Features

Knowledge Transfer: PolyU new N95 respirators-Patent filed and debuted in palliative care centre

PolyU has filed a patent at the Patents Registry, Intellectual Property Department, HK Government, for the unique ‘adjustable elastic straps’ of the new N95 surgical particulate respirators, developed and validated by Dr Simon Lam and his team* (filer’s ref: HK32020021992.3) and a license agreement was signed on 11 January 2021 between PolyU Technology and Consultancy Company Ltd. and Vannex International Limited, which sets the ground for bulk manufacturing of the respirators for commercial and clinical uses. Traditional N95 respirators have non-adjustable stripes and do not fit well on Chinese people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, shortage in the supply of traditional N95 respirators has turned healthcare workers to spend long hours in wearing N95 nano-fiber masks, particularly those with ear loops and clips to protect themselves against the novel virus. These tight fitted masks have left many healthcare workers with pain, pressure sores or bruises. Dr Lam had the same experience in the battle against SARS in 2003 when he was a nurse on the coronavirus frontline. Determined to find the solution, Dr Lam led our team of nursing and infection control experts to develop new N95 respirators. The uniqueness of our new respirators lies in their innovative PVC (synthetic rubber) adjustable elastic straps that allow users to fit the respirators according to their facial contour and head size to optimise fit rates. All models of our new N95 respirators are certificated with FFP3 or FFP2 standards (highest respirator standards-at least 99% or 94% filter capacity in removing of all particles that are 0.3/0.4 microns in diameter or larger). Our new N95 respirators were debuted in the Haven of Hope Sister Annie Skau Holistic Care Centre (基督教靈實協會靈實司務道寧養院), a centre providing palliative and elderly care, and have received very positive feedback. Dr Lam and his team performed fit tests with the new respirators on over 100 centre’s staff and the new N95 respirators were proven outstanding. ‘The fit rates of traditional N95 respirators are about 60% for Chinese people. The two models of new respirators obtained very good fit rates at 87% and 88%,’ said Dr Simon Lam. Dr Paul Wong, Deputy Medical Superintendent of the holistic care centre commented in a letter of appreciation to the School that ‘the usability of these respirators, e.g., optimal tightness, comfort level and prolonged usage, were all satisfactory and better than any conventional model.’ Meanwhile, Dr Lam’s team has provided samples of the new respirators to the Hospital Authority (HA) Head Office, hospitals under HA, and some private hospitals for trial and examination. ‘The new respirators will certainly play an important role in protecting ten thousands of our healthcare professionals in hospitals and clinics, as well as healthcare workers in the community, ‘said Dr Simon Lam. *Dr Simon Lam (Principle Investigator and Deputy Director of the School’s Squina International Centre for Infection Control) and our team of nursing and infection control experts including: Dr Lorna Suen, Dr Sukki Ho, Ms Ka-Yan Ko, Mr Timothy Lai, Mr Keith Fung, and Ms Wing-sum Ng.

Conference on Credit Transfer Practices in Higher Education: Partnership for Success

On 27 November, PolyU collaborated with Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) and Federation for Self-financing Tertiary Education (FSTE) to organise an online conference themed “Credit Transfer Practices in Higher Education: Partnership for Success”, with Education Bureau (EDB) as the supporting organization. This conference aimed at advancing local credit transfer practices with streamlined programme articulation and transparent information, exploring the integration of recognized overseas systems into the local education context and promoting a cross-institutional collaborative culture among sending and receiving institutions for the better learning experience of Senior Year Admitted (SYA) students. Attracting more than 300 officials, academics and administrators from 55 organisations including government, sub-degree, self-financed and UGC-funded institutions and professional accreditation bodies. This conference offered a platform for local and overseas experts from Canada, Netherlands, USA to share valuable experiences in the development of, challenges on and support to credit transfer practices in higher education. The engaging interaction contributed to fruitful discussions which have given inspirational feedback to both audiences and speakers. The conference was organized by the UGC-funded Teaching and Learning Project “Enriching Senior Year Places Students' Learning Experience through Curricular and Co-curricular Activities in Hong Kong's Universities” (The SYA Project) led by Dr Kin CHEUNG, Associate Professor of School of Nursing. City University of Hong Kong (Dr Bin Li as a co-leader), Hong Kong Baptist University (Prof Peter Benz as a co-leader), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof Ka Ming Chow as a co-leader) are the partnering institutions of the SYA Project and the co-organizers of the conference. For more details of the project, please click HERE.

PolyU’s School of Nursing re-designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services

(23 November 2020) The School of Nursing at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) was re-designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a WHO Collaborating Centre (WHO CC) for Community Health Services for a period of four years to the end of 2023. Established since 2007, the Centre is the first and only WHO Collaborating Centre in Healthy Ageing in the Asia Pacific. Its missions include taking on a proactive role in promoting the implementation of WHO’s strategic initiatives, as well as supporting them in developing healthy ageing policies and recommendations across the Western Pacific region. A re-designation ceremony was held on 20 November, officiated by Prof. Sophia Chan, JP, Secretary for Food and Health, HKSAR Government; and Dr Hiromasa Okayasu, Coordinator, Healthy Ageing Data, Strategy and Innovation (DSI), WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. The ceremony also had representatives from PolyU, including Prof. David Shum, Yeung Tsang Wing Yee and Tsang Wing Hing Professor in Neuropsychology, Chair Professor of Neuropsychology and Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences; and Prof. Alex Molasiotis, Angel S.P. Chan Lau Professor in Health and Longevity, Chair Professor of Nursing, Head of the School of Nursing and Director of the WHO CC for Community Health Services. During the 4-year designation period, the Centre will work towards the goals of identifying key indicators of ageing and health in the region, actively promoting and implementing the WHO Guidelines on Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE), and providing a platform for inter-disciplinary collaborations among health care professionals and academia for initiating projects on healthy ageing. Prof David Shum said, “The Centre has always been very active in promoting various healthy ageing related issues in the region. It also serves as a common ground to draw upon the readily available expertise and collaborative opportunities within the University to help carry out the mission of the Centre. I am confident that members of the Centre will continue to work closely with the WHO to make a positive difference to the health services in our community.” Prof. Alex Molasiotis is pleased that the Centre received re-designation from the WHO, stating, “Since established, the Centre has been actively involved in various community health initiatives. Going forward, the Centre will step up its efforts in developing a series of work plans, including collaborative research projects, roundtable sessions and training workshops on healthy ageing, in response to the WHO’s Decade of Healthy Ageing. Furthermore, we will continue our role in assisting the WHO’s Western Pacific Regional Office to roll out its strategic initiatives on ageing for the region, in the hope of improving the health and wellbeing of older people and their families.” For more details about the WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services, please visit: https://sn.polyu.edu.hk/whocc/en/index.html

PhD student lays the foundation for palliative care in Palestine

Mr Hammoda Abu-Odah [our PhD student; CS: Prof. Alex Molasiotis, Co-S: Dr Justina Liu] gained six overseas scholarships from 2014 to 2018, but he lost those chances to study abroad, simply because of the blockade in his hometown, Palestine-Gaza Strip, a place where confrontation and strife are almost part of everyday life. “I needed to have a permission from the Israeli authority to travel. The airports are in Jordon or Egypt, but the Gaza border was closed, and I could not leave Gaza.” Said Hammoda. After receiving the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme in 2018, it took him another three months to sort out issues related to travelling out of Gaza, before arriving in Hong Kong to embark on his PhD study*. Previously an emergency nurse in Gaza, Hammoda is going to be the FIRST nurse in Palestine with a PhD degree, specialised in palliative care. Driven by his experiences of caring for his cancer relatives, Hammoda is determined to use his research findings to promote the development of the first-ever palliative care programme in Gaza. In Gaza, healthcare priorities are given to emergency care, primary health care, and mother and children's health, leaving cancer care fragmented with limited resources. There are about 8,000 cancer patients, but only two nurses who have received three-month special training in palliative care. Medication for pain management is insufficient for advanced cancer patients. Services relevant to palliative care are provided within the general oncology services, and no specific structure nor department is available for this service. Hammoda’s research on ‘Factors Associated with the Successful Development of a Palliative Care Programme into Palestinian Healthcare System’ has been providing important information and statistics for the Palestinian Ministry of Health to review cancer care services. In his study, Hammoda found that 96.8% of the interviewed advanced cancer patients (N=379) in Palestine experienced “moderate to severe” UNMET supportive care needs and high psychological distress. Among the 169 Gazan health care professionals (nurses and physicians) interviewed, 57.2% of them have shown knowledge deficits about palliative care. He places training for healthcare professionals top of his list of positive factors for developing a palliative care programme in Palestine. “The relationship between healthcare workers and patients are reflective. Healthcare workers have to understand the physical, psychological, and sexual needs of their patients first.” Said Hammoda. Hammoda’s research findings have led to some changes. Recently (in October), the Palestinian Ministry of Health has established a new committee for palliative care. “This was a very good sign. My findings have given evidence, and the officials have to face the problems.” Said Hammoda. With the support of an international humanitarian organisation, a new palliative care unit will also be opened inside a hospital in Gaza to provide the services. Thrilled by this new development, Hammoda has no hesitation in taking up the trainer/educator role and is delivering two online lectures monthly to 15 health care professionals. He hopes that the health care professionals that he has been training will provide quality services in this Palestine’s first palliative care unit. Next year is the final year of his PhD study, Hammoda, however, is busy learning new practical knowledge. Next month, he will be on a 1-week placement in the Jockey Club Home for Hospice (click here for more information about the centre) to learn more about the operation of this first-rate hospice care centre, such as the administrative and discharge procedures. He is also thinking of developing a screening tool to be used during patient admission to identify those in need of palliative care in Palestine. “Perhaps, in the future, I can act as a bridge to liaison between Hong Kong and Palestine for placement or learning opportunities so that more healthcare workers can come here to learn.” Hammoda said. In reality, the Palestinian Government has to make a lot of effort on the policy level, to develop a palliative care programme into the health care system. The political and economic situations in Palestine make it harder to predict the future of palliative care. However, we can be sure that the effort given by Hammoda has begun to bear fruit as some nurses have been trained to provide quality palliative care. *With the help of Gisha, an Israeli not-for-profit organisation, the process of granting leave permission to cross the border was accelerated for Hammoda. Without their support, Hammoda would have lost the opportunity to study his PhD in Hong Kong. Hammoda would also like to thank Prof. Alex Molasiotis for keeping the PhD candidacy for him until his arrival.

SN teams on the front-line to support COVID-19 Community Testing

The School responded to the appeal of the Government and organised selected nursing teams to support the Universal Community Testing Programme for COVID-19, launched in September. Our teams, which comprised 135 members, including our staff members, alumni and senior years nursing students, served in four community test centres at Tai Wo Hau, Lai King, North Point and Quarry Bay. The teams were led and coordinated by Prof. Alice Yuen Loke, together with Dr Simon Lam, Dr Sukki Ho, Dr Sunshine Chan, and our alumnus, Dr Michael Ho (Academic Secretary of the Alumni Association of Nursing Studies), with all-round secretary support from Ms Renee Leung and IT service support from Mr Ego Ho. To enhance the preparedness and safety of our nursing teams, 12 half-day workshops were offered the week before the launch of the Community Testing Programme to refresh the knowledge of infection control, personal protective equipment (PPE) [donning and doffing of gown, mask, and face shield], and skill in taking a combined nasal and throat swab. Respirator fit tests were performed on all participants to ensure that they had proper protection against the new virus. Dr Michael Ho, our alumnus, sees his participation as the responsibility of a healthcare professional to provide best possible care and services. “This programme gave me an opportunity to contribute to our community through devoting my clinical experience, management skills at quarantine centers, and what I had learnt from PolyU.” Said Dr Ho. Mr Timothy Lai, Clinical Associate of the School, considers it a unique experience of providing service for public health during the pandemic. “I will share this experience in teaching.” Said Mr Lai. The service demand was high but our teams were prepared to face the challenges with good team spirit and professionalism. “Many community residents were afraid and nervous before the test. I used my communication skills to let them know that we were fully trained to collect specimens for the test and the procedure was fast and simple.” Said Lok-Yi Chan, our nursing student who supported the testing programme. “I met a resident who was irritated when she approached me. I was panic as she kept shouting at me, but I told myself that I had to calm down. At the end, the resident cooperated with me and I completed my task. I received appreciation from my team leader. This event gave me confidence to face challenges as a nurse in the future” To show support for the work of our teams, Prof. David Shum, Chair Professor of Neuropsychology, Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS), and Prof. Loke (Acting-head of the School), visited the testing centre at Java Road, North Point, on 4 September. Prof. Shum had his test taken during the visit. The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited the Java Road Testing Centre on 7 September and Prof. Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health, Food and Health Bureau, visited the testing centre in North Point Government Primary School on 12 September to give encouragements to our teams. Two undergraduate nursing students, who provided support to the Community Testing Programme, were invited by the Government to engage in producing a video to urge the public to join the programme. Click here to watch the video.

Blended Gaming Training System selected as Government’s commissioned project with support over 1.2 million to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in residential care homes

Led by Dr Angela Leung (PI), the ‘Blended Gaming COVID-19 Training System’ proposed by the cross WHO CC, CGN and CIC team* of the School, was selected one of the COVID-19 commissioned research projects of the Food and Health Bureau, and has secured over HK$1.2 million from the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) for its development. With the support of the PolyU Industrial Centre, our team put an extra-ordinary effort to develop the prototype of the ‘Blended Gaming COVID-19 Training System’ within weeks. This Hong Kong’s and perhaps the world’s first interactive and blended learning training system on infection control COVID-19 is developed to overcome non-adherence of infection control practice among health care workers in elderly homes. A research study conducted by the project team in local elderly homes earlier found that the compliance rate of the health care workers to hand hygiene was as low as 15%. The team was alarmed as the results showed that few health care workers performed hand hygiene before touching a resident! At present, local and international guidelines on infection control against COVID-19 are printed materials with technical words. Health workers may find those guidelines difficult to read, hence, the guidelines themselves have become barriers to good infection control practice. To resolve this alarming situation and prevent massive COVID-19 outbreaks in local elderly homes in the coming autumn and winter seasons, the team has designed the ‘Blended Gaming COVID-19 Training System’, which integrates interactive computer games and blended learning. Its content is based on the WHO infection prevention and control guidelines in healthcare facilities as well as the infection control guidelines of Centre for Health Protection. Different scenarios of the game are designed considering settings and environments of local elderly homes to engage users and give them ‘realistic’experiences to promote their decision making, such as choosing appropriate personal protection equipment. A clustered randomised controlled trial will be carried out later to test the efficacy of the system. Blended learning (technology plus face-to-face sessions) will be used to support the research participants. “It is expected that there are behavioural changes (in infection control practice) among the participants, ” said Dr Angela Leung. If proved effective, the system will be used in the territory to enhance infection control practice among health care workers against COVID-19. *Team members: Prof. Alex Molasiotis, Dr Simon Lam, Dr Justina Liu, Dr Eliza Wong, Dr Daphne Cheung, Dr Mimi Tse, and Dr Doris YP Leung.

Scholar inducted into international nurse researcher hall of fame

Prof. Alice Loke, Associate Head (Postgraduate Education), School of Nursing, will be inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma) in July this year for her distinguished accomplishments. Established in 2010, the Hall of Fame recognises nurse leaders who have achieved significant and sustained international acclaim for improving the nursing profession and the people it serves. A seasoned researcher in nursing and health sciences, Prof. Loke’s research interests include: the care of cancer couples, women’s health, and health risk behaviours and healthy life style of adolescents.

Fulbright Research Scholar- Shanshan Wang & her research journey at Johns Hopkins

Dr Shanshan Wang, currently our Postdoctoral Fellow, was awarded the Fulbright-Research Grants Council (RGC) Hong Kong Research Scholar Award for supporting her research activity on bibliotherapy and dementia caregiving at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) School of Nursing, one of the best nursing schools in the world, from September 2019 to April 2020. During the 8-month visit at Johns Hopkins, Shanshan (at that time our PhD student) was under the mentorship of Prof. Patricia Davidson (Professor, Dean of the School of Nursing & our Departmental Academic Advisor), Dr Valerie Cotter (Associate Professor); and Dr Rebecca Wright (Assistant Professor), who are renowned researchers and nursing experts. Prof. Davidson invited Shanshan to participate in the mentor group meetings with her PhD students, where she was encouraged to talk about her difficulty in thesis writing and discussed with the PhD students. Dr Wright helped Shanshan brush up her qualitative data analysis skills. Under their guidance, Shanshan explored the effectiveness of bibliotherapy in improving caregiving appraisal of informal caregivers of people with dementia, and reviewed the effects of bibliotherapy in improving coping skills and experience of caregivers, as well as their psychological wellbeing. Taking this overseas learning opportunity, Shanshan worked with the JHU mentors & PolyU supervisors to generate two manuscripts. One was published in a top nursing journal, International Journal of Nursing Studies, and the other in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. The team are now working on the third manuscript. Apart from focusing on her research work, Shanshan joined the dementia working group of the Center for Innovative Care in Aging at Johns Hopkins to learn about teamwork in dementia-related research. She also visited the Hopkins Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center to know more about their care delivery. Shanshan paid home visits to dementia patients, where she observed the differences in caregiving between the American and Chinese dementia caregivers. “This experience has provided me insights into developing supportive strategies for dementia caregivers.”Shanshan said. Shanshan has been impressed by the confidence and expressiveness of JHU’s students. She thinks that the emphasis on/of nurturing leadership abilities attributes to the students’ qualities. “My mentors suggested me acting on my ideas. Prof. Davidson asked me not to set limits but explore my potential.” Said Shanshan. For Shanshan, the JHU visit is unforgettable, which has helped her build confidence for her future career and personal development.

Diverse online teaching and learning experiences

The School has been offering different modes of online learning during months of class suspension. How to make use of information technology to provide diverse learning experiences for students and fulfil their learning expectations? Let’s review our online teaching and learning strategies and its effectiveness. What we have done so far Subject lecturers have been using different e-teaching platforms, such as the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Zoom, and MS Teams to deliver online lectures, tutorials, and lab sessions (facilitators demonstrated nursing skills in real-time), etc. These software programmes enable students to interact with their lecturers and classmates in virtual classes instantly. Teaching materials were uploaded for student revision. The clinical education team developed a set of online lectures and tutorials with topics, such as ventilator care, aerosol generating procedures and professional nursing competence assessment to allow students to continue to learn during the suspension of clinical practicum. Teacher-student meetings and talks also go online. For example, online career talks were organised to give students more understanding of their professional development. The ICAC talk was delivered online for the first time to graduating students. The Student Academic Advisors have also been communicating with our students regularly via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and MS Teams to give emotional support and guidance to students throughout this special period. Strategies & evaluation The School’s teaching teams attended webinars given by the EDC, ITS, and our online teaching support team to enhance online teaching skills and learn ways to facilitate E-learning. Various strategies have been using to facilitate student E-learning, such as preparing PowerPoint teaching materials with voice-overs, making short video lectures, encouraging discussion in online groups and chat boards. Web-based senior-student peer supervision was introduced in the service learning (SL) subject Mentoring Health Ambassadors for School Communities. Guided by the senior peers and the lecturers, students in small groups developed their activity plans. To keep track of students’ progress, subject lecturers have been using the Subject e-Engagement Reports to monitor student participation. “When lectures identified students with low participation, they will send them a reminder to encourage them to put more effort in E-learning,”said Dr Sau-fong Leung, the programme leader of the BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing programme. Apart from online quizzes/examinations or written assignments, formative assessment, such as interactive Q&A sessions, peer assessment and reflective journal, etc., have been used by subject lecturers to evaluate students’ learning and help students identify areas for improvement. Polls were conducted and student feedback was collected for refining teaching strategies. To overcome challenges of assessing online video assignments, uRewind has been used by subject lecturers for supporting students’ creation and submission of videos. The software also allows subject lecturers to give online feedback on video clips. Before assessing group projects, the subject lecturers of Mentoring Health Ambassadors for School Communities communicated regularly with students online to sustain the group dynamics and ensure that students were on the right track in their learning. Effectiveness of online teaching & student feedback The School’s teaching teams conducted a survey to understand the effectiveness of on-line teaching. The results of the survey showed that majority of students participated in the online synchronised sessions (median attendance=92%) and accessed the asynchronised online teaching materials (median hit rate=0.97). In some courses, the asynchronised learning materials were access repeatedly (Hit rate max=6.9). Students commented that they enjoyed the convenience, safety and comfort of learning in their home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shy students benefitted more as they have become more active in online learning activities. However, our teaching teams have been aware that some statistics showed that the engagement rates of small classes were lower than large classes. For the SL subjects, student online engagement was generally high. Online senior peer supervision helped create good dynamics among student groups. “All student work was submitted on time with good quality,” said Annie Yip, a lecturer of the subject. “Students also found it easier to ask questions online.”

New MOOC course on frailty in daily living

Dr Rick Kwan, Dr Justina Liu, Dr Daphne Cheung, and Mr Patrick Kor delivered a new massive open online course (MOOC) “Frailty In Daily Living” in January. It was the first MOOC course led by SN staff members and the third MOOC project in which SN staff members were involved. This 4-week free online course was offered by the HKPolyUx and delivered via the edX*platform. It aimed to enhance the understanding of local and global audiences on frailty and promote frailty management. The instructors from our School introduced the theories, risk and protective factors, assessment methods, and interventions of frailty, as well as association between frailty, cognitive functions and nutrition. The course was open to global audiences and over 680 learners enrolled. Dr Rick Kwan, one of the instructors, said that mini-lectures, demonstrative videos and tests were conducted to facilitate learning. “We hoped that our learners will apply the skills they learnt for assessing and managing frailty or helping older adults managing their daily living,” said Dr Kwan. Another instructor, Dr Justina Liu said that this course equipped learners with the knowledge about frailty and the ability to differentiate between sarcopenia and frailty. “These are big steps forward for frailty prevention and management,” said Dr Liu. Learners gave positive comments to the course, such as: “Thank you, Dr Rick. Being a former (now retired) scientist, I like seeing issues defined and analysed in a scientific framework, as you did very nicely in your mini-lecture.” --- Bruce McChullough *PolyU is an institutional partner of the edX Consortium, an e-educational platform founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. HKPolyUx is an online platform established to facilitate online learning.