HKUMed is working to inform and improve primary healthcare in Hong Kong through its clinical and research expertise. HKUMed is providing medical consultants at the Kwai Tsing District Health Centre (DHC) and Central and Western and Yau Tsim Mong DHC Expresses, building on its strong relationships with the NGOs operating these centres. ‘We are helping to co-ordinate multidisciplinary teams and providing input on clinical care, disease prevention and health promotion,’ said Professor William Wong Chi-wai, Medical Convenor of the CPHC and Chairperson of Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care (FMPC), School of Clinical Medicine. DHCs comprise a variety of medical and healthcare professionals, such as nurses, rehabilitation professionals and pharmacists, and therefore also provide a great teaching opportunity. First- and second-year students in the Professionalism in Practice programme are being placed there to observe interprofessional interactions first-hand. ‘Students need to be aware that 90 per cent of medical activities actually happen in the community,’ he said. ‘The DHCs will expose them to the whole-team approach towards helping patients to get better health promotion and disease prevention.’ Professor Wong noted that the involvement with the DHCs offered a platform for developing research on how best to deliver primary healthcare, particularly as data from both public and private sectors is now being collected through the government’s eHealth system. Health Informatics Convenor, Professor Eric Wan Yuk-fai, Chief of Research in the FMPC, is at the forefront of utilising data to enhance the understanding of primary healthcare. His leadership in several government projects involving record linking between databases from various departments is driving significant advancement in healthcare research. Collaborating with the HKU Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Wan recently led a groundbreaking project for the Social Welfare Department that focuses on identifying Hong Kong’s ‘hidden elderly’ lacking adequate social support, a vulnerable group requiring targeted interventions. By analysing big data linking medical and social datasets, the project aims to identify hidden elderly individuals who may be seeking medical care, enabling early interventions and comprehensive social support. ‘This meaningful project is also expected to demonstrate the value of sharing communication across disciplinary and institutional boundaries – currently, government departments cannot easily link their database with other departments. By breaking down existing communication barriers, we hope to achieve a more holistic approach to healthcare through interdisciplinary collaboration,’ he said. Social Healthcare Convenor, Professor Doris Yu Sau-fung of the School of Nursing, is also collaborating on the project, having previously collected health assessment data from 10,000 older adults. She also has a separate study on sarcopenia – muscle wastage – which involves collecting data on the physical environment and socio-economic status of different districts. The outcomes will contribute to her efforts to improve healthcare for Hong Kong’s ageing community. She has organised several projects, such as introducing the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care of Older People model to NGO-run community centres, with the aim to help their staff and trained volunteers to assess the physical, mental and cognitive states of elderly visitors. Based on the result, visitors are offered a goal-oriented care plan. Professor Yu said they had trained more than 450 health coach volunteers, who are mostly in their 50s or older, in the past three years and involved them in some aspects of case management, with much success. ‘It is not enough to only rely on professionals to sustain the development of primary healthcare in Hong Kong. We must also build up our community capacity,’ she said. Expert Input ← Professor William Wong Chi-wai ↑Professor Eric Wan Yuk-fai →Professor Doris Yu Sau-fung 23 HKUMed News Winter 2024
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