The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) held a closing ceremony cum sharing session for the “Jockey Club C • Care Programme” on 19 March 2025. Funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) Charities Trust and led by the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences of PolyU, the three-year project aims to develop a mobile app which includes Carer Risk and Needs Assessment Tool (CRNAT) that helps social welfare organisations in identifying carers’ levels of risks and service needs and mapping appropriate support services for them.
The mobile app “Care4u” was launched in September 2024, and has benefitted 175 carers in nine participating organisations. The participating non-governmental organisations (NGOs) include: St. James’ Settlement, SAHK, Fu Hong Society, Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association, Heep Hong Society, New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, Hong Chi Association, Christian Family Service Centre, and Hong Kong PHAB Association.
The event was graced by a line-up of mental health professionals including Prof. Hector TSANG, Principal Investigator of the project, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Co-Founder of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC) of PolyU; Prof. Sylvia CHEN, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Chair Professor of Social and Cultural Psychology, and the then Interim Director of MHRC; Mr Horace LIT, Executive Manager, Charities (Positive Ageing & Elderly Care; and Healthy Community) of HKJC; and representatives of the participating organisations.
The event commenced with an opening speech by Mr Lit, who recognised the project’s contribution to advancing carer support through technology-based solutions. It was followed by Prof. Tsang’s overview on the application of the assessment tool, as well as sharing by NGO representatives, delineating how the app has helped them in providing risk assessment and service matching for carers. In a thank you video played during the ceremony, carers participating in the project also shared their experience using the app and expressed their appreciation for the project and the timely support they received from service providers.
The mobile app developed from the project has demonstrated its effectiveness in systematically identifying carers’ needs and risk levels, mapping appropriate services, and enabling evidence-based service evaluations. Moving forward, the PolyU team will strive to further integrating artificial intelligence-driven features into the app to optimise risk prediction, service recommendations and user experience. Collaboration with additional NGOs is also planned, with a view to extending CRNAT’s coverage and utilisation, as well as consolidating its role in advancing carer support services across Hong Kong.
| Research Units | Mental Health Research Centre |
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