Aims and objectives: To test the effectiveness of a musical training programme in promoting happiness and quality of life of Hong Kong Chinese underprivileged preschool children. Background: The impact of poverty and income disparity on the psychological wellbeing of children remains a profound global public health concern. There is substantial evidence that poverty and income disparity have many negative impacts on children's psychological well‐being, adversely affecting their quality of life. Methods: A nonequivalent, quasi‐experimental, two‐group, pretest and post‐test, between‐subjects design was conducted with 171 Hong Kong Chinese underprivileged preschool children (aged 3–6 years). Participants (n = 100) in the experimental group attended a weekly 1‐hr musical training lesson for 12 weeks conducted by the Music Children Foundation. Participants (n = 71) in the wait list control group received the same training after all data had been collected. Data collection for both groups was conducted at baseline and 12‐week follow‐up. The measured outcomes were happiness level and quality of life. A TREND checklist was completed. Results: Participants in the experimental group reported significantly higher levels of happiness (p = .002) and quality of life (p = .44) than those in the wait list control group. Conclusions: The present study indicates the effectiveness of a musical training programme in promoting happiness and quality of life of Hong Kong Chinese underprivileged preschool children. It also demonstrated the feasibility of implementing the programme in a community context. Relevance to clinical practice: This study aids to inform nurses the beneficial effect of the musical training programme in improving underprivileged children's psychological well‐being and quality of life. Indeed, community nurses may act as facilitators to promote the musical training programme to underprivileged children. The involvement of community nurses may greatly enhance the sustainability

Background Entering primary school is an important childhood milestone, marking the beginning of a child's formal education. Yet the change creates a time of vulnerability for the child, the parents and the parent--child relationship. Failure to adjust to the transition may place the family in a psychologically devastating position. The aims of this study were to test the effectiveness of a parental training programme in enhancing the parent--child relationship and decreasing parental stress by reducing harsh parenting in preparing children for the transition to primary school. Methods A randomised controlled trial incorporating a two-group pre-test and repeated post-test was conducted in one of the largest public housing estates in Hong Kong. A total of 142 parents were recruited, with 72 parents randomly assigned to the experimental group and 70 to the control group. Harsh parenting practices, parent--child relationships and parental stress were assessed. Results In comparison to parents in the control group, those in the experimental group engaged in less harsh parenting practices and reported better parent--child relationships. However, parental stress scores did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusion This study addressed a gap in the literature by examining the effectiveness of the training programme for enhancing parent--child relationship and decreasing parental stress at the time of a child's transition to primary school. The findings from this study provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the parental training programme and highlight the significance of parenting in promoting a smooth transition for children from kindergarten to primary 1.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1079]