Professor Kelvin Wang, Professor at HKU School of Nursing, who is in charge of the research to review the effectiveness of the Lok Sin Tong Transitional Housing Scheme ‘LST Housing’, attended a press conference recently to announce the research statistics. Professor Wang said, ‘The study has demonstrated that transitional housing is comprehensive and effective in increasing well-being. There are enhancements in family communication quality and well-being, partner relationship and family support. It improves the anxiety or depressive symptoms in residents, enabling them to achieve a healthy life. Parents are also delighted to see children becoming happier and having improvement in their behavioural and psychological status.” The research conducted in August 2022 with 109 households showed that nearly 70% of the households said the family income improved. Among the 106 children respondents, nearly 60% had improved relationship with parents, over 60% had better education achievement, and over 80% became happier after moving into social housing. Another longitudinal evaluation conducted from September 2022 to March 2023 showed that the well-being of low-income families increased after moving into “LST Housing”, as reflected by an increased score from 38.10 to 41.17 based on the World Health Organization Well-Being Index. Moreover, parents perceived their children as happier than before.

(52hrtt, on.cc, HK01 - March 11, 2024; Sing Tao Daily, Oriental Daily News, Ta Kung Pao, Wen Wei Po, HKET.com, am730, Lion Rock Daily, Dajiyuan – March 12, 2024, Sing Tao Daily – March 17, 2024)

Dr Jojo Kwok, Assistant Professor at HKU School of Nursing and the Co-project Director of “Jockey Club Movin’ Care for Parkinson's Disease Project”, funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, shared that, ‘In a recent study conducted by HKU on Parkinson’s disease showed that motor symptoms related to body movements such as tremors (90%), shuffling gait (77%) and slowness (75%), were recognised most often by those surveyed. However, less than 30% of those surveyed could identify pre-motor symptoms, such as loss of smell or taste (13%); depression or anxiety (24%); constipation (15%); acting out dreams during sleep (17%); and nightmare (9%) which may appear 10-20 years before the motor symptoms.’

Dr Kwok suggested raising the awareness of identifying pre-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in the community. Patients can receive relevant treatment and care promptly if pre-motor symptoms can be identified early with appropriate medical evaluation.

Dr Mandy Ho Man, Associate Professor from HKU School of Nursing and principal investigator of the project ‘A Community-based Diabetes Prevention Programme’ has been invited to share about the success cases on Commercial Radio. Dr Ho mentioned during the interview, ‘The Programme was a three-year project funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust in 2021. It collaborates with NGOs to provide them with relevant training and support, and work together to promote diabetes prevention education seminars and risk screening activities in the community. The programme also provides evidence-based diabetes prevention courses and services for high-risk individuals.’ Dr Ho encourages promoting a healthy lifestyle to prevent diabetes in the community.

Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee and Professor Kelvin Wang Man-ping from the tobacco control research team of the Schools of Nursing and Public Health joined Professor Chak-sing Lau, Dean of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong at a media briefing to advocate for consideration of a total ban on tobacco in Hong Kong in respond to the government’s Public Consultation on Tobacco Control Strategies which will end by September 2023.

Professor Wang proposed a raise in tobacco tax from 64% to 75% by 2025, as recommended by the World Health Organization. He said, “The public consultation on tobacco control strategies targeted to reduce the smoking rate to 7.8% by 2025 and ultimately ending tobacco use. To achieve this, a significant raise in tobacco tax was recommended to help smokers to quit. Surveys showed a high level of public support for raising the tobacco tax to discourage people from smoking.” The HKU Youth Quitline has counselled over 3,100 young smokers with a six-month quit rate of 24%. “Our evidence-based smoking cessation strategies can be further enhanced to support the expected large-scale quitting before the total ban on tobacco,” said Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee of the School of Nursing, HKUMed.

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), held every year in the first week of August, is a global initiative to foster awareness and incentivize action on themes pertaining to breastfeeding. In 2023, the focus is on breastfeeding and work.

In Hong Kong, a government survey on breastfeeding in 2021 indicated a dip in breastfeeding rates among mothers with their children growing up in months. One reason is that working mothers find it difficult to continue breastfeeding their children upon the expiry of their maternity leave.

A culture of supporting mothers in workplaces and public venues is crucial for successful breastfeeding. As such, the School of Nursing of the University of Hong Kong launched a free nursery room search app ‘Breastfeeding GPS’ four years ago to help users to search for nearby nursery rooms according to the users’ locations. The Breastfeeding GPS Project Leader Dr Kris Lok, Assistant Professor, said, ‘The app has identified 634 breastfeeding spots in the city, there is still a high demand for more facilities. In addition to the app, in 2019, we also launched an online knowledge hub for parents and companies by posting new videos to a social media platform weekly. This initiative targets to promote breastfeeding culture. We can see a positive gradual change in public perception in favour of breastfeeding. Let us be patient and supportive of this process of cultural transformation.’

The Health Bureau launched the Vibrant, Healthy and Tobacco-free Hong Kong public consultation on tobacco control strategies. Professor Kelvin Wang, Professor of School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong and Information and Research Committee member of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, welcomed the proposals such as the banning of the sale of tobacco products to citizens born after a certain year, increasing tobacco duty and expanding no-smoking areas. Professor Wang added, “People under the age of 18 in Hong Kong are currently not allowed to buy tobacco products, but the legal age for purchasing tobacco products is 21 years old in the United States, Singapore and other countries. I think Hong Kong can take reference from this practice to protect the health of our next generation.” He also recommended that “The government can further raise the tobacco taxes. WHO proposed that tobacco tax should account for 75% of the product price. Currently in Hong Kong, the tobacco tax is about 64% of the product price which is far behind the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.” According to previous studies in Hong Kong, a significant increase in tobacco tax can increase the desire to quit smoking by smokers.

Dr Derek Cheung Yee-tak, Assistant Professor and member of the School’s smoking cessation team, commented on the government’s Vibrant, Healthy and Tobacco-free Hong Kong public consultation. He welcomed the proposed measures such as increasing the tobacco tax, banning the sale of tobacco products to citizens born after a certain year, etc. He commented that the pace of increasing tobacco tax in Hong Kong was relatively slow compared to other countries. He recommended that the government gradually increase the tobacco tax as increasing tobacco tax and the price of tobacco products have proven to be an effective incentive for smokers to quit smoking.

Labour Department introduced a system of Heat Stress at Work Warning in May 2023. Dr Patsy Chau Pui-hing, Associate Professor of HKU School of Nursing suggested to equip fans or outdoor air coolers in outdoor workplaces to reduce heat stress at work. If setting up large machines is not possible, employers may provide shade to workers, and workers may wear wide-brimmed hats to protect themselves from direct sunlight. Dr Chau said, ‘Prolonged exposure to the sun will cause sunburn and increases the risk of skin cancer. Wearing breathable long sleeve outfits is suggested. In addition, simply wiping the body with wet towel can help cool down and washing with running water is even better.’ She reminded that once there is headache, dizziness, or signs of confusion in a hot environment, one should take a break immediately and drink water to cool down the body. She also reminded that hot weather can increase risk of cardiovascular diseases. In case of palpitations, shortness of breath or chest pain, medical attention should be sought soonest.

Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee, Director of HKU Primary Health Care Academy and Professor of HKU School of Nursing, commented that re-exporting e-cigarettes through Hong Kong might weaken the city’s tobacco control initiatives. Professor Chan added, “Re-export of alternative smoking products through air cargo is exempted from the tobacco ban as authorities want to support the logistics sector. This is a risky move for tobacco control as Hong Kong aims to reduce its smoking population from 9.5% to 7.8%.” She suggested to raise further the tobacco tax and expand the no-smoking area.

Professor Kelvin Wang, also from HKU School of Nursing commented that the HKU Youth Quitline has been directing smoking cessation service to youngsters through hotline, but he noticed many relapse cases. Therefore, the quitline ambassadors would actively contact the smokers to provide information to reduce the chance of relapse.

  
 

The School of Nursing of the University of Hong Kong launched a free nursery room search app ‘Breastfeeding GPS’ four years ago, the app helps users to search for nearby nursery rooms according to the users’ locations. The Breastfeeding GPS Project Leader Dr Kris Lok, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong, shared ideas on designing the app, data analysis and more.

According to ‘Breastfeeding GPS’, a nursery room should equip with the following facilities: separate room, lockable, changing board (no mattress), hand washing amenities, power plug and a seat. The app was available for download in April 2019 and was supported by a government fund aimed to promote breastfeeding and even nursery room staff training for shopping malls.

Currently, there are about 600 nursery rooms in Hong Kong. Dr Lok expressed that it is becoming more convenient when searching for breastfeeding-related facilities and awareness of breastfeeding has improved in these 10 years.

As of March, this year, ‘Breastfeeding GPS’ has been downloaded for more than 9,300 times. Among them, 8,800 users have opened the app for more than 640,000 times. Dr Lok said, ‘To support mothers of different age cohorts, the app can be linked to Facebook, IG and YouTube. We noticed that even many daddies have downloaded the app too!’

A press event for the ‘Generations Connect’ project was held on March 24, 2023, where experiences of the pilot scheme were shared. This project aims to connect the youngsters and older adults through community intervention and behavioural coaching.

The Pilot scheme was launched in November 2022 where nursing students visited over 100 older adults and conducted surveys and assessments of their physical and mental health.

Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee, Professor and Project Director of “Generations Connect”, said, “We observed that the older adults with high level of e-Health Literacy have better physical, psychosocial and mental well-being. As the older population grows, social and medical care demand increases. The pilot study found that among the 70% of older adults who completed the two-week follow-up, the rate of low e-Health Literacy dropped from 66% to 56%, providing initial evidence that the intervention by nursing students is useful in strengthening their e-Health Literacy. In addition, the Project received very positive feedback from the students, who demonstrated a higher level of affective empathy, intellectual empathy and self-efficacy after participation. Nearly 90% of them believe that this experience helped them improve their communication skills with the older adults, become better listeners, and gain better knowledge in health and care for the older adults.”

The two-year ‘Generations Connect’ project was officially launched early 2023, expanding beyond nursing students. Over 1,000 healthcare professional students are expected to participate, providing services to 10,000 older adults and assisting them in adapting to post-pandemic life and taking care of their physical, psychological, and mental health and wellbeing.

  
 

Affected by the epidemic, elderly people stay in tiny homes for a long time and are prone to emotional problems. HKU School of Nursing students walked into their homes to understand their needs and offered support including health assessment, basic medical recommendations and electronic technology coaching, which helped the elderly people to obtain the latest information.

Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee believes, ‘This initiative enhances the empathy of students, and at the same time, through communications, the physical and mental health of the elderly can be improved. We hope more elderly can be benefitted from this project."

This “Generations Connect” project will be officially launched in 2023.

Dr Kelvin Wang Man-ping, Associate Professor, The School of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong attended a press conference organised by Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) which urged the Government to raise tobacco tax by 100% from HK$38 to HK$76.

According to COSH’s Tobacco Control Policy-related Survey 2022, most citizens widely supported the tobacco tax increase in next year with a support rate over 70%. Dr Wang said, “Public support for raising tobacco tax next year is high. A double in the current tax to increase retail price of a cigarette pack to about HK $100 would encourage about two-thirds of current smokers to quit or reduce the daily cigarette consumption. Even 60% of current smokers without quit intention or had high nicotine dependence would quit or reduce current cigarette consumption due to increased retail price of cigarettes”.

Together attending the press conference also included Professor Lam Tai-hing, Emeritus Professor and Honorary Clinical Professor, and Dr Daniel Ho Sai-yin, Associate Professor, from School of Public Health at The University of Hong Kong.

 

 

  
 

Dr Celine Chui, Assistant Professor from HKU School of Nursing and School of Public Health, and Dr Peng Wu, Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, HKU School of Public Health, attended a press event to call for centralised reporting of cases of Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), a microbe considered a “superbug” with strong antibiotic resistance.

The HKU team examined the Hospital Authority’s CDARS data from 2008 to 2019 and found that among 23,797 patients who were tested for CPE, 17.9% were tested positive.

The excessive prescriptions and use of antibiotics are the culprits to blame. HKU researchers called for setting up a centralised platform for reporting all CPE cases to tackle the problem.

Dr Alina Ng, Research Assistant Professor of HKU School of Nursing, wrote an article to educate the public on children’s palliative care service.

The article featured an interview with a service recipient of the children’s palliative care service of Children’s Palliative Care Foundation. The service recipient’s parent was grateful for the referral from the hospital to Children’s Palliative Care Foundation. Through the team of specialty nurses and social workers, personalised and proactive services were provided so the sick children and the family members felt caring and respected. The palliative care team set up an instant message group to help coordinate among the hospital, school, family and NGOs, such as hospital admission, school arrangement, therapy at home, etc. The team also took care of the mental wellness of the family and provided support.

Taking care of sick children is demanding both psychologically and physically; healthcare professionals can act as a bridge between families and various service parties.

(TOPick.hket.com – August 8, 2022)

Incontinence is a common physical problem encountered by older women, which may cause mental stress and affect social life. Studies showed that the number of affected women is two-fold higher than the male counterparts. Besides, overseas studies showed that 30% of women aged 40 or above have incontinence. There are studies targeting the Asian population found that about 60% of women aged over 60 have incontinence. Dr Edmond Choi, Assistant Professor of the School, was invited by the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) to discuss the types and causes of incontinence in women; provide tips on prevention, training, and choosing adult diapers.

(HKHS – July 28, 2022 and August 23, 2022)

 
 

Dr Jojo Kwok, Assistant Professor, had an interview with the Researcher to share her research paper which compared the effectiveness of different behavioural interventions for managing freezing of gait in people with Parkinson’s disease.

The findings concluded that obstacle training, gait training on the treadmill, general exercise, action observation training, and conventional physiotherapy proved immediate real-life benefits in reducing freezing of gait among patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease. And the findings also suggested that intervention with high-complexity motor training combined with attentional and cognitive strategy should be further explored.

(Researcher – June 28, 2022)

An interview was conducted by RTHK’s morning news programme on May 27, 2022, with Dr Kevin Wang, Associate Professor of HKU School of Nursing. He responded to the government’s approach toward a Tobacco Endgame in Hong Kong.

Dr Wang agreed that a single-digit smoking prevalence rate is encouraging, and the government should continue the efforts to reduce the smoking population. He commented that a one-week trial pack of nicotine replacement therapy sampling is a cost-effective way to assist smokers in quitting smoking. In addition, he advised that the government may expand the non-smoking area in public; increase the pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages; prosecute restaurants which allow diners to smoke, and prohibit the display of smoking products at retail stalls.

For the interview details, please visit:
RTHK Programme on May 27, 2022 (1:06:00 onwards)

(RTHK – May 27, 2022)

 

To nurture and educate nursing students, HKU School of Nursing adopts innovative teaching to enhance students' nursing skills. It provides different learning opportunities for students to care for patients and deal with varying scenarios in a safe environment. The School established Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation Nursing Clinical Skills Laboratory in 2017 and introduced infant and children simulators last year.

During the media event, Dr Kelvin Wang, Associate Professor of the School, introduced the simulators and simulation teaching and indicated that nearly 100 scenarios were designed for the students to learn and practice. In addition, teachers will provide constructive feedback to students by reviewing the recorded simulation learning process.

The innovative and simulation teaching equipped our students to stand on the frontline during the outbreak of the fifth wave of COVID-19, more than 300 students and teachers from the School provided support in the community holding centres, community testing and vaccination centres and Hospital Authority (HA) hotline support centre. Furthermore, with the knowledge and clinical skills learnt from the School, our nursing students collaborated with different disciplinary teams successfully to formulate nursing procedures for patients and provide professional and humanised nursing treatment and rehabilitation arrangements.

(On.cc, Ming Pao Daily, Sing Tao, ODN, HKET, Ming Pao Vancouver, TOPick, HK01, Bastille Post, TVB news, Yahoo News, The Limited Times - May 23, 2022; Ohpama.com – May 25, 2022)

 
 

A TV programme “Anti-Epidemic News Express” (防疫速遞) broadcasted on RTHK 32 channel interviewed HKU medical and nursing students, who participated at the Community Isolation Facility.

Ms Irene Ho Oi-ki, a Bachelor of Nursing (Full-time) Year 5 student shared her experience of providing nursing care for the COVID-19 elderly patients at the Choi Wing Road Temporary Care Centre. Besides the nursing services, she took care of the mental health of these patients and their carers by showing empathy and helping to connect the communications between family members. She felt honoured to provide nursing services to the public during the fifth wave of the pandemic. This is a precious opportunity to boost her confidence in serving the community and overcoming challenges in her nursing career.

For full version of interview, please visit:
RTHK 32 on March 25, 2022

(RTHK – March 25, 2022)

During the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, community isolation facility was swiftly set up to meet imminent needs of the elderly COVID-19 patients referred by the Hospital Authority to alleviate pressure of public hospitals.

The medical and nursing team from HKUMed have been supporting the medical service at community isolation facility at Choi Wing Road Sports Centre since February 2022. Beginning from March 21, the service has expanded to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Community Isolation Facility, which is expected to receive 400 elderly patients.

Some nursing students, who supported the centres, shared their experience of providing daily nursing care to the COVID-19 patients, taking care of patients’ physical and mental health, addressing patients' urgent needs, with a view to relieving the manpower shortage during the pandemic. These students were featured in a video released on March 19, which was then picked up by media outlets.

For full version of video, please visit:
HKUMed Youtube Channel

(HKCD Instant News, Ming Pao Vancouver – March 20, 2022; Ming Pao.com, Kinliu.hk – March 21, 2022)

 
 

A feature story conducted by Ming Pao Daily News interviewed Dr Kelvin Wang, Associate Professor of HKU School of Nursing on the health risks of waterpipe smoking.

Dr Wang clarified that water cannot filter the hazardous materials and waterpipe smoking is in fact addictive. The added chemicals and flavors make waterpipe more hazardous and the level of carbon monoxide is three times higher in waterpipe smoking than cigarettes for the same amount of nicotine. Studies have found that the smoke inhaled for one hour of waterpipe smoking is equivalent to 100 to 200 cigarettes. He further indicated that sharing of waterpipe can transmit diseases. Furthermore, waterpipe cannot help quit smoking.

HKU School of Nursing cooperated with Tung Wah Group of Hospitals to launch Hong Kong’s first artificial intelligence chat robot "Dr Wise" on WhatsApp. The chat robot simulates a human response and provides information about smoking cessation. It can also be transferred to a real counselor during office hours to answer questions, if necessary.

(Ming Pao Daily News, Health.mingpao.com – January 3, 2022; Guang Ming Daily - January 17, 2022)