News

A research team led by Dr Andy Cheng from RS and Department of Computing at PolyU has established the “Smart Work Injury Management System” (SWIM)

A research team of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Department of Computing at PolyU has established the “Smart Work Injury Management System” (SWIM) to accurately predict with AI and big data the length of sick leaves and return-to-work trajectory in the cases of injuries at work. Dr Andy Cheng, Associate Professor of RS, said they fed the system with around 90,000 cases collected from 68 insurance companies for building up analytic models through machine-learning.  With the basic information such as age, job nature, salary, injured area and cause of injury, SWIM is able to predict the severity of a case, what treatment should be taken, the possibility of resumption of work, and the amount of insurance claim costs etc.  SWIM’s prediction reaches 70% and 60% in accuracy to assess disability level and number of days of sick leave respectively, both outperforming estimations conducted by humans. Dr Cheng said they hope SWIM’s prediction can be used as a reference for stakeholders like employers, injured workers and insurance companies to acquire a more comprehensive information so as to develop better rehabilitation plans and reduce the chances of work-related injuries. Six insurance companies have already expressed their interest in SWIM. Dr Cheng said they expect to launch a 6-month trial run for these companies earliest by March, and put SWIM to use by the insurance and healthcare industries next year.  

OT student received the Swire University Scholarship 2020/21

Miss Tik Naomi Yin, a year 3 student of BSc (Hons) in OT programme, received the Swire University Scholarship 2020/21. The scholarship rewards outstanding students for their excellent academic achievements as well as commitment to community services. Naomi is a talented student with distinguished academic performance, who has participated actively in volunteer services, such as the World Occupational Therapy Day 2018 to promote occupational therapy to the general public. She has the following to share: "2020 was a tough year. Things were harsh no matter in personal, social and global aspects. I was struggling with the adaptation to the new teaching mode and lifestyle, while my parent was facing potential unemployment. Studies were stressful as I needed to work hard to maintain good grades. When I heard about this scholarship, I decided to give it a try. I did not expect much since I thought an additional source of stress was not good. As a result, the news that I was honoured with this award came as a happy surprise. It is also a great encouragement to me and my family. Many thanks to my family and friends who had supported me. My deep appreciation too to Professor Tsang and the teachers who had nominated me. I am also very grateful for all my teachers who have taught me with passion for their professions. Finally, I would like to thank God for His grace and the opportunity He gave me.”

PolyU RS signs Memorandum of Understanding with Kunming Medical University on 15 January 2021

Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Kunming Medical University (KMU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 15 January 2021 via Zoom, as a record of both parties’ understanding in relation to discussing the opportunity to undertake cooperative activities. RS has more than 30 years of collaborative relationship with. Under the leadership of Prof. Ao, the Rehabilitation Medicine Department of KMU has achieved a higher academic ranking in the country due to high-quality training to the students. The completion of the new rehabilitation teaching building shows the great support in rehabilitation education of the country as well as the rapid expansion of rehabilitation professions. This collaboration will strengthen the existing collaboration between RS and KMU in the provision of a new education platform and enhancement of community rehabilitation education. There are three objectives of this collaboration: 1.) To strengthen the mode of community rehabilitation service education so as to enhance the teaching curriculum and clinical education. 2.) To build up a brand new “PolyU-KMU Community Rehabilitation Education Centre” with the objectives to preserve the valuable service data and to promote rehabilitation education to different parties including teachers, students, professions and the public. 3.) To make use of the newly established Centre as a core basement of community rehabilitation education so as to further promote a more professional rehabilitation education training to the whole country. The promotion is not only limited to the students of PolyU and KMU, but also to the surrounding institutions, as well as all parties who are interested in community rehabilitation services. In the future, we will make use of this “PolyU-KMU Community Rehabilitation Education Centre” to enhance the promotion of rehabilitation education in the whole country. The ultimate goal is to improve the teaching quality and to enhance the development of rehabilitation education in the country, thereby positively impacting on the lives of people with disabilities and helping them to go back into the community.

Dr Sulaiman joins Prof. Tsang’s research team to conduct a collaborative project with GMU

We would like to welcome Dr Surajo Kamilu Sulaiman on board, who newly joined Prof. Hector Tsang’s research team as a postdoctoral fellow in January 2021.   Dr Sulaiman received his Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy from Bayero University in Nigeria, and his Master of Physiotherapy from SRM University in India. He earned his PhD (rehabilitation science) from Queen’s University in Canada. Before joining our department, he was lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy, Bayero University. His research interest is quality of life and its measurement in individuals with disabilities or at risk of developing disabilities. Dr Sulaiman will be working on a collaborative research project on physical exercises for individuals with knee osteoarthritis, jointly supervised by Prof. Tsang, Dr Arnold Wong of RS, and Dr Ou Haining from Guangzhou Medical University (GMU). Prof. Tsang has been appointed Nanshan Scholar by GMU, and the funding support for this project originates from his appointment. 

RS gave an interview with Xinhua Net to share their experience in helping survivors from the Yunnan earthquake in 2014

Members of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS), PolyU, gave an interview with Xinhua Net to share their experience in helping survivors from the Yunnan earthquake in 2014. For six years, Mr Tang Kin-chung (Occupational Therapy Clinical Associate, RS) and the team of PolyU students, 愛無疆 (Love without Borders), has never stop visiting the county and surrounding areas to give out their services, equipment and love to those disabled. Prof. Hector Tsang (Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS) said the demand for occupational therapy is vast in the impoverished rural areas in China where the medical facilities are not as comprehensive as first-tier cities. “Positively impacting on the lives of people with or without disabilities” is the mission of RS. Over 130 PolyU students have joined the “Love without Borders” over the years to visit Rudian and surrounding areas at least twice a year, and about 110 disabled persons have received their therapy services. Online coverage: Xinhua Net - http://bit.ly/3hBB2Vc; http://bit.ly/38U8CBT China News - http://bit.ly/2JIQpP6 The Cover - http://bit.ly/3rOZCqi Sina - http://bit.ly/3obdiJL Yunnan.cn - http://bit.ly/3hFA2iO 光明時政 - http://bit.ly/3oay2lb 21CN新聞 - http://bit.ly/3b5LfYv East Day - http://bit.ly/3hAQQaI Sohu - http://bit.ly/3oaymjT Toutiao - https://bit.ly/2LjRop7

PolyU sets up the first university-based occupational therapy clinic on campus

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has established a new on-campus rehabilitation centre that focuses on the provision of occupational therapy (OT) services, thanks to a generous donation from Mr Tam Wing Fan and his family. It is the first-ever OT clinic in Hong Kong operated by a university. The Tam Wing Fan Rehabilitation Service Centre (Occupational Therapy), named after its donor Mr Tam Wing Fan, a distinguished Hong Kong architect and philanthropist who generously supported education, research and community service, is the second rehabilitation centre operating on the PolyU campus. With state-of-the-art equipment, veteran academic researchers and experienced occupational therapists, this new Centre provides comprehensive OT services for people of all age groups, including treatments for musculoskeletal, neurological and mental health dysfunctions. In view of the ageing population and the rising needs for primary healthcare services in the community, the Centre will become a service point for the public, with an emphasis on elderly care and offering treatments for common neurological diseases, elderly falls and fractures, and mental health conditions. For more details, please refer to https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/media/media-releases/2020/1120_first-university-based-ot-clinic/

RS designs new dual-task exercise for stroke patients to effectively reduce the risk of falls and fall-related injuries

Professor Marco PANG Yiu-chung, Professor of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at PolyU led the study of “Dual-Task Exercise Reduces Cognitive-Motor Interference in Walking and Falls after Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Study” (link), appeared in Stroke, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Heart Association. It was revealed that dual-task exercises were able to help reduce the risk of falls and injurious falls by 25.0% and 22.2% respectively, bringing about significant improvement to the dual-task mobility of people post-stroke. As such, the programme has the potential to roll out in community and home-based settings, where healthcare resources are scarce. For more details, please visit: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/media/media-releases/2020/0917_polyu-designs-new-dual-task-exercise-for-stroke-patients/

Dr Shirley Ngai received national award - 2018 National Teaching Achievement Award (Higher Education) (Second Class Prize)

Dr Shirley Ngai (Associate Professor and Programme Leader of BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy of RS) has been awarded the 2018 National Teaching Achievement Award (Higher Education) (Second Class Prize). The National Teaching Achievement Award (Higher Education) by the Ministry of Education is presented to individuals or teams who have made great contribution to either education theory or practice and achieved significant improvement in education quality and learning outcome. Dr Ngai is among the first academics from Hong Kong to receive this top honour in education at the national level. Dr Ngai specialises in research and teaching in cardiopulmonary physiotherapy. To enhance the confidence of her students in the real clinical scenarios, she has designed and introduced various innovative pedagogical methods including converting the classroom into a simulated “ward” to allow students applying their professional knowledge in a “simulated” clinical setting.

MOT and MPT Programmes train talents in occupational therapy and physiotherapy meeting urgent demand from the social welfare sector for healthcare/rehabilitation manpower

While the demand for healthcare services is growing drastically in Hong Kong, the supply of qualified therapists is far from adequate especially in the social welfare sector, bringing difficulties to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in meeting the healthcare and rehabilitation needs of society. To alleviate this manpower shortage, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) of HKSARG has been offering a Training Sponsorship Scheme in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and NGOs since 2012. The two master's entry degree programmes PolyU is offering under this Scheme are Master in Occupational Therapy (MOT) and Master in Physiotherapy (MPT). Introduced in 2012, these two-year full-time programmes provide an opportunity for those who aspire to serve the community as competent and qualified therapists. Under this Scheme, potential talents are funded by NGOs to take part in a two-year master's entry degree programme either in occupational therapy or physiotherapy. After graduation, these students are required to contribute to the work of the NGOs they signed up for three consecutive years. The Scheme has yielded good results with over 250 students having been trained in four cohorts under the Scheme to serve in NGOs that offer care and rehabilitation services for the elderly, persons with disabilities or children with special needs. Well received by the social welfare sector, the Scheme will be extended for another three cohorts in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The next cohort is open for application now until 26 August 2020. Professor Hector Tsang, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, said, "According to the Report of the Strategic Review on Healthcare Manpower Planning and Professional Development , Hong Kong will have a shortfall of about 190 occupational therapists and 900 physiotherapists by 2030. Facing such surging societal need in NGOs, PolyU is set to help train talents in these disciplines with the two master's degree programmes. Students were admitted in alternate years in the previous four cohorts in 2012-2020. Due to the favorable feedback from the social welfare sector, we have decided to offer the programmes on an annual basis for the next three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023." The fifth cohort of the two programmes offered by PolyU is now open for applications. The first semester will commence in January 2021. All bachelor's degree holders, who have obtained credits for the subjects of human physiology and human anatomy (three credits each or equivalent), are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to those applicants who obtained their first degree in healthcare-related fields such as psychology, nutrition and kinesiology. Graduates will be fully qualified to register with the corresponding professional bodies for practising in Hong Kong. The Training Sponsorship Scheme provided by SWD is also available for successful programme applicants. For more details, please visit https://polyu.hk/QvZKu Application for MOT and MPT programmes opens now until 26 Aug 2020: https://polyu.hk/xWBuL

Occupational Therapy Online Summer Programme - Elite Occupational Therapist Taster Programme (EOTTP) 2020

With the full support from the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS), members of Occupational Therapy Student Ambassador (OTSA) have successfully held the Elite Occupational Therapist Taster Programme (EOTTP) on 4 August 2020. This programme has been organized annually to promote Occupational Therapy (OT) profession to secondary school students. Due to the sudden surge of confirmed local COVID-19 cases, this year the Programme has been switched from face-to-face to online mode to minimize the risk of infections. A total number of 278 Secondary 4 and Secondary 5 students has joined the EOTTP held from 9:30am to 12:00noon on 4 August through Zoom. After the welcome speech given by Prof. Hector Tsang (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS), two mini seminars were delivered by Prof. Kenneth Fong (Professor and Programme Leader of BSc (Hons) in OT) and Mr Tony Wong (Clinical Associate (OT) of RS) to let audience have a brief understanding about OT and PolyU OT Programme. In order to let the participants know more about the actual work of Occupational Therapist, a student sharing session on “We Care, We Share“ which is a community service project for rural residents with disabilities has been conducted. Moreover, a virtual tour has been organized and led by OT Clinical Associates and Student Ambassadors, so that participants could develop basic understanding about human anatomy, splinting in musculoskeletal rehabilitation, sensory integration in pediatric rehabilitation and assistive technology for people with disabilities. Although the delivering mode this year is different from the previous years, it is still hoped that this online programme could give the participants an overview of OT beforehand.