Club-initiated e-health project helps promote self-management of the elderly
Responding to the city's ageing population trend, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has donated some HK$138 million to implement a three-year Jockey Club Community eHealth Care Project ("the Project") to improve the health awareness of the elderly, in collaboration with the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA), the CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing (IoA) and various NGOs.
Under the Project, cloud technology is being used to assist the elderly in carrying out regular health measurements in their local community. Surveys and data analysis are also being conducted by IoA to help professionals better understand the health status of the elderly in Hong Kong.
Following a press briefing on the innovative service model in November 2016, a ceremony was held recently to officially kick off the Project. Officiating guests at the ceremony included the Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making – Elderly, Rehabilitation, Medical, Environment & Family) Imelda Chan; Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung; Founder of the SCHSA Law Chi-kwong; and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Fok Tai-fai.
Around 100 representatives from the Government, Hospital Authority and the social sectors joined the event. They also enjoyed a play depicting various components of the Project, and how it will assist the elderly to develop healthy habits and empower them in health management.
Through the Jockey Club Community eHealth Care Project, the Trust hopes to enhance the quality of life of the elderly at three levels: at the individual level, to raise their awareness of self-management and extend their active period of life; at community level, to strengthen the capacity of elderly centres in providing health support; and at the system level, to promote better collaboration between the healthcare and social systems through piloting an innovative care service model.
The Project consists of three main components:
- Tele-care programme. E-health corners are being set up in 80 elderly centres, benefiting some 5,000 elderly people over the three-year project period. After logging in to the e-health stations with their smart cards, the elderly are given assistance to conduct health measurements of blood pressure, blood glucose and weight by trained staff or professional health workers. The data is then transferred to SCHSA by cloud technology for monitoring and analysis. If the readings fall outside expected norms or no data is recorded for a prolonged period, the SCHSA nursing team will call those participants and follow up the case. The project is aimed at encouraging the elderly to build self-management habits and gain a better understanding of their own health condition.
- Well-being survey. The IoA is supporting the participating elderly centres in conducting regular well-being survey for around 10,000 people, focusing on their cognitive, psychological and social well-being. The results will render the elderly centres a comprehensive understanding of their users' needs, enlightening them to design suitable activities and services for them.
- Big data analytics. IoA will apply big data analytics to the information collected from the tele-care programme and well-being survey to examine the health status and health trends of the elderly in Hong Kong.
The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making – Elderly, Rehabilitation, Medical, Environment & Family) Imelda Chan says she hopes the Jockey Club Community eHealth Care Project will raise awareness of self-management among the elderly and extend their active period of life.
The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making – Elderly, Rehabilitation, Medical, Environment & Family) Imelda Chan (2nd right) joins Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung (2nd left), Founder of the SCHSA Law Chi-kwong (1st left) and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK Fok Tai-fai (1st right) at the launch ceremony of the project.
A play to depict various components of the Project.
