The Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) successfully held the CRNAT Phase II Project Briefing Session on 23 July 2026. The two-year project is led by Prof. Hector TSANG, Principal Investigator of the project, and funded by PolyU’s Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC). The Caregivers Risk and Needs Assessment Tool (CRNAT) is a digital platform that integrates caregiver assessment, risk identification, and service mapping functions to facilitate the early identification of caregivers’ needs and the appropriate matching of community resources and support services, enabling more timely and targeted interventions. Building on the successful outcomes of Phase I, the Phase II project aims to advance “comprehensive inclusion” by expanding the assessment tool to support caregivers across ten disability categories, while further enhancing the platform’s capabilities to better address the diverse needs of different caregiver groups.
The briefing session received an enthusiastic response, bringing together 33 representatives from 19 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as three caregivers who shared their valuable caregiving experiences and personal insights. In his opening remarks, Prof. Tsang highlighted that the project seeks to transform caregiver support from a “reactive response” model to a “proactive early warning” approach. Through the early identification of high-risk caregivers and their needs, the project aims to establish a more forward-looking support network, ensuring that families from diverse backgrounds can access timely and appropriate resources and services to support caregivers’ long-term health and wellbeing.
During the focus group discussion and Q&A session, social welfare practitioners and caregiver representatives actively exchanged views and offered constructive suggestions on the future development of the assessment tool. Discussions focused on enhancing the tool’s inclusiveness for caregivers across all ten disability categories and exploring the application of artificial intelligence technologies to improve the platform’s usability and accessibility, ensuring that caregivers from diverse backgrounds and with varying abilities can benefit from the assessment and support services provided through the platform.
Looking ahead, the project team from the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences will continue to harness machine learning technologies and further enhance the Service Mapping function to advance both research and platform development. The enhanced CRNAT platform will integrate more precise risk assessment and service mapping mechanisms, enabling NGOs to identify caregivers’ needs in a more systematic manner and facilitate the appropriate matching of support services based on caregivers' individual circumstances and risk levels. Through technological innovation and cross-sector collaboration, the team aims to further strengthen Hong Kong’s caregiver support ecosystem and provide caregivers with more timely, targeted, and comprehensive support.
| Research Units | Mental Health Research Centre |
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