School of Nursing and CCAF Co-host Symposium to Advance Care and Ageing in Place for Older Adults

Population ageing, escalating health and social care needs and demands for residential homes are driving society to explore solutions that support healthy ageing and ageing in place. The School of Nursing (SN) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) partnered with the Community CareAge Foundation (CCAF) Limited to co-organise a symposium themed ‘Reflecting on Elderly Care in an Ageing Society: Collaborative Models for Ageing in Place’ to offer a platform for idea and strategy exchange among health and social care professionals, academics, and personnel from community organisations.  

Held on 16 September at the PolyU Chiang Chen Studio Theatre, this symposium experienced a remarkably strong turnout, with registration reaching full capacity (214 persons). 

Guests of Honour, Dr Chan Wah-fat, Specialist in Psychiatry, Chairman, Board of Directors, Community CareAge Foundation (CCAF) Limited; and Prof. Janelle Yorke, Angel S.P. Chan Lau Professor in Health and Longevity, Chair Professor of Nursing, Head, SN, PolyU; Hong Kong SAR, Global STEM Professor; officiated the symposium by delivering welcoming remarks. 
Dr Chan expressed his delight at co-organising the symposium, highlighting its role as a valuable platform for advancing dialogue on health and community care for older adults. ‘The event offers an important opportunity for the CCAF and PolyU to showcase our collaborative achievements and community engagement, enabling participants to gain a deeper understanding of us,’ said Dr Chan. 

Prof. Yorke emphasised the importance of Health-Social-University-Community partnership in mitigating the impact of population ageing. ‘Universities are playing a vital role in providing academic research findings, digital innovations, evidence-based training, and interprofessional case management to support healthy ageing and ageing in place, ’said Prof. Yorke. 

Keynote sessions highlighted the essential roles of each sector in multidisciplinary collaborations for enhancing health and quality of life of older adults. Prof. David Shum, Yeung Tsang Wing Yee and Tsang Wing Hing Professor in Neuropsychology, Chair Professor of Neuropsychology, Dean, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, PolyU, spoke on the topic ‘The Application of Technology to Improve Cognition in Older Individuals’. Prof. Angela Leung, Associate Head (Research) & Professor, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services, PolyU, shared the experience in implementing the WHO ICOPE model through joint efforts between health and social care professionals in community care. Prof. Elsie Yan, Professor, Department of Applied Social Sciences, PolyU, spoke about Safeguard Community Dwelling Older Adults against Abuse and Neglect. Dr Ching Hok-ying, Specialist in Ophthalmology, spoke about medical-social collaboration using the Eye Hub project as an illustrative example. 

Prof. Justina Liu, Associate Head (Education) and Prof. Patrick Kor, Associate Professor from SN, and Mr Ho Chun-kit, Charles, Chief Officer (Policy Research and Advocacy),  Social Development, The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, led a plenary discussion focused on the topic “Challenges and Innovations in Social Eldercare: Cross-Sector Collaboration and Sustainable Development”. 

The afternoon session focused on three themes. Dr So Kar-kui, Specialist in Geriatric Medicine, together with speakers from the CCAF, SN, and the Department of Applied Social Sciences, PolyU, as well as the non-governmental organisations, spoke about Community Specialist Nursing Services, Cross-generational Co-creation of Healthy Ageing Communities, and Community Participation in Health Development, featuring presentations of exemplary projects.