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Linking Hearts

    Linking Hearts

    Linking Hearts is a transnational implementation research project between Canada and China. The project was developed in response to the observed mental health needs amongst university student populations in Jinan, Shandong, China.

    The aims of Linking Hearts (https://linking-hearts.ca/) are to evaluate the implementation of an evidence-based intervention, Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment – Linking Youth and ‘Xin’ (hearts) (ACE-LYNX), to:
    (1) decrease stigma of mental illness (attitude);
    (2) increase mental health literacy (knowledge);
    (3) promote student mental well-being (outcomes); and
    (4) build collective capacity to promote mental health of university students (action)

    The ACE-LYNX model consists of two integrated components: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral intervention, and Group Empowerment Psychoeducation (GEP), collaborative learning underpinned by the principles of equity, empowerment, and social justice. The project is implemented by through a partnership between the Canadian (CA) team and the Chinese (CN) teams, working collaboratively in three clusters: Data Collection and Analysis (DCA) Cluster; Implementation (IMP) Cluster, and Integrated Knowledge Translation (iKT) Cluster.

    The overarching goal of this project is to evaluate and document the process of intervention implementation and resultant knowledge uptake to transform existing health and social service professional capital into expanded capacity in mental health care for university students in China.

    The specific aims of the project are to study the adaptation and implementation of an integrated evidence-informed mental health intervention, Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment – Linking Youth and ‘Xin’ (hearts) (ACE-LYNX), to: (a) improve access to quality mental health care for university students in Jinan, Shandong Province, China; (b) reduce stigma against mental illness that impedes help-seeking, targeted prevention, early identification, timely treatment, and optimal recovery; (c) improve interdisciplinary collaboration through collective empowerment and capacity building; and (d) advance implementation science knowledge in the field of community mental health and in scaling up evidence-informed interventions in transnational and real-life contexts.

    Canada Investigators Team

    Nominated Principal Investigator – Josephine Pui-Hing Wong
    Co-Principal Investigators: Kenneth Fung, Alan Li, Manadana Vahabi, Ka-Tat Tsang, Maurice Poon
    Co-Investisgators: Janet Yamada, Carla Hilario, Jenny Liu, Nina Xuan, Weijia Tan

    Visit Linking Hearts (https://linking-hearts.ca/) for details.