial. Eligible participants are aged 60 years or above, LTCF residents, and living with physical disabilities. The study will be conducted in LTCF. In the intervention group, participants will receive a 6-week VR experience program. In the control group, participants will receive the usual care provided by the LTCF. The primary outcome is mental well-being, as measured by World Health Organization Five Well-being Index at the time point of baseline (i.e., week 0) and after completion of the intervention (i.e., week 7). This study aims to recruit a total of 216 participants. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) will be used to examine the effects of the intervention. Trial registration: The trial has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT05818579), Registered on April 5, 2023. The latest version of the protocol was published online on 19 April 2023. All items come from the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set. This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Tung Wah College, Hong Kong (reference number: REC2023158). The findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals, presented at international and local conferences with related themes, and shared in local media.

Introduction: In Asian countries, stigma against psychiatric disorders and shortage of manpower are the two major challenges that hinder people from receiving treatments. Chatbots can surely help people surpass the stigmatising and manpower shortage challenges. Since a comprehensive review in the Asian context is lacking, this systematic review will evaluate the effects of chatbot interventions on the mental well-being of the general population in Asia. Methods and analysis: Four electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO and MEDLINE) will be searched until December 2024. Randomised controlled trials with English/Chinese full text available will be included. Random-effect models will be used for meta-analyses. The risk of bias (RoB) and certainty of evidence across studies will be assessed using the Cochrane RoB2 and Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation tools, respectively. Ethics and dissemination: This study will not require ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. Funding: School Research Grant of the Tung Wah College (2023-04-52-SRG230401) PROSPERO registration number: CRD42024546316.

Health care systems around the world are now facing unprecedented challenges due to various factors including the tsunami of ageing populations, unhealthy lifestyles and diets as well as the recurrent and new emergence of infectious diseases such as flu and COVID-19. Government’s health policies need to be revisited in an attempt to put extra efforts and resources in primary care and public health. Despite the Alma-Ata Declaration of the international primary health care (PHC) conference signed in 1978, PHC models nowadays need to shift the paradigm from ‘sick care’ to ‘health care’ with the innovative model of ‘Smart Health Communities' (SHC). SHC address various stakeholders involved in enhancing the health of the citizens in the localities or cities. This initiative is within the domain of ‘Smart Cities’ with the adoption of ‘Internet of Things’ to enhance the collection of essential health data about the health status of patients and citizens in the community. SHCs are especially important in primary and community care. By means of case studies of Hong Kong and Australia, the values and impacts of using digital health and networked technologies such as wearables, electronic health record systems to facilitate SHC are highlighted to address the factors for success and the difficulties encountered. These experiences gained from Asia-Pacific regions are deemed to be the learning points for other cities to reflect about their health care systems especially in community care level so as to innovate and to further shift their focus from sick care to health care.