title: Happy Family Kitchen: A community-based research for enhancing family communication and well-being in Hong Kong.
abstract: Urban families worldwide are often characterized by busy working lives which leave little time for family gatherings and communication. The Happy Family Kitchen project, which emphasized cooking and dining with family members, was conducted in a deprived district in Hong Kong. We hypothesized that the community-based family intervention, derived from a positive psychology framework, can improve family communication, family well-being, and subjective happiness. Twenty-three social service units organized and delivered the intervention programs for 1,419 individuals from 612 families. The core intervention was developed with emphasis on 1 of 5 positive psychology themes: gratitude, flow, happiness, health, and savoring. Intervention outcomes were assessed at preintervention, immediate postintervention, and 6 weeks and 12 weeks postintervention. Results showed that family communication, family well-being, and subjective happiness improved with small effect sizes which were sustained up to 12 weeks. The gratitude intervention improved all of the outcome measures. Qualitative data provided additional evidence for effectiveness with in-depth insights into family dynamics. We concluded that this brief intervention was a low-cost and simple approach to improve family communication and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors: School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong.
authors: Henry C Y
authors: HC
authors: Ho
authors: Hong Kong Council of Social Service.
authors: Moses
authors: M
authors: Mui
authors: School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong.
authors: Alice
authors: A
authors: Wan
authors: School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong.
authors: Yin-Lam
authors: YL
authors: Ng
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
authors: Sunita M
authors: SM
authors: Stewart
authors: United Centre of Emotional Health and Positive Living, United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service.
authors: Carol
authors: C
authors: Yew
authors: School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong.
authors: Tai Hing
authors: TH
authors: Lam
authors: School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong.
authors: Sophia S
authors: SS
authors: Chan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D005195:Family Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012947:Social Work; D055815:Young Adult