DEPT OF SOC WORK & SOCIAL ADMINISTRATION



Researcher : Brownridge DA

List of Research Outputs

Brownridge D.A., Taillieu T., Tyler K., Tiwari A.F.Y., Chan E.K.L. and Santos S.C., Pregnancy and Intimate Partner Violence: Risk Factors, Severity, and Health Effects, Violence Against Women, Forthcoming. 2009.
Chan E.K.L., Brownridge D.A., Yan E.C.W., Fong D.Y.T. and Tiwari A.F.Y., Assessing the effects of child maltreatment polyvictimization on children’s adjustment in a nationally representative sample, Psychology of Violence. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Brownridge D.A., Tiwari A.F.Y., Fong D.Y.T., Leung W.C. and Ho P.C., Associating pregnancy with partner violence against Chinese women, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Yan E.C.W., Brownridge D.A., Tiwari A.F.Y. and Fong D.Y.T., Childhood Sexual Abuse Associated with Dating Partner Violence and Suicidal Ideation in a Representative Household Sample in Hong Kong, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Tiwari A.F.Y., Leung W.C., Fong D.Y.T., Brownridge D.A. and Ho P.C., Cost Measures for the Economic Impact of Domestic Violence, paper presented in the First Asia-Pacific Conference on Health Promotion and Education (APHPE), organized by the Northern Part of Western Pacific Region of International Union of Health Promotion and Education (NPWP/IUHPE) & Japanese Society of Health Education and Promotion (JSHEP), Makuhari Messe, Japan, July 18-20, 2009.. 2009.
Choi W.M., Chan E.K.L. and Brownridge D.A., Unraveling In-law conflict and its association with intimate partner violence in Chinese culture: Narrative accounts of Chinese battered women, Women's Health and Urban Life. 2010, 9(1): 72-92.
Choi W.M., Chan E.K.L. and Brownridge D.A., Unraveling the In-law conflict and its association with intimate partner violence in Chinese culture: Narrative accounts of Chinese battered women, paper presented in the 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and social development: The Agenda, organized by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), Hong Kong, China, June 10-14, 2010.. 2010.


Researcher : Chan CLW

Project Title:Therapeutic group for women with infertility
Investigator(s):Chan CLW, Chan Y, Ng EHY, Ho PC
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Other Funding Scheme
Start Date:06/1999
Abstract:
To explore the psychosocial needs of infertile women; to develop a practice model for helping infertile women.


Project Title:A meaning-oriented group-based preventive intervention study on the psychological impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): morbidity versus grow
Investigator(s):Chan CLW, Chen RYL, Chan SSC, Lee AM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Other Funding Scheme
Start Date:06/2003
Abstract:
To test usefulness of a cognitive behavioral and meaning-oriented preventive intervention programme to reduce psychological morbidity and promote post-SARS growth among chronic patients in Hong Kong.


Project Title:The Impact of Family Strength and Filial Obligations on Bereavement Resilience amongst Chinese and Caucasian Older Adults Facing Conjugal Loss: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Study
Investigator(s):Chan CLW, Ho AHY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:06/2008
Completion Date:05/2010
Abstract:
Amongst the numerous mental stressors individuals will experience in the course of their lives, the death of a spouse - although being a natural and expected part of the aging process - had repeatedly been ranked as the most devastating and stressful life event (1). According to most Western literature in death-related research, an estimated 10-20% of individuals will experience chronic grief for years beyond the loss (2). The detrimental impact of prolonged and complicated grief are not limited to physical and psychological sufferance, but also elevated risks for suicide and mortality, posing much public health concerns (3). Despite the grim outcomes of chronic grief, there are clear differences in the length and severity of grief reactions amongst bereaved individuals. Apart from chronic grief marked by prolonged depression, as well as common grief marked by an initial increase in depression that would gradually decrease over time, Bonnanno and Kaltman (2) reported that about 45%-55% of bereaved individuals actually experienced only minimal levels of pre-and-post loss depression with high levels of coping efficacy leading to relatively stable emotional states and unaffected functional status. These individuals depict the presence of a resilient grief reaction. Bereavement literature provides numerous hypotheses about the possible antecedents of the various patterns of grief reactions. Bonanno et al. (4) integrated reviews of past literatures, identified, and thereafter confirmed four fundamental components of successful coping and bereavement resilience among a sample of 205 elders facing conjugal loss. These four components include: (a) Coping Resources, inclusive of self-efficacy of coping, perceived social support and instrumental support; (b) Meaning of Loss, including a worldview that is more accepting of death with lower levels of death anxiety; (c) Context of Loss, whereby the intensive spousal caregiving was not required; and (d) Qualities of Marital Relationships, such as good reported martial relationship and low level of dependency. The findings reported by Bonanno et al. (4) provided a framework for better understanding important Personal and Situational factors that may influence the coping efficacy and grieving experiences of a surviving spouse. However, familial factors, which play a crucial role in the preservation of individual well-being in the face of adversity (5), have yet been thoroughly investigated. According to the Family System Theory (6), the individual is part of a larger system made of interdependent individuals who constitute a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Therefore, an individuals’ ability to cope with adversity and loss is heavily dependent on his/her family functioning (5). In other words, individual resilience is contingent upon family resilience or the ability of the family to respond to, and eventually adapt to, the situations and crises encountered over the family life cycle (7). Within the Family Resiliency framework (7, 8), resilience is viewed as involving two distinguishable but related family processes: (a) Adjustment, which involves the influence of protective factors in facilitating the family's ability and efforts to maintain its integrity, functioning, and fulfill developmental tasks in the face of risk factors, and (b) Adaptation, which involves the function of recovery factors in promoting the family's ability to recover and adapt in family crisis situations. McCubbin et al. (8) integrated reviews of past literature, and amongst others, and identified 3 dominating resiliency factors of family strength for individuals and families to cope with crisis situations; they included Family Adaptation, Family Coping, and Communication. Given the pivotal role that the family plays in the preservation of individual well-being with interpersonal loss, there is an imperative need to thoroughly examine familial factors as another major component of coping efficacy to conjugal loss and bereavement resilience. Family has always been the driving force for the Asian Chinese population. In particular, the Chinese culture emphasizes the importance of interdependence and harmonious relationships within the family system as reflected by the highly praised traditional values of filial piety and family obligations (9, 10). These values and beliefs are still very evident in contemporary Chinese family structures. Thus, the role that the family plays in individuals’ grief reactions and experiences may be even more prominent for Asian Chinese. However, little concrete information is known about the bereavement process of this specific ethnic group as the majority of past bereavement research have focused strictly on the Western Caucasian population (11), ultimately making cross-cultural comparisons an impossibility. All of the aforesaid coupled with the growing consensus that traditional models of coping with loss and existing clinical interventions for bereavement are inadequate given our lack of understanding with regards to different patterns of grief reaction (12), pinpoints the need to establish a sound empirical foundation for a new conceptualization of grief and bereavement. More importantly, there is an imperative need to identify specific factors that facilitate bereavement resilience amongst people of different ethical backgrounds as such understanding would facilitate the development of more effective and culturally relevant treatment interventions for palliative care services. This proposed study is the first attempt to identify and compare the possible familial factors that facilitate coping efficacy to grief between the Western Caucasian population and the often underrepresented Asian Chinese population. Objectives (1) To compare the different mechanism that constitute bereavement resilience and related grief reactions among two samples of elderly populations of different ethnicity, including one sample of Caucasian elderly from Canada and one sample of Asian Chinese elderly from Hong Kong, so as to construct a culturally sensitive model for understanding the grieving process. (2) To identify and compare familial factors that facilitate coping efficacy to grief and bereavement resilience amongst the Chinese and Caucasian elderly population including family cohesion, adaptability, communication and filial obligations.


Project Title:When there is no Meaning: A Meaning-Oriented Approach for Understanding and Helping Bereaved Victims of the Sichuan 512 Earthquake
Investigator(s):Chan CLW, Leung PPY, Ho AHY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:12/2008
Abstract:
Although earthquakes are among the most common and devastating natural disasters, relatively little research has been conducted on the mental health consequences of survivors in developing nations, especially on the more vulnerable groups of victims who have lost a close family member. A recent review of 36 studies that looked at the aftermath of disasters in developing nations, Norris (1) reported that natural disasters tend to be more devastating when they occur in the developing worlds, producing severe consequences on the mental health status of the general public. Particularly, factors such as lower levels of socioeconomic status and social support, and higher levels of social embeddedness – economic life is embedded in social relations in traditional societies – were all significantly related to poorer mental health outcomes. The two most frequently reported psychological morbidities among survivors of natural disaster are posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression (2, 3). However, for victims of developing countries who have limited or no access to psychological support, especially those who lost a loved one and suffer from the feelings of grief and survivor guilt, the impact of disaster on their mental well-being may be much more intense and overwhelming. The looming outcomes of prolong and unresolved grief are the elevated risks for suicide and mortality (4). On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, an earthquake that measured 7.9 on the Richter scale hit the developing province of Sichuan in Mainland China. According to state official statistics, this devastating act of nature had caused a death toll of 69,181; 23,000 people reported missing, 373,606 injured, approximately 5 million left homeless, and more than 45 million people affected. During a recent site visit to Mianyang, one of the worst-hit cities which registered a death toll of 21,963, the research team had the opportunity to talk to a group of bereaved. The most common narrative derived from these interviews was, “It is meaningless”. The theme meaninglessness encompass an array of disheartening thoughts and emotions including multiple lost of life goals, hope, security, connectedness, sense of coherence and manageability in life, shattered world view, dismantled social network and interpersonal relationships. They could not make sense of their experiences, were caught in a state of confusion and trapped in a socio-emotional-existential vacuum; while some of them had even became incapacitated, lost the ability to articulate their loss and were frozen in a state of shock. Neimeyer (5) described in detailed about individuals’ innate need to find meaning when faced with the loss of their loved ones. The process of meaning reconstruction in bereavement support and counseling provides the platform for the bereaved person to make sense of their experience, to search for meaning of the trauma and especially on their losses, to find possible benefits and wisdoms from their pain, and to realign their priorities in order to reconstruct new goals and meaning in life. Berzoff (6) applied the psychodynamic theory on ego and object relations to further illuminate the important roles that narratives and meaning finding play in the transformation of self through grief. “Grief and bereavement can teach us lessons about living, and can offer us opportunities to make coherent what may have been incomprehensible before; grief can, under the best circumstances, change who we are, how we live and even the social conditions in which we live” (pp.126). The 512 earthquake had left behind countless bereaved victims devastated and lost in a search for meaning to enunciate their grief. In order to effectively address the needs of these victims living in the highly socially embedded context of Sichuan, a communal approach to healing is deemed more pertinent (1, 7). Moreover, in collectivistic China where personal and communal responsibility are based on reciprocity and the common good, it is of paramount importance for rebuilding communities and its people to be provided with the opportunity to express and recreate meaning while establishing a communal support structure (8). Such meaning-oriented foundation would pave the way for the development of both self-and-community efficacy, as well as the sense of dignified living after the ruin of established livelihood. However, a hasten introduction of such communal healing approach can be futile, if not dangerous without a thorough understanding of victim’s grieving experiences as well as their psychological states. Such effort is further complicated by the fact that the small clusters of mental health professionals in Sichuan and its neighborhood provinces, who are already facing great difficulties in serving the vast number of earthquake victims, have not received proper training and are ill-equipped to apply a communal or a meaning-oriented approach in their work. With all of the aforesaid, the current proposal entails an action-research project that applies a meaning-oriented approach for: 1) understanding the grieving experiences and psychological states of the bereaved victims of the Sichuan earthquake, and 2) helping the victims in point to make sense of their experiences and losses through narrations and meaning-reconstruction interviews. Concisely, 20 bereaved earthquake victims currently living in the resettlement site of DuJiangYan city will be recruited to participate in an in-dept qualitative interview comprising of 3 components: 1) a qualitative assessment of psychological functioning; 2) a narrative interview that facilitates meaning reconstruction to the experience of loss; and 3) an experiential exercise that capture metaphors on self conceptions - needs and aspirations - before and after the loss. The anticipated findings from this study will carry importance implications for developing a culturally-relevant Intervention Programme of Mass Trauma and Oral History Projects to be implemented on a communal level for helping much greater number of earthquake victims, while at the same time facilitating capacity building in Sichuan communities, and bolstering the entire disaster relief efforts. Objectives: 1) To understanding the grieving experiences and psychological states of the bereaved earthquake victims, 2) To help the bereaved victims in point to make sense of their losses through a meaning-oriented approach, 3) Apply results towards the development of a culturally-relevant Mass Trauma Intervention Programme that can be implemented on a communal level for helping greater number of Sichuan earthquake victims.


Project Title:Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award 2008-2009
Investigator(s):Chan CLW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award
Start Date:12/2009
Abstract:
For recognizing, rewarding and encouraging exceptioal research achievements; and for strengthening the research culture of the University.


Project Title:Living and Dying with Dignity: Development of an Empirical Model of Dignified Palliative End-of-Life Care from the Personal, Familial and Cultural Perspectives
Investigator(s):Chan CLW, Ho AHY, Leung PPY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:General Research Fund (GRF)
Start Date:12/2009
Abstract:
1) To critically examine the concept of “living and dying with dignity” amongst Chinese patients with terminal cancer their family members; 2) To identify factors those enhance holistic palliative care provisions for improving the quality of care that preserves dignity amongst Chinese patients with terminal cancer and their families; and 3) Through the process of theory-building develop a culturally-specific model of dignity for the advancement of palliative care practices and theories for the Chinese population.


List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Chan C.H.Y., Ho T.H., Ho A.H.Y., Tin A.F., Chow A.Y.M., Leung K.T., Leung P.P.Y. and Ng S.M., 2010 Communication Awards, In: www.enable.hk, International Award for Creative Output to the Project ENABLE Website. 2010.
Chan C.L.W., Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award , In: , The University of Hong Kong. 2010.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming Bitterness into Enlightenment - Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, In: Fu Dan University, Keynote Address in the Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming bitterness into Enlightenment – Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. Shanghai, China, 5 December. 2009.
Khng N.W.J., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan C.L.W., Sense of indebtedness to parents among Singaporean Childhood Cancer Survivors: A protective factor?, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Ng O.K.P., Leung P.P.Y., Chan C.L.W. and Lui J.Y.M., Let the dying shine: Are they lessons of dying or lessons of living? Meaning making of patients with terminal cancer in Chinese cultural context, The 16th Hong Kong International Cancer Congress, Hong Kong, 5-7 November. 2009.
Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Facilitating Chinese people to reconstruct and transform in face of losses, Illness, Crisis & Loss. 2010, 18(2): 93-94.
Ran M.S., Chan C.L.W., Chen E.Y.H., Mao W.J., Hu S.H., Tang C.P., Lin F.R. and Conwell Y., Differences in mortality and suicidal behaviour between treated and never-treated people with schizophrenia in rural China, The British Journal of psychiatry. 2009, 195 (2): 126-131.
Sha W., Chan C.L.W., Leung P.P.Y. and Ho A.H.Y., The meaning and continuing bond with the diseased – A study of bereaved parents on the lost of their children , In: Fu Dan University, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.


Researcher : Chan EKL

Project Title:The 12th annual International Summer School - “Social Work from a Global Perspective” family violence and international social work
Investigator(s):Chan EKL
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:06/2010
Completion Date:06/2010
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Brownridge D.A., Taillieu T., Tyler K., Tiwari A.F.Y., Chan E.K.L. and Santos S.C., Pregnancy and Intimate Partner Violence: Risk Factors, Severity, and Health Effects, Violence Against Women, Forthcoming. 2009.
Cerulli C., Edwardsen E., Hall D.A., Chan E.K.L. and Conner K.R., Improving Coordinated Responses for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: Law Enforcement Compliance with State Mandated Intimate Partner Violence Documentation, Violence Against Women. 2010, 16.
Chan E.K.L. and Cho E.Y.N., A Review of Cost Measures for the Economic Impact of Domestic Violence, Trauma, Violence, and Abuse. 2010, 11(3): 129-143.
Chan E.K.L., Brownridge D.A., Yan E.C.W., Fong D.Y.T. and Tiwari A.F.Y., Assessing the effects of child maltreatment polyvictimization on children’s adjustment in a nationally representative sample, Psychology of Violence. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Brownridge D.A., Tiwari A.F.Y., Fong D.Y.T., Leung W.C. and Ho P.C., Associating pregnancy with partner violence against Chinese women, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Association Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Adult Sexual Victimization of Hong Kong Chinese, Child Abuse & Neglect. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Association Between Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment in a Representative Student Sample in Hong Kong, Violence Against Women. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Child-friendly Family and the Prevention of Child Maltreatment, Child Abuse & Neglect. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Yan E.C.W., Brownridge D.A., Tiwari A.F.Y. and Fong D.Y.T., Childhood Sexual Abuse Associated with Dating Partner Violence and Suicidal Ideation in a Representative Household Sample in Hong Kong, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Co-occurrence of intimate partner violence and child abuse in Hong Kong Chinese Families, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Comparative Review on National Strategies in the Prevention of Domestic Violence, The Open Social Science Journal. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Tiwari A.F.Y., Leung W.C., Fong D.Y.T., Brownridge D.A. and Ho P.C., Cost Measures for the Economic Impact of Domestic Violence, paper presented in the First Asia-Pacific Conference on Health Promotion and Education (APHPE), organized by the Northern Part of Western Pacific Region of International Union of Health Promotion and Education (NPWP/IUHPE) & Japanese Society of Health Education and Promotion (JSHEP), Makuhari Messe, Japan, July 18-20, 2009.. 2009.
Chan E.K.L., Liu T., Choi W.M. and Zhu Y., In-law conflict and intimate partner violence, Collection of Women's studies. 2010, 98(2): 29-34.
Chan E.K.L., Intimate Partner Violence in Chinese Societies, Family and Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly. 2010.
Chan E.K.L. and Straus M.A., Prevalence and Correlates of Physical Assault on Dating Partners, Family and Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Psychology of Violence. American Psychological Association, 2010.
Choi W.M. and Chan E.K.L., The dynamic interaction between a child sexual abuse survivor and her non-offending mother in a Chinese family, paper presented in the ISPCAN Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, organized by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), Perth Australia, November 15 -18, 2009.. 2009.
Choi W.M., Chan E.K.L. and Brownridge D.A., Unraveling In-law conflict and its association with intimate partner violence in Chinese culture: Narrative accounts of Chinese battered women, Women's Health and Urban Life. 2010, 9(1): 72-92.
Choi W.M., Chan E.K.L. and Brownridge D.A., Unraveling the In-law conflict and its association with intimate partner violence in Chinese culture: Narrative accounts of Chinese battered women, paper presented in the 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and social development: The Agenda, organized by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), Hong Kong, China, June 10-14, 2010.. 2010.
Tiwari A.F.Y., Salili F., Chan R.Y.P., Chan E.K.L. and Tang D., Effectiveness of an empowerment intervention in abused Chinese women, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2010, 16(3): 33-7.
Tiwari A.F.Y., Chan R., Fong D.Y.T., Chan E.K.L. and Tang D., Using Chinese Dietetics to Improve the Health of Abused Women, the First Asia-Pacific Conference on Health Promotion and Education (APHPE), organized by the Northern Part of Western Pacific Region of International Union of Health Promotion and Education (NPWP/IUHPE) & Japanese Society of Health Education and Promotion (JSHEP), Makuhari Messe, Japan, July 18-20, 2009.. 2009.


Researcher : Chan FP

List of Research Outputs

Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B. and Chan F.P., Promoting Reflexivity among Social Work Students: The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Course ‘Knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World’, 11th UK Joint Social Work Education Conference with the 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, Hertfordshire, England. 2009.
Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan F.P., From the students’ voices - What happens in a self-reflective journey?, 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference and 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, organized by the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre, Higher Education Academy (SWAP), at Hatfield, U.K., July 8-10, . 2009.
Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B., Chung L.P. and Chan F.P., Cultivating Self-reflective Ability In Social Work Students: An Evaluative Study On A Course "knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World:, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development, Hong Kong, China, June 10-14. 2010.
Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B. and Chan F.P., Promoting Reflexivity among Social Work Students: The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Course ‘Knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World., 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference and 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, organized by the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre, Higher Education Academy (SWAP), at Hatfield, U.K., July 8-10. 2009.


Researcher : Chan KN

List of Research Outputs

Lou V.W., Lo S.S.C., Chan K.N. and Cheung P.P.Y., Depressive symptoms in frail older adults receiving community-based long-term care: Prevalence, associated factors, and intervention, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work & Social Development: The Agenda. June 10-14, Hong Kong, 2010, 238.
Ng J.W., Chan K.N. and Lou V.W., Different perceptions of grandparents' roles and functions across the three generations in Hong Kong, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work & Social Development: The Agenda. June 10-14, Hong Kong, 2010, 116.


Researcher : Chan L

List of Research Outputs

Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Chen H., Lee V.W.P. and Chan L., Report of the study of social network in old urban areas. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority (URA), 2010.


Researcher : Chan Y

Project Title:Women, stress and health in Tseung Kwan O district
Investigator(s):Chan Y
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Other Funding Scheme
Start Date:05/1999
Abstract:
To explore the psychosocial needs and support system of married women in relation to new town migration experiences.




Researcher : Chan YK

List of Research Outputs

Hu V.Q.M., Hung A.T.F., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan Y.K., Promoting Quality of Life of people with Epilepsy: the pilot effectiveness study of the psycho-educational group of “Breakthrough from Epilepsy”, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.


Researcher : Chau RCM

Project Title:Flexicurity and Youth Unemployment – a pilot study of youth employment policies in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Chau RCM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:09/2009
Abstract:
1.Objectives of the study This is a pilot study on youth employment policies in Hong Kong since 1997. It has the following objectives: to explore features of the labour market for young people with reference to the concept of flexibilisation of employment to examine the effectiveness of two government initiatives, namely the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme (YPTP) and the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme (YWETS), in enhancing participants’ security in the labour market to explore the relevance of ‘flexicurity’ to the future development of youth employment policies in Hong Kong Due to budget and time constraints, the study does not aim to provide a comprehensive picture of the issues concerned, rather, it is designed to lay a foundation for two further studies: a comprehensive study on ‘flexicurity’ and youth unemployment in Hong Kong; and a comparative study between Hong Kong and the UK. 2. Youth unemployment in Hong Kong and beyond Since 1997, Hong Kong has been hit by three financial crises: the Asia financial crisis in 1998, the economic setback after the SARS epidemic in 2003 and the most recent global financial tsunami. These crises have resulted in bankruptcy, closure and downsizing of many companies. Latest statistics show that the overall unemployment rate is 5.3% and the underemployment stands at 2.2% (Census and Statistics Department, 2009). Young people are in particularly disadvantaged positions. Due to their lack of adequate resources, skills and experiences, they have more difficulties in securing jobs and income. In Hong Kong, the rates of unemployment and underemployment for young people are consistently high: two to five times higher than those of the general population from 2006 to 2008 (Census and Statistics Department, 2009). Undoubtedly, youth unemployment is not unique to Hong Kong. A study by the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that more and more young people are having trouble when first looking for work (O’Higgins, 2001). Another study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) indicates that youth unemployment remains serious in many OECD countries due to a variety of factors (Quintini et al, 2007): the relatively high proportion of young people leaving school without a basic qualification, the skills acquired in initial education are not always well adapted to labour market requirements; as well as general labour market conditions and problems in the functioning of labour markets. In dealing with the unemployment of disadvantaged workers in general, and youth in particular, most ILO and OECD member states have instituted active labour market policies (ALMPs) such as apprenticeship schemes and subsidized full-time work. Similarly, the Hong Kong government has introduced various policy measures in the last decade to reduce youth unemployment. These include the aforesaid YPTP and YWETS; and other schemes such as the Youth Employment Start (YES), the Yi Jin Project, the Associate Degree and the recently announced subsidized internship for university graduates. A number of local and international studies have been conducted to examine the effectiveness of these programmes. Examples include Yu (2008), Centre for Social Policy Studies at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2006 & 2008), Bardon (2002) and O’Higgin (2004). These studies have provided valuable findings and recommendations. One common issue raised in these studies is the impact of the changes in labour markets on youth employment. As Ngai and Ngai (2007) argue, effective guidance for non-engaged young people must pay attention to the social context. One-sided emphasis on enhancing the employability of young people may not be enough to help them to secure a foothold in the changing labour market. 3. Flexicurity The notion of flexicurity emerged in Europe in the mid 1990s and has been increasingly regarded as an important strategy in developing a flexible and competitive economy, and ensuring security for workers in the changing labour market in a balanced manner (Viebrock and Clasen, 2009). Flexibilisation of employment has been highlighted as one significant change in the current labour market (see Tangian, 2007). To better manage production costs and to maintain competitiveness, many companies seek to enhance flexibility of their workforce in terms of (OECD, 1989:13-20): External numerical flexibility – adjusting the number of employees to current needs Internal numerical flexibility – modifying the number and distribution of working hours Functional flexibility – moving employees from one task or department to another or changing the content of their work Wage flexibility – altering wages in response to changing labour market or competitive conditions Externalisation flexibility – engaging the services of external workers or firms with various forms of commercial contracts such as distance working and self-entrepreneurial activities. Some commentators argue that flexibilisation of employment has caused increasing unemployment and underemployment, bad employment, and problematic relationship between work and the rest of socialisation (Nectoux and van der Maesen, 2003). Therefore, they call for greater security for employees, which entails (Wilthagen et al 2003:4, see Tangian, 2007): Job security – retaining a specific job with a specific employer Employment security – continued work not necessarily with the same employer Income security – income when moving between jobs and when paid work ceases Combination security – being able to combine paid work with other social responsibilities and obligations. Flexicurity is both a theoretical concept and a policy framework. Advocates of flexicurity has proposed a hybrid model in the labour market and welfare arrangements, in which a flexible labour market with highly protective, generous welfare and social security system, and an active labour market policy programme are regarded as the three poles of the ‘golden triangle’ (Nectoux and van der Maesen, 2003). Flexicurity represents a means whereby employees and companies can better adapt to the insecurities associated with global markets. 4. Key Issues By applying the concept of flexicurity, this pilot and further studies will address the following issues: How and how far flexibilisation of employment is taking place in Hong Kong? How and how far youth employment policies in Hong Kong can provide security for young people aged 19 to 24? What is the relevance of flexicurity to Hong Kong?


List of Research Outputs

Chau R.C.M., Yu S.W.K. and Tran L.C., Application of the Community Engagement Model to the Identification of Mental Health Service Needs of Chinese Elders in the UK , Conference on ‘Promoting Community Mental Health’. 2009.
Chau R.C.M. and Yu S.W.K., Cultural Sensitive Approach to Health and Social Care: Uniformity and Diversity with the Chinese Community in Britain, International Social Work. UK, SAGE, 2009, 52: 773-784.
Chau R.C.M. and Yu S.W.K., Engaging the Less Heard in Research: Working with Chinese Older People in the UK, 2010 Joint world Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Chau R.C.M. and Yu S.W.K., Flexibilisation of the Labour Market and Youth Unemployment in Hong Kong, 2010 Joint world Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Chau R.C.M. and Yu S.W.K., Social Quality and Social Harmony Campaign in Hong Kong, Development and Society. Seoul, Seoul National University, 2009, 38: 277-295.
Chau R.C.M., Socialism and Social Dimension of Work – Employment Policies on Disabled Groups in China, Hong Kong Journal of Social Work. Hong Kong, Hong Kong Social Workers Association, 2009, 43: 19-29.
Chau R.C.M. and Yu S.W.K., The Sensitivity of United Kingdom Health-care Services to the Diverse Needs of Chinese-origin Older People, Ageing and Society. UK, Cambridge University Press, 2010, 30: 383-401.
Chau R.C.M., The Social Model of Disability and Love and Marriage of People with Learning Disabilities, In: Evangelical Lutheran Church Hong Kong –Social Service, Symposium of ‘Love and Marriage of People with Learning Disabilities’. 2010.


Researcher : Chen H

List of Research Outputs

Chen H., A Comparative Study of Social Inclusion among Elders with a Disability in Shanghai and Hong Kong, China, The 19th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics . Paris, France, 2009.
Chen H., A Study of Social Capital and Successful Aging in China , The Fourth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences . Athens, Greece, 2009.
Chen H., Life experience of parents with a child suffering from schizophrenia in early stages: An exploratory study in urban China. 2010.
Chen H., Wong Y.C. and Chan K.S., Social capital among older Chinese adults, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. 2009, 4(9): 107-123.
Chen H., Wong Y.C. and Ran M.S., Student stress at university: A Shanghai perspective, Journal of Social Work. Sage, 2009, 9(3): 323-344.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Chen H., Lee V.W.P. and Chan L., Report of the study of social network in old urban areas. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority (URA), 2010.


Researcher : Chen H

List of Research Outputs

Chen H., A Comparative Study of Social Inclusion among Elders with a Disability in Shanghai and Hong Kong, China, The 19th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics . Paris, France, 2009.
Chen H., A Study of Social Capital and Successful Aging in China , The Fourth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences . Athens, Greece, 2009.
Chen H., Life experience of parents with a child suffering from schizophrenia in early stages: An exploratory study in urban China. 2010.
Chen H., Wong Y.C. and Chan K.S., Social capital among older Chinese adults, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. 2009, 4(9): 107-123.
Chen H., Wong Y.C. and Ran M.S., Student stress at university: A Shanghai perspective, Journal of Social Work. Sage, 2009, 9(3): 323-344.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Chen H., Lee V.W.P. and Chan L., Report of the study of social network in old urban areas. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority (URA), 2010.


Researcher : Chen H

List of Research Outputs

Chen H., A Comparative Study of Social Inclusion among Elders with a Disability in Shanghai and Hong Kong, China, The 19th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics . Paris, France, 2009.
Chen H., A Study of Social Capital and Successful Aging in China , The Fourth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences . Athens, Greece, 2009.
Chen H., Life experience of parents with a child suffering from schizophrenia in early stages: An exploratory study in urban China. 2010.
Chen H., Wong Y.C. and Chan K.S., Social capital among older Chinese adults, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. 2009, 4(9): 107-123.
Chen H., Wong Y.C. and Ran M.S., Student stress at university: A Shanghai perspective, Journal of Social Work. Sage, 2009, 9(3): 323-344.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Chen H., Lee V.W.P. and Chan L., Report of the study of social network in old urban areas. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority (URA), 2010.


Researcher : Cheung KSL

Project Title:XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference Common adult longevity and compression of mortality: the M Project
Investigator(s):Cheung KSL
Department:HKJC Ctr for Suicide Research & Preventn
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:09/2009
Completion Date:10/2009
Abstract:
N/A


Project Title:Hong Kong Health Expectancy and Disease Burden Study (HEDBS)
Investigator(s):Cheung KSL, Yip PSF
Department:HKJC Ctr for Suicide Research & Preventn
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:10/2009
Abstract:
The purpose of the proposed project: Our project aims (1) to provide a better understanding of the disability and institutionalization trend by using General Household Survey and Census data. We compute age-sex specific disability-free and institutionalization-free life expectancy and its proportion to total life expectancy by the Sullivan method; (2) to compute the life expectancies free of chronic morbidity and its proportion to total life expectancy; (3) to examine the life expectancies free of diseases (i.e. cancer, heart diseases, mental illness) and its proportion to total life expectancy and quantify the burden of diseases; (4) to make projections of future population health statuses based on the prevalence rates of the institutionalization, disability, chronic morbidity and diseases; (5) to develop a “Hong Kong Health Expectancy and Disease Burden Study” web-page that can be accessible to the public in which information, bibliography database and sets of computational tools on the healthy expectancy and disease burden are available. The key issues and problems being addressed: The relationship between the mortality level and the population health status is always intriguing social scientists, demographers, gerontologists and population economists. More than thirty years ago, Gruenberg (1977) has argued “the failures of success” that people are saved by the successful technical innovations, their prolonged lives making more “unfit” survivors living longer and placing exceeding burdens on the society. His paper highlights one of most burning questions in the research of population ageing is whether the increase in life expectancy is one of good health or of bad health, with an ever-increasing accumulation of chronic diseases and disability. To put it another way, is the lengthening of life duration along with compression of morbidity or a pandemic of chronic diseases and disabilities in which a society can achieve “the successes of success”? As old age and old people are now a commonplace in all Western and industrialized countries, many studies related to the compression or expansion of morbidity and disability have been carried out in Europe since 1980s but recent reviews of national health trends show conflicting results. The latest OECD study, reviewing trends in activities in daily living (ADL) disability at age 65 and over in 12 OECD countries during the 1990s, demonstrates that there is clear evidence of a decline in disability among elderly people in only five of the twelve countries studied: Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States. Three countries (Belgium, Japan and Sweden) report an increasing rate and two countries (Australia, Canada) a stable rate. In France and the United Kingdom, different surveys show different trends in ADL disability (OECD, 2007). These results suggest that a decline in ADL disability may be less universal than expected. More intriguingly, the OECD study shows that ADL disability at age 65 and over ranges widely from a low 7.1% in the Netherlands (HIS) to a high of 18% in the United Kingdom (GHS survey). Disability refers, as in general, to activity limitations and participation restrictions according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organization (2001). When it is not the case, the specific definition of disability is usually provided (Robine et al. 2008). It is acknowledged today in Europe, as well as in the U.S., that the various health dimensions may follow different trends over time (Robine, 2006; Ahacic et al, 2007; Parker and Thorslund, 2007). In Japan, a recent study shows that an expansion of morbidity occurred from 1995 to 2004. The increases in life expectancy during this period were in years of poor self-rated health (Yong and Saito 2009) which are different from another study (Schoeni et al. 2006) by using functioning and disability as health measures in which there was improvements in health among the Japanese in 1993-2002. Likewise, a comparative study by Ofstedal and her colleagues (2004) showed that healthy life expectancy declined steadily with age in five Asian settings (Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand) and remained fairly stable in China when the self-assessed health is used as a measure from national surveys in the mid-1990s. They found that women generally live longer, but less healthy lives than men. However, a recent paper by Liu and others (Liu et al. 2009) showed that trends in disability-free life expectancy and severity of disability and the delayed onset of disability of disability provide evidence for the compression of morbidity among the oldest-old (i.e. age 75 and older) in China. Their study documents that Chinese older adults live longer and the increases in life expectancy were concentrated in years spent without disability. Very few studies could have found in the context of Hong Kong. Except for three local studies have been done in the last few years (Cheung and Tu 2002, Chou and Leung 2008, Law and Yip 2003), but the results suggest diverging trends in disability and morbidity in Hong Kong. Cheung and Tu (2002) have used the Central Registry Rehabilitation data on disability to compute the health expectancy by the Sullivan-based prevalence method. Their results show that Hong Kong is undergoing the compression of disability among those aged 50+ between 1991-1995 and 1996-2000. Law and Yip (2003) calculated healthy life expectancy for 191 countries by age, sex and region of the world from the WHO’s health assessment of 2000. They provide a similar conclusion that the population of Hong Kong has one of the highest healthy life expectancies at birth in the world. However, another recent study (Chou and Leung 2008) showed that the prevalence of functional limitation decreased from 4.9% in 1996 to 3% in 2000 and then increased to 6.9% in 2004. Their study suggested Hong Kong is experiencing the expansion of disability within a period of 2000-2004 among community-dwelling older persons (aged 60 and older). The diverging results suggest that the importance of data quality and data sources and different calculation method could yield the results greatly various. A more comprehensive picture of Hong Kong’s population health status and a range of health dimensions should be examined by using consistent survey and census data. (999 words)


List of Research Outputs

Cheung K.S.L., Travel award to attend the 22nd REVES Conference on Public Health Intervention to Increase Health Expectancies, Havana, Cuba, REVES France. 2010.
Cheung K.S.L. and Yip P.S.F., Trends In Dementia-free Life Expectancy In Hong Kong Sar, 22nd Reves Conference: Public Health Intervention To Increase Health Expectancies . 2010.
Yip P.S.F. and Cheung K.S.L., Chronic Diseases: Challenges And Opportunities, International Conference On Promoting Chronic Care. 2010.
Yip P.S.F. and Cheung K.S.L., Demography And Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease Conference: From Public Health To Therapeutic Insights. 2010.
Yip P.S.F., Cheung K.S.L., Tsang S.K.M., Wong P.W.C., Tse S.S.K., Wong O.L., Laidler K.A. and Wong L., Drug Abuse Among Youths and Family Relationship , 青年濫藥與家庭關係的研究, Central Policy Unit. 2010.


Researcher : Chi P

List of Research Outputs

Chi P., Forgiveness of Chinese women who experienced husbands’ extramarital affairs: Development of a group intervention model, EURASIA-PACIFIC UNINET Phd SCHOLARSHIPS 2010 . Vienna, Austira, 2010.
Chi P., Marital dissolution following infidelity: The role of seeking forgiveness, granting forgiveness and socioeconomic factors , 22nd Annual Convention of Association of Psychological Science 2010. Boston, USA.


Researcher : Choi WM

List of Research Outputs

Chan E.K.L., Liu T., Choi W.M. and Zhu Y., In-law conflict and intimate partner violence, Collection of Women's studies. 2010, 98(2): 29-34.
Choi W.M., Exploring the dynamic interaction between a survivor and her non-offending mother in a Chinese Family - a child sexual abuse case study, Child Abuse & Neglect, organized by the National Association for Prevention of Child Aubse and Neglect Australia (NAPCAN). 2009.
Choi W.M. and Chan E.K.L., The dynamic interaction between a child sexual abuse survivor and her non-offending mother in a Chinese family, paper presented in the ISPCAN Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, organized by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), Perth Australia, November 15 -18, 2009.. 2009.
Choi W.M., Chan E.K.L. and Brownridge D.A., Unraveling In-law conflict and its association with intimate partner violence in Chinese culture: Narrative accounts of Chinese battered women, Women's Health and Urban Life. 2010, 9(1): 72-92.
Choi W.M., Chan E.K.L. and Brownridge D.A., Unraveling the In-law conflict and its association with intimate partner violence in Chinese culture: Narrative accounts of Chinese battered women, paper presented in the 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and social development: The Agenda, organized by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), Hong Kong, China, June 10-14, 2010.. 2010.


Researcher : Choi WM

List of Research Outputs

Chan E.K.L., Liu T., Choi W.M. and Zhu Y., In-law conflict and intimate partner violence, Collection of Women's studies. 2010, 98(2): 29-34.
Choi W.M., Exploring the dynamic interaction between a survivor and her non-offending mother in a Chinese Family - a child sexual abuse case study, Child Abuse & Neglect, organized by the National Association for Prevention of Child Aubse and Neglect Australia (NAPCAN). 2009.
Choi W.M. and Chan E.K.L., The dynamic interaction between a child sexual abuse survivor and her non-offending mother in a Chinese family, paper presented in the ISPCAN Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, organized by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), Perth Australia, November 15 -18, 2009.. 2009.
Choi W.M., Chan E.K.L. and Brownridge D.A., Unraveling In-law conflict and its association with intimate partner violence in Chinese culture: Narrative accounts of Chinese battered women, Women's Health and Urban Life. 2010, 9(1): 72-92.
Choi W.M., Chan E.K.L. and Brownridge D.A., Unraveling the In-law conflict and its association with intimate partner violence in Chinese culture: Narrative accounts of Chinese battered women, paper presented in the 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and social development: The Agenda, organized by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), Hong Kong, China, June 10-14, 2010.. 2010.


Researcher : Chou KL

Project Title:Correlates of treatment-related decision-making capacity among middle-aged and older patients with major depression or dysthymia
Investigator(s):Chou KL, Lee TMC
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:02/2006
Abstract:
Depression is a common and serious mental disorder although antidepressant medications, electroconvulsive therapy, and some psychotherapies are found to be effective treatment of this disorders. And yet, individuals afflicted with major depression or dysthymia may refuse psychiatric treatment, sometime, because of their illness. Although current guidelines require clinicians to obtain patients' informed consent for these psychiatric interventions, but empirical research have suggested that some psychiatric patients may not have sufficient decisional capacity to make treatment related decision (Van Staden & Kruger, 2003). Little is known about the capacity of patients with major depression or dysthymia because the notion of competence to consent to treatment was originally required to address mainly cognitive impaired or psychotic individuals, some of whom are more in the public eye because of an increased risk of danger to others when their mental impairment is not treated, such as schizophrenia. That might be the reason why no study has been conducted to evaluate the impact of aging on the treatment related decision-making ability among depressed even though this issue has been initially explored in older adults with schizophrenia (Palmer, Dunn, Appelbaum, & Jeste, 2004). The primary aims of the present proposed study are to examine the level, range, neuropsychological correlates, and stability of treatment-related decisional capacity among middle-aged and older patients (age >39) with major depression or dysthymia. Moreover, we will validate two measures of treatment-related decision making capacity in local context.


Project Title:Financial Literacy and Retirement Saving
Investigator(s):Chou KL
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:04/2009
Abstract:
The Importance of Savings Slightly over 70% (71.1%) of persons aged 35 and 64 have prepared for their retirement financially and the most common means for their preparation is savings (55.5%)(AXA, 2005; HSBC, 2006). These results suggest that savings will become more and more important as a means for retirement income protection in the coming decades. Although a number of our previous studies have been conducted to investigate the other pillars for retirement income protection system in Hong Kong such as Old Age Category of CSSA (Chou, Chi & Chow, 2003), OAA (Chou & Chow, 2005), MPF (Chou, Chow & Chi, 2004) and family support (Chou & Chi, 2001), one important component of the third pillar, private saving, has been largely neglected in policy studies related to retirement income in Hong Kong. The proposed study focuses on this research gap, namely retirement saving, in Hong Kong policy studies related to retirement income protection. Financial Literacy If some households save too little, it may be because they are unable to decide how much to save. A properly executed saving strategy first requires a plan. However, making plan on retirement saving is perhaps too complicated for most households to grasp due to lack of financial knowledge. Bernheim (1995, 1998) was among the first to document that many American households display little financial literacy and do not possess the information or skills necessary to make saving decisions. Surprisingly, although Hong Kong is positioned itself as a global financial centre (Tsang, 2007), very few studies have been conducted to assess the level of financial literacy in Hong Kong general population. The first objective of this proposed study is to measure the level of financial literacy in Hong Kong general population. Substantial differences in financial literacy are found among demographic groups: Those with low education and income as well as women display very low financial literacy in US (Hilgert & Hogarth, 2002; Hogarth, 2006; Lusardi & Mitchell, 2006; 2007; Mandell, 2004). Similar findings are reported in Australia (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, 2005), U.K., and Korea (OECD, 2005). The second objective of this study is to examine the socio-demographic and economic variation in the level of financial literacy in Hong Kong. Consequences of Financial Illiteracy Consumers with low levels of financial literacy are disproportionately represented amongst the “unbanked” those lacking any kind of transaction account. In addition, more financially sophisticated households are more likely to buy risky assets as well as stock (Van Rooji, Lusardi & Alessie, 2007), and invest more efficiently (Calvet, Campbell & Sodini, 2005). Not surprisingly, low financial literacy is also associated with lack of saving, lower wealth holdings, and lower likelihood of experiencing a satisfying retirement (Ameriks, Caplin & Leahy, 2003; Ameriks, Caplin, Leahy & Tyler, 2004; Lusardi, 1999; 2004). It is unknown whether there is association between financial literacy and retirement savings in Hong Kong. The third aim of this proposed study is to examine the association between financial literacy and retirement savings in Hong Kong. Planning to Save Indeed, survey evidence suggests that many households are unable to take even the first step toward formulating a saving plan (EBRI, 2006; Lusardi, 1999; Ameriks et al., 2003). In US, only about 40 percent of all workers have actually calculated how much money they will need to save by the time they retire (EBRI, 2006). Numerous studies have shown that only about one third of workers had thought about financial plans related retirement saving (Lusardi, 1999; Ameriks et al., 2003). Evidences indicate that compared with American, Hong Kong people are more likely to prepare for their retirement income protection. In a survey conducted by the Central Policy Unit (2006), about 70% of adults aged between 35 and 64 had made preparation for meeting their retirement financial needs. But it is unknown how much effort and time they have been spent on retirement planning in financial aspect. The fourth objective of this study is to determine to what extent Hong Kong people have prepared for their retirement saving. Those who are more financially knowledgeable are also much more likely to plan for retirement even after adjusting for factors such as education, marital status, number of children, retirement status, race and sex (Lusardi & Michell, 2007). This is important, since in related work, it has been shown that lack of retirement saving planning is contributing to lack of saving, lower wealth holdings, and lower likelihood of experiencing a satisfying retirement (Ameriks et al., 2003; 2004; Lusardi, 1999; 2004). In other words, financial illiteracy may lead to lack of retirement saving planning which in turn has negative consequence on retirement saving outcome. The fifth objective of this proposed study is to test whether retirement saving planning is the mediator in the link between financial literacy and retirement savings


List of Research Outputs

Chou K.L., Moderating effect of Apolipoprotein genotype on loneliness leading to depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults, American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2010, 18: 313-322.
Chou K.L., Number of children and upstream intergenerational financial transfers: Evidence from Hong Kong, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. 2010, 65: 227-235.
Chou K.L., Pain and depression among Hong Kong Chinese older adults with knee osteoarthritis , Hong Kong Journal of Mental Health. Hong Kong, The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong, 2009, 35(2): 23-28.
Chou K.L. and Macfarlane D.J., Relationship between Performance-based and Self-Reported Measures of Lower Extremity Function in Chinese Older Women, Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation. 2009, 25: 181-190.
Chou K.L., Social Anxiety Disorder in older adults: Evidences from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions., Journal of Affective Disorders. 2009, 119: 8.
Chou K.L. and Chow N.W.S., The roles of human capital and social capital in the economic integration of new arrivals from mainland China to Hong Kong, Habitat International. 2009, 33: 463-471.


Researcher : Chow AYM

Project Title:Becoming Reflexive Social Workers: Developing an outcome-based course on Reflexivity for Social Work students.
Investigator(s):Chow AYM, Lam DOB, Wong DFK, Leung GSM, Chan FP
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Leung Kau Kui Research and Teaching Endowment Fund - Teaching Grants
Start Date:01/2008
Abstract:
Key Issues and Problems Reflexivity is a core competence of professional social workers. In examining our current curriculum for BSW students, we have not offered a course solely for the development of such a significant ability. A course that addresses this core issue is developed. It is a course with diverse learning experiences that include structured experiential learning in classroom and in campsite, as well as student-directed social problem analyses and presentations. A small group teaching mode will be adopted to increase the student-teacher interactions. As responsible teachers, we hope to examine the outcome of this course scientifically and systematically. A quasi-experimental design is adopted with a matched pair comparison group is included. The curriculum will be manualized so as to facilitate teaching skill transferal. This proposed study is aimed at developing an outcome based teaching course on reflexivity for social work students at the University. The rapid changing world Helping people in need and striving to address social problem are the primary missions of social workers (Social Worker Registration Board, October 3, 1998). The world is rapidly changing in the past decades and is expected to change exponentially in the coming future. Social problems are redefined and became fluid, instead of static, entities. Some of the social problems might be new and were not present in the previous generation. Social workers are expected to be sensitive to the changing environment, and be prepared to address these changing social problems. As social work educators, transferring knowledge on the existing social problems might not be adequately preparing the students. More importantly, we have to transfer skills to the students that facilitate critical reflection and generate sensitivity to the changing environment. Use of self in social work practice Social Work practice is carried out through interactions of individual social worker with the clients, families, organizations and the society. Individual social worker is an important element in this change process. Despite upholding the guiding principle of non-judgemental attitude (Biestek, 1961), individual social worker is inevitably shaped by their own experiences, upbringing and culture. Such influence, to an extreme extent, can impair the therapeutic relationship and competence of the social worker. The influence is exhibited as countertransference which is an unrealistic perception of or reaction to client, family organization or the society. Based on the past relationships with others, the social workers may transfer their feelings, wishes, and unconscious defensive patterns to people. These irrational reaction can be resolved through introspection, that includes analytical self-dialogue for gaining better understanding of one’s feelings, reactions, cognitions, and behaviors (Hepworth, Rooney, Rooney, Strom-Gottfried, & Larsen, 2006). Thus having self-awareness and self-understanding on the reactions towards different social issues pays a pivot role in social work practice. As social work educators, providing platform to cultivate such aspect of competence to social worker-to-be is important. Reflexivity D’Cruz, Gillingham and Melendez (2007) suggest that reflexivity is having more contribution in social work education, theory and research. In examining the different definitions of reflexivity, they suggest three variations in the conceptualization of the term reflexivity. Firstly, it can be considered as the individualistic reflection towards the social problems, which match with our earlier discussions on the rapid changing world. Secondly, it is considered as the reflection of dynamic relationship between the feelings and thoughts of the social worker. This echoes with our earlier discussions on countertransference. Thirdly, reflexivity involves reflections on how knowledge and theory about practice is generated. Instead of accepting the traditional knowledge without doubts, reflexive practitioners are expected to have more reflections. As social work educators, we have to be reflexive too. This proposed project is to set up a course in improving the reflexivity of the students, but at the same time, critically examining the effect of such course that is developed from the foundation of traditional knowledge. Goal and Objectives: The overall goal of this project is to develop an outcome-based and evidence-based course that can help to increase the students’ reflexivity. Specifically, we hope to 1. develop the content and teaching materials for the proposed course; 2. produce a teaching manual for the course, and 3. evaluate the effectiveness of the course.


Project Title:11th UK Joint Social Work Education conference with the 3rd UK Social Work research conference From anxiety to appreciation: Journey in cultivating competence of social workers in working with dying and bereaved persons
Investigator(s):Chow AYM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:07/2009
Completion Date:07/2009
Abstract:
N/A


Project Title:The Development of a Best Practice Hospital-based Bereavement Care Model in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Chow AYM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:03/2010
Abstract:
End-of-life care does not terminate at the end of life of patients. According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2009), “Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients and families who face life-threatening illness … from diagnosis to the end of life and bereavement”. Bereavement care offered to the family members is one of the prescribed tasks of end-of-life care but its development is much slower than that of other areas of patient care. Though the family members are not the direct patients of hospitals, the challenge of bereavement on physical and psychological well being of the individual family members can bring them as patients in future. Development of appropriate bereavement care in hospices is not only perfecting the quality of care, but also acting as a preventive measure in addressing future health problems. Impact of Bereavement Bereaved persons are found to have poor physical health, which is measured by higher occurrence of complaints of physical symptoms, disruption of physiological functioning (Hall & Irwin, 2001), higher use of medical services, and medication. The mental health of bereaved persons is also found to be poorer than that of non-bereaved persons. They are more likely to have depressive symptoms (Clayton, 1990) and even mood disorders, including depression and anxiety disorders (Prudo, Brown, Harris, & Dowland, 1981; Harwood, 2001). Other problems include alcohol abuse, suicide ideation (Harwood, 2001), and sleep disturbance (Richardson, Lund, Caserta, Dudley, & Obray, 2003). In addition, excessive mortality rate of widowed persons is frequently found in different studies (Stroebe & Stroebe, 1993). Complicated Grief In the earlier studies of bereavement, outcomes were usually assessed by generic measures of psychiatric symptoms, mainly of depression and anxiety. In view of the presence of bereavement outcome that is distinct from bereavement-related depression and anxiety, Prigerson et al. (1995) coined the term complicated grief, which embraces the cluster of grief symptoms that predicts long-term functional impairment of bereaved persons. They introduced and validated a measurement tool, Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) for measuring this concept, and hoped to differentiate complicated grief from uncomplicated grief. Following their work, there is a movement of promoting the inclusion of complicated grief in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (Parkes, 2005). Diagnostic criteria have been proposed by Prigerson and Maciejewski (2005) and are undergoing empirical testing. The introduction of the concept of complicated grief facilitates the screening and selection of the needy target group for indicated intervention. One of the diagnostic criteria is the presence of persistent symptoms over 6 months. Bereaved persons, who are not yet diagnosed to have complicated grief, might not be offered any community-based bereavement care in the first six months after the death of their loved one. Probably, hospice- or hospital-based bereavement care can be the alternative. Moving Bereavement Care Upstream In Hong Kong, there were 41 800 deaths in 2008 (Census and Statistics Department, 2009) and most of them happened in hospitals. Among the 27 555 hospital beds at Hospital Authority, only 317 (1.15%) beds are for hospice care and 28 (0.1%) are in Bradbury Hospice, the only independent built hospice (Hospital Authority, 2008). Despite of the small number of beds, there were around 400 deaths per year in the in-patient care of Bradbury Hospice (Lo, 2009). Adding the patients served by the home-care and day care hospice services, the number should be much bigger. Hospice is a hub where a substantial group of bereaved-to-be gathers. Thus community-based bereavement care can be moved upstream to hospice or hospital, serving the function of early identification and prevention of complicated grief. In addition, bereavement care can be offered while the patients are still alive and receiving hospice care. This early intervention of bereavement care, for example the end-of-life communications with the dying patients, or working through the unfinished businesses, is irreplaceable by post death bereavement care. The goal of this project is to develop an empirically grounded and theoretical conceptualization of the needs of Chinese families whose members died in hospice. Ultimately, these pieces of evidence will be used as the foundation to design a best-practice hospice-based bereavement care model in Hong Kong. The specific research questions addressed in this proposed project are: 1. What are the needs of bereaved family members in the hospices? 2. What is the prevalence of complicated grief among bereaved family members in the hospices? 3. What are the risk factors of poor bereavement outcomes? 4. What strategies are effective in caring for the bereaved family members?


List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Chan C.H.Y., Ho T.H., Ho A.H.Y., Tin A.F., Chow A.Y.M., Leung K.T., Leung P.P.Y. and Ng S.M., 2010 Communication Awards, In: www.enable.hk, International Award for Creative Output to the Project ENABLE Website. 2010.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming Bitterness into Enlightenment - Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, In: Fu Dan University, Keynote Address in the Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming bitterness into Enlightenment – Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. Shanghai, China, 5 December. 2009.
Chow A.Y.M., Anticipatory anniversary effects and bereavement: Development of an integrated explanatory model, Journal of Loss and Trauma. Routledge, 2010, 15(1): 54-68.
Chow A.Y.M., Bereavement care for sudden death, Hong Kong Palliative Care Symposium. 2009.
Chow A.Y.M., Best Abstract Award (Researcher), 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Chow A.Y.M. and Yuen J.H.L., End-of-life Care in Long Term Care Settings in Hong Kong: Development and Evaluation, 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontology Society of America. 2009.
Chow A.Y.M., Tin A.F., Cheung G.Y.K., Chan C.L.W. and Chan W.C.H., From anxiety to appreciation: Journey in cultivating competence of social workers in working with dying and bereaved persons., The 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference with the 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, 8-10 July.. 2009.
Chow A.Y.M., Grief and Bereavement, Hospis Malaysia. 2009.
Chow A.Y.M., Palliative Care in Residential Care Services, 院舍內的晚晴照顧, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. 2009.
Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B. and Chan F.P., Promoting Reflexivity among Social Work Students: The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Course ‘Knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World’, 11th UK Joint Social Work Education Conference with the 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, Hertfordshire, England. 2009.
Chow A.Y.M., Teaching Evidence-based Research Method to Social Work Students Through Evidence-based Approach, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Chow A.Y.M., The role of hope in bereavement for Chinese people in Hong Kong. , Death Studies. 2010, 34(4): 330-350.
Chow A.Y.M., Voices Of Service Users: The Report On A Qualitative Research, 服務使用者的聲音: 質性研究報告 , Suicide Prevention Services. 2009.
Chow M.T., Chow A.Y.M., Wan K.P. and Wong K.L., Initial Validation of the Chinese Signficant Wish Fulfulliment Scale (CSWFS), 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Hu V.Q.M., Hung A.T.F., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan Y.K., Promoting Quality of Life of people with Epilepsy: the pilot effectiveness study of the psycho-educational group of “Breakthrough from Epilepsy”, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Hu Y. and Chow A.Y.M., The Gendered Migration, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Khng N.W.J., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan C.L.W., Sense of indebtedness to parents among Singaporean Childhood Cancer Survivors: A protective factor?, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Khng N.W.J., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan C.L.W., Sense of indebtedness to parents among Singaporean childhood cancer survivors: A protective factor?, 2010 World Congress of Social Work and Social Development – The Agenda. IFSW, IASSW, ICSW Joint World Congress, Hong Kong. 2010.
Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan F.P., From the students’ voices - What happens in a self-reflective journey?, 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference and 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, organized by the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre, Higher Education Academy (SWAP), at Hatfield, U.K., July 8-10, . 2009.
Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B., Chung L.P. and Chan F.P., Cultivating Self-reflective Ability In Social Work Students: An Evaluative Study On A Course "knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World:, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development, Hong Kong, China, June 10-14. 2010.
Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B. and Chan F.P., Promoting Reflexivity among Social Work Students: The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Course ‘Knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World., 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference and 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, organized by the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre, Higher Education Academy (SWAP), at Hatfield, U.K., July 8-10. 2009.
Wang K.P., Chow A.Y.M., Chow M.T. and Cheung W.T., Intergeneration connection: The overlooked wish among Chinese Older Adults in Hong Kong, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.


Researcher : Chow NWS

Project Title:Hong Kong retirees' migration to the Mainland: a study on the patterns and economic implications of retirement migration
Investigator(s):Chow NWS, Chi I, Ma AM, Chui EWT
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:General Research Fund (GRF)
Start Date:09/2002
Abstract:
Using a developmental perspective, the study attempts to identify the factors leading to residential mobility among Hong Kong retirees, and to test the applicability of this perspective to the Hong Kong society. The economic impacts of these retiree migrants will be assessed, using the retirees' economic impact model.


List of Research Outputs

Chou K.L. and Chow N.W.S., The roles of human capital and social capital in the economic integration of new arrivals from mainland China to Hong Kong, Habitat International. 2009, 33: 463-471.


Researcher : Chu Yeung PPY

List of Research Outputs

Tsang S.K.M., Leung J.C.B., Law C.K., Chu Yeung P.P.Y., Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M. and Yeung K.C., Building Effective Family Services: Review on the Implementation of the Integrated Family Service Centre Service Mode, Hong Kong, Social Welfare Department, 2010.


Researcher : Chui EWT

Project Title:Creating age-friendly communities in low-income neighborhoods: cross-cultural comparisons in North America and East Asia – Shanghai as case study
Investigator(s):Chui EWT
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:01/2009
Completion Date:01/2010
Abstract:
1.to develop and validate an assessment tool, based upon / with reference to the United Nations Checklist of Essential Features of Age-friendly Cities, American Association of Retired Persons’ Livable Neighborhood Evaluation Checklist, Minnesota Vital Aging and Livability, and Australian Government’s Livable Neighborhoods Community Design Code), that can be used as a tool for comparative study across different cultures / nations; 2.to assess the age-friendliness of Shanghai as a city for elderly people, with reference to the assessment tool developed in objective 1 above. 3.to make recommendations to relevant authorities – municipal and/or national, on improvement the urban spatial form, housing design, social services, and any other related aspects that contribute towards developing an age-friendly community in Shanghai, that may probably serve as a prototype for other Chinese cities. Background of research: This proposed project is a constituent part of a larger study funded by the Canadian SSHRC-International Opportunities Fund (861-2007-1043) (Can$60,000) Creating age-friendly communities in low-income neighborhoods: cross-cultural comparisons in North America and East Asia (PI: Dr E. Hwang), in which the applicant is a co-investigator. The Canadian grant supports data collection in Hong Kong as one of the various chosen cities for comparison. The present application would further enrich the comparative study by adding a Chinese city - i.e. Shanghai. The Canadian project endeavors to investigate the ‘age-friendliness’ of cities in various parts of the world (i.e. including four countries: USA, Canada, Korea and China/Hong Kong) for senior citizens, with specific focus on low-income communities. It will attempt to developing an assessment tool with due reference to several established tools, including the a) United Nations Checklist of Essential Features of Age-friendly Cities, b) American Association of Retired Persons’ Livable Neighborhood Evaluation Checklist, c) Minnesota Vital Aging and Livability, and d) Australian Government’s Livable Neighborhoods Community Design Code. The tool thus developed can serve to assess the degree of age-friendliness of different cities, including Hong Kong (as part of the Canadian project) and Shanghai in the present proposal, will be assessed whether they could provide viable environment for elderly people. Policy proposals will then be formulated to the various cities in different countries under investigation in the attempt to improve the living environment for senior citizens. The need to investigate the extent of ‘age-friendliness’ of cities is set in the context that many of the advanced economies and societies have been faced with the challenge of an increasingly ageing population. In order to secure the quality of life of the elderly people, there should be concerted efforts in various policy domains that can provide a safe and user-friendly environment for the senior citizens. Such environment should include both the physical and socio-cultural aspects. The physical aspects relate to the built environment, which include such aspects as town planning, architectural design, transportation and accessibility, facilities, etc.; while the socio-cultural aspects relate to the provision of social and cultural services / facilities and the development of a caring community that respects and supports elderly people live independently and with dignity. Hong Kong is also faced with an increasingly ageing population and its physical and social environments are also to be examined whether they can provide a safe and viable environment for our senior citizens to lead independent and dignified living in Hong Kong. On the other hand, China, with its spectacular economic growth in the past two decades, have also evolved some large cities that are also increasingly confronted with an ageing population and is therefore also subject to the challenges of whether it can provide a viable physical and social environment for its growing elderly population. The Principal Investigator Dr Ernest Chui had previously conducted a comparative study between Hong Kong and Shanghai on the impact of urban renewal upon elderly people (CRCG Research Grant Award 1998-99 ($70,000) A Comparative Study of Old Urban Communities in Hong Kong and Shanghai: Implications on Urban Renewal and Social Service Provision. The Co-investigator, Dr Vivian Lou, is a Shanghainese and thus has thorough knowledge of Shanghai and has established good connection with both academic and official organizations in Shanghai. All these have laid solid groundwork for the applicants to complete the study.


Project Title:Developing an ‘Elderly Population Index’ in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Chui EWT, Ng YT
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:01/2010
Abstract:
Introduction – background of study and ‘state of art’ Hong Kong is confronted with both the challenges and opportunities of having an ageing population. In 2006, 12.4% (853,000) of the territory’s 6.8 million people were 65 and older, while those over 60 constituted as much as 16.2% (Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR, 2007). In order to enable Hong Kong – the government and the community at large – to better prepare for these changes, it is imperative to have sufficient empirical basis to conduct better policy formulation and service development. Internationally, the development of ‘social indicators’ has served the purpose of providing relevant information for governments, NGOs and individuals alike in formulating policies and services to tackle various social problems. The academic interest and policy application of social indicators, general social surveys, and social reporting or social accounting have a history of 40 some years in the Western developed countries. These efforts are attempts to expand the focus of social monitoring beyond traditional economic indicators, looking at output in terms of individual living conditions and quality of life, and to provide systematically collected factual information on core issues of political debate and social planning. Dating back to the 1960s, the founders of the social indicator movement were greatly influenced by the development of the United Nations System of National Accounts which emphasizes the unity, integration, coverage, routine data collection, and standardized compilation and publication of economic statistics. These subsequently informed the development of social accounting and a social and demographic statistics (SSDS). By the early 1990s, most developed countries had developed information systems to monitor general living conditions along the lines of the Social Indicator Tradition (Hagerty, Vogel and Møller, 2002:1-2). To supplement aggregate ‘objective’ quantitative data, efforts have also been made to collect ‘subjective indicators’, to inform social policy makers in their policy formulation and implementation (Veenhoven, 2002). With specific reference to developing social indicators for elderly people, reference could also be made to USA, Canada and Australia. The US government publishes a comprehensive report, Older Americans - Key Indicators of Well-Being, every two years since 2000, which provides an updated compendium of indicators grouped in 5 domains about the well-being of older Americans. Canada developed the Seniors in Canada Report Card since 2001 to provide information on the situation of seniors in Canada. This system, with 7 domains and 83 indicators, serves to rate seniors’ well-being by measuring their health status, access to quality health care, financial situation, living conditions and participation in Canadian society. The Australian Government publishes the Older Australia at a Glance periodically to describe the characteristics and circumstances of Australia’s older Australians using key statistics in relation to 45 topics or areas of interest. In 2006, the Western Australia State Government developed the Western Australia’s Seniors -- Active Ageing Benchmark Indicators, that involve 7 domains and 53 indicators, to measure Western Australia’s progress towards achieving active ageing among the elderly population. In Hong Kong, local scholars have embarked on developing ‘social indicators’ since 1988 (Lau et al., 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007). However, there is scant effort in developing a specific index for a particular age group. Worse still, the project, headed by the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Institute of Asia Pacific Studies, has already stopped from 2008 onwards. Therefore, there is no possibility of developing an ‘elderly index’ by using this platform. In early 1999, the Hong Kong government recognized the need to conduct a comprehensive assessment of changing social conditions in the territory. The Hong Kong Commission on Strategic Development (2000) has been vested with the responsibility of assessing the changing social environment and economic environment. The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) publishes thematic reports on specific social groups based upon its population census, by-census or thematic household (THS) surveys. With specific reference to the elderly, the C&SD has published Thematic Reports: Older Persons (HKSAR Census and Statistics Department, 2002, 2008) based on the 2001 and 2006 census and by-census respectively, which provide detailed socio-economic information about elderly people (65 and older). In addition, there are THS reports on older persons (HKSAR Census and Statistics Department, 2004, 2006). However, such efforts are limited because these reports are published either with a 5-year interval or occasionally, and the data only covers basic socio-economic aspects, without attending to other critical social dimensions. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) has commenced its Social Development Index (SDI) exercise since 2000. Up to 2008, the HKCSS has published 5 biannual reports. The vast majority of the data used in the SDI exercise were obtained from the governmental bodies and NGO. Time-series data were collected for approximately 400 social, political and economic indicators (Estes, 1999). Although the HKCSS SDI contains a specific aspect for the elderly, there are only 7 indicators. The CADENZA Project (2009) conducted a study entitled How Well are Seniors in HK Doing? An International Comparison resorted to 7 domains. Though these two attempts are admirable efforts that are going in the right direction, the indicators involved are not comprehensive enough to reveal the general situation of Hong Kong’s elderly population. There is the need to develop a more holistic, encompassing system of indicators and indices, and to provide more information for policy makers, researchers, academics and the general citizenry, in view of preparing Hong Kong to face the challenges of an ageing population. Appendix 1 provides an overview of the various domains and indicators currently used in Canada, USA, Australia and Hong Kong. The present proposed study is to attempt developing an elementary framework of ‘Elderly Index’, making reference to overseas ‘social indicator’ movement as well as local existing and available secondary data archives, with a view for developing a more holistic Elderly Index in a longer term, to inform social policy making and service development. The study would resort to developing a list of indicators along a number of major domains (e.g. health, finance, housing, participation, etc.), which contain domain-specific sub-indices. A composite index can then be compiled from these indicators after standardization. Based on this composite index, efforts could then be made to calculate the index score in previous decades, based on the availability of relevant data. The whole exercise could provide trend data for policy analysts to review the past achievements or gaps in the policy and service provision related to elderly welfare in Hong Kong, as well as to provide benchmarks for future policy making and service planning. Objectives: 1.To assess the present ‘state of art’ or international trend in developing social indicators or index for elderly; 2.To develop a framework for constructing an ‘elderly population index’ in Hong Kong that takes into consideration particularities of the local context; 3.To lay the groundwork of a large research program on developing a comprehensive index with the support of a GRF (or equivalent) grant.


List of Research Outputs

Cheung K.S.L., Yip P.S.F., Chi I., Chui E.W.T., Leung A.Y.M., Chan F.H.W. and Chan G.M.Y., Factors Associated with Healthy Longevity - A Report from the Study of Oldest-Old and Centenarians in Hong Kong, 17th Annual Congress of Gerontology. 2009.
Chui E.W.T., Tsang S.K.M. and Mok J.K.H., After the Handover in 1997:Development and Challenges for Social Welfare and Social Work Profession in Hong Kong, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development.. Singapore, National University of Singapore, 2010.
Chui E.W.T., Community work and education in Hong Kong, Kwansei University, Kobe, Japan. 2010.
Chui E.W.T., Desirability and Feasibility in evaluating fieldwork performance: Tensions between supervisors and student. , Social Work Education.. 2009.
Chui E.W.T., High density living in Hong Kong. , In: Michael Wolf. , Hong Kong Outside. Architecture of Density. . Hong Kong, Asia One Books (HK) Peperoni (Germany), 2009, 102-110.
Chui E.W.T. and Ko L.S.F., New Wine or Old ? From Colony to SAR – Elderly Welfare in Hong Kong. , Chinese Journal of Social Work.. Hong Kong, 2010.
Chui E.W.T., Policy considerations in long-term care in Hong Kong. , Symposium on Community-based Long-term Care in Hong Kong: from Theory to Practice. August 5, 2009. Hong Kong. Co-organized by Department of Social Work and Social Administration, Sau Po Centre on Ageing, Centre for Health Promotion, Department of Nursing Studies, HKU.. 2009.
Chui E.W.T., Law C.K., Wong Y.C. and Lee C.K.M., Registered social workers and continuing professional development. Report submitted to Hong Kong Social Workers Registration Board., 2010.
Chui E.W.T., Social impacts of China-Hong Kong interface on Hong Kong. , 中港融合對香港社會的影響, Journal of Youth Studies. . Hong Kong, Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 2010, 13(1): 22-32.
Lou V.W., Chui E.W.T., Leung A.Y.M., Kwan C.W., Chi I. and Leung Wong E.K.S., Psychological factors affecting long-term care utilization in Hong Kong, A symposium on Community-based Long-term Care in Hong Kong: From Theory to Practice. Hong Kong, 2009.
Lou V.W., Chui E.W.T., Leung A.Y.M., Kwan C.W., Chi I. and Leung E., The role of psychosocial factors in long-term care utilization among elderly Chinese, The Gerontological Society of America 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting. Atlanta, GA, The Gerontological Society of America, 2009, 111.
Tanasescu A., Smart A. and Chui E.W.T., Tops and bottoms: State tolerance of illegal housing in Hong Kong and Calgary. , In: Charles Chogull, Habitat International. . Elsevier, 2010, 34(4): 478-484.


Researcher : Chui WH

Project Title:Young Offenders on Probation Orders: A Panel Study in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Chui WH
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:General Research Fund (GRF)
Start Date:12/2008
Abstract:
1) To ascertain whether the probation sentence reduce the likelihood of re-offending amongst young offenders; 2) To investigate under what conditions static and dynamic risk factors explain the outcome of probation supervision; 3) To examine the perceived impacts of probation as experienced by young probationers; 4) To identify the principles of effective probation supervision of young offenders


Project Title:The impact of male partner imprisonment on spouse in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Chui WH
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:06/2009
Abstract:
Project Aims 1) To examine the impact of the imprisonment of a male partner on the female partner, including economic, social and emotional factors; 2) To examine the impact of the imprisonment of their father on dependent children, including social, educational, behavioural and emotional factors; and 3) To examine whether different patterns of impact are evident in families where both children and female partner visit, where only the female partner visits and where no visiting occurs. Background to the Project Statistics on the family and parental status amongst prisoners in Hong Kong are not available though the PI has already requested for this information from the Correctional Services Department in November 2008. With reference to England and Wales, Boswell and Wedge (2002) have commented: ‘The prison service does not routinely include in its records information as to prisoner’s parental status, but estimates suggest that in excess of a quarter of a million children will be affected by parental imprisonment’ (p. 11). An estimate provided by the Community Restorative Centre (2005) in the New South Wales is that around 15,000 children go to bed every night with a parent in prison. When parents become involved in the criminal justice system, their children are affected too (Reed and Reed, 1995; Pollock, 1998; Greene, Haney and Hurtado, 2000; Murray and Farrington, 2005). According to Shaw (1992: ix), ‘the justice system is based on the principle of acquitting the innocent and punishing the guilty, consequently those who uphold it cannot afford to accept that by imprisoning a mother or a father they may punish the innocent child more than the criminal parent’. Anecdotal evidence indicates that children with at least one parent in prison were at great greater risk to suffer from anxiety and depression (Snyder, Carlo and Mullins, 2001) and parental imprisonment predicted several antisocial behaviour and delinquent outcomes through the life course (Murray and Farrington, 2005). Some efforts have been made to research the extent of the problem and to improve the well-being of children of prisoners in the United Kingdom and United States (see, for example, Boswell and Wedge, 2002; Bernstein, 2005). Several studies have explored the views of imprisoned mothers / fathers in relation to their children. Poehlmann (2005) examined relationships between contact with children, perceived family relationships, early experiences of relationship disconnection and trauma, and maternal depressive symptoms amongst 94 incarcerated mothers with children between the ages of 2 and 7 years in the United States. Poehlmann’s (2005) analysis revealed that most mothers experienced intense distress when initially separated from their children. Fewer visits from children, trauma and early experiences of relationship disconnection were associated with elevated maternal depressive symptoms. Mother-child relationships were more positive when mothers had more frequent contact with older children by telephone. Boswell and Wedge (2002) conducted interviews with imprisoned fathers, wives or partners, children and prison staff. The age of children considered was between 12 and 15. One in 12 fathers were found to have no visits from their children, and the reasons varied from not having enough time to danger from other inmates. In addition, they reported their feelings about being a father in prison, including feelings of helplessness and sense of guilt. Mothers and children talked about the social, financial, emotional and developmental effects brought about by the absence of the father. In particular children discussed how they came to terms with why the father went away, adjusted to his absence, and then re-adjusted to his release. The children tended to be upset, confused, and angry with their imprisoned fathers, and generally hoped that they would return home soon. Theoretically, the proposed study will be informed by an ecological approach. Arditti (2005) has previously used an ecological approach to analyze the context of parental imprisonment and its impacts on families and children. Drawing from Bronfenbrenner’s (1997) systemic approach, Arditti (2005) emphasizes the importance of studying human development ‘in relation to context and interdependent nature of multiple levels or systems of organization’ (p. 252). Environmental or contextual levels such as poverty, the highly stigmatized nature of incarceration, the social isolation of single parenting or substitute caregiving, and a lack of social support shape the children’s inner experiences with regard to dealing with loss as a result of incarceration. Thus, this framework recognizes the inter-relatedness of crime, imprisonment, poverty and family life.


Project Title:Men Released from Prison: A Qualitative Follow-up Study
Investigator(s):Chui WH
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:01/2010
Abstract:
The broad objective of this proposed study is to examine in-depth the life experience of a group of men released from prison either conditionally or absolutely over a period of 12 months. It is expected that the majority of these men are released absolutey because no statutory requirement on post-release supervision is imposed on adult ex-prisoners in Hong Kong. This 12-month follow-up study will investigate the impact of prison and post-release care on ex-prisoners' offending behaviour. It will also examine whether there are barriers to their reintegration and how these men cope with their release. Its specific purposes are as follows: • To examine how 30 men released from prison react to their transition from prison to community within one year after their discharge; • To investigate how they are treated by family members, friends, employers, the police, and aftercare/post-release supervisors; • To understand the barriers or challenges to their re-entry and how they cope with these challenges; and • To explore how prison and supportive services to ex-offenders could be improved in effecting and maintaining changes by listening to their views. Key Issues and Problems Addressed: The proposed project is concerned with the analysis of the effect of prison and aftercare supervision on the offender's reintegration into society. Its primary research questions is: What is the experience of release from prison together with the man's feelings and reactions to their return to community? This qualitative study will seek to investigate how ex-prisoners make sense of their imprisonment and how they react to their return to community. Repeated psychological measurements or scales and indepth interviews will be used to understand the full picture of male ex-prisoners' experience of re-entry . Newly released prisoners will be invited to talk about the challenges they faced after their discharge. They will also be invited to talk about their subjective experience in their first month, six months and twelve months after their release. Questions such as 'What is it liked to be released?', 'What is the aspiration of his return to the community?', 'What are the difficulties he has encountered so far?' will be asked. It is expected the barriers to their re-entry are: living with the stigma of ex-convict; unemployment, relationship problems with the family, problems with accommodation, and lapses to drugs and other forms of addiction. It may be possible that some of them will be able to stop their offending behaviour with their self-determination and strong will to be law-abiding citizens. In this respect, allowing ex-offenders to tell their stories is the best method of capturing the processes involved in their re-integration into the community, and understanding how some of them create new lives for themselves. In brief, this study endeavours to contribute an enhanced understanding of the process of prisoners' re-entry to the community, thus contributing to the field of penology and social work with offenders. Additionally, it makes contribution to the field of criminology. More specifically, it examines how they conceptualize their social, economic and political futures and how these conceptualizations relate to the barriers to their re-entry and decisions to repeat or stop their offending behaviour.


Project Title:The 9th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences The Dilemma of Disclosure: Partner or Caregiver Perspectives on a Family Member’s Imprisonment
Investigator(s):Chui WH
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:06/2010
Completion Date:06/2010
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Cherney A. and Chui W.H., Review of the Police Liaison Program in Queensland, Brisbane, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, 2009, 36pp.
Chui W.H., "Pains of imprisonment": Narratives of the women partners and children of the incarcerated, The University of Hong Kong Young Scholar Award for Outstanding Abstract, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development: The Agenda, 10-14 June 2010, Hong Kong, China. 2010.
Chui W.H., 'Pains of Imprisonment’: Narratives of the Partner and Children of the Incarcerated, In: Susan White, Child & Family Social Work. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2010, 15(2): 196-205.
Chui W.H., Children of the incarcerated fathers in Hong Kong: Their rights and needs, In: C.S. Chi (紀金山), Social Work, Social Welfare and Children’s Rights in Chinese Culture: International Conference. 華人社會工作與兒少權益: 國際學術研討會, Taichung Hsien, Department of Youth and Child Welfare, Providence University, 2009, 371-395.
Chui W.H., Corresponding Editors (Southeast Asia), In: Jonathan Parker, Journal of Practice Teaching in Health and Social Work. London, Whiting & Birch, 2009.
Chui W.H., Engaging youths to succeed in schools: The Hong Kong experience, ASEAN 3 + Seminar on Urban Youth Work IV, March 2-5, 2010. Organized by Students Care Service and National Youth Council Singapore. (Keynote Address) . 2010.
Chui W.H., Member, International Editorial Advisory Board, In: K. Jaishankar, International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences. India, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Manonmaniam, 2009.
Chui W.H., Of field education in Australia and Hong Kong: A social work educator’s personal reflection, In: Yu-lung Marcus Chiu , Hong Kong Journal of Social Work. Singapore, World Scientific, 2009, 41 (1/2): 33-49.
Chui W.H., Protection of crime victims in Hong Kong: An overview, The World Society of Victimology’s 13th International Symposium on Victimology, August 23-28, 2009. Tokiwa University, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan.
Chui W.H., The best interest of crime victims: Protection of rights and remedies in Queensland, Australia, In: K. Jaishankar, International Perspectives on Crime and Justice. Cambridge, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009, 370-392.
Chui W.H., The dilemma of disclosure: Partner or caregiver perspectives on a family member’s imprisonment, Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences, June 2-5, 2010, Organized by the Centre for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods, University of Louisville.. 2010.
Chui W.H., Working with involuntary youth clients: What works And what doesn’t work, ASEAN 3 + Seminar on Urban Youth Work IV, March 2-5, 2010, Organized by Students Care Service and National Youth Council Singapore. (Workshop Facilitator). 2010.
Chui W.H., “Pains of imprisonment”: Narratives of the women partners and children of the incarcerated, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development: The Agenda, June 10-14, 2010, Organized by the International Association of Schools of Social Work, International Council on Social Welfare, and International Federation of Social Workers in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong.. 2010.
Chui W.H., 定量法律研究 (Quantitative Legal Research), In: M. McConville and W.H. Chui, 法律研究的方法 (Research Methods for Law). 北京, 中國法制出版社, 2009, 42-70.
Lo T.W., Wong D.S.W., Chui W.H., Zhong L. and Senior P., Comprehensive Review of the Rehabilitation Centre Programme for Correctional Services Department, Hong Kong, Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of HK, 2010, 82 pp.
McConville M. and Chui W.H., (Co-editors), 法律研究的方法 (Research Methods for Law). 北京, 中國法制出版社, 2009, 286 pp.
McConville M. and Chui W.H., 简介及综述 (Introduction and Overview), In: M. McConville and W.H. Chui, 法律研究的方法 (Research Methods for Law). 北京, 中國法制出版社, 2009, 1-21.


Researcher : Chung LP

List of Research Outputs

Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B., Chung L.P. and Chan F.P., Cultivating Self-reflective Ability In Social Work Students: An Evaluative Study On A Course "knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World:, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development, Hong Kong, China, June 10-14. 2010.


Researcher : Fong TCT

List of Research Outputs

Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Wang X. and Wang Y., Further validation of the Stagnation Scale - confirmatory factor analysis and diagnostic cutoff points, 4th International Conference on TCM Psychology. Chengdu Traditional Chinese Medicine University, 2010.
Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Wang X. and Wang Y., Further validation of the Stagnation Scale - confirmatory factor analysis and diagnostic cutoff points, In: M. Q. Wang & W. J. Ding, Selected Thesis of International TCM Psychology and Systems Bioinformatics. Singapore, Medicine Press of Singapore, 2010, 76-77.


Researcher : Fung JYC

List of Research Outputs

Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Fung J.Y.C. and Lam C.Y., Promoting digital inclusion among older people in Hong Kong: Challenges and prospect, The 6th international conference of the East Asian Social Policy Research Network (EASP). 2009.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Fung J.Y.C. and Lee V.W.P., Digital divide and social inclusion: Policy challenge for social development in Hong Kong and South Korea., Journal Of Asian Public Policy. 2010, 3: 34-52.


Researcher : Guo Y

List of Research Outputs

Mok K.H., Wong Y.C. and Guo Y., Decentralization and marketization of education in China: Challenges for migrant children and social harmony., Governing the Asian Giants: The Search for Good Governance and Sustainable Development in China and India" 29 - 30 March 2010,. 2010.


Researcher : He S

List of Research Outputs

He S., CRCG - Conference Grants for Research Postgraduate Students. 2010.
He S., HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund 2009-2010. 2010.
He S., Infidelity and women’s coerced first sexual intercourse in Chinese college students’ dating relationships, The 22nd annual meetings of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. 2010.
He S., Prevalence of women’s coerced first sexual intercourse in Chinese college students’ romantic relationships, 2010 Joint World Conference on social work and social development. 2010.
He S., Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Attitudes Scale in a Sample of Unmarried Chinese Young Adults, In: Cynthia A. Graham, Ph.D., Journal of sex research. Taylor and Francis, 2009, in press.


Researcher : Ho LS

List of Research Outputs

Law C.K., Wong Y.C., Ho L.S., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V.W.P., Case study report: Regeneration of the South Bank, London. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority. , 2009.
Law C.K., Yu R.W.M. and Ho L.S., What has gone wrong in the planning and development of the City of Misery: the case of Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong, East Asian Social Policy international conference "Global economic crisis and welfare restructuring in East and West. 2009, 14.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K. and Ho L.S., Social impact tracking study on Hai Tan Street/Kweilin Street And Pei Ho Street redevelopment project. First tracking study report. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority., 2010.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K. and Ho L.S., Social impact tracking study on Hai Tan Street/Kweilin Street And Pei Ho Street redevelopment project. Baseline study report. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority., 2009.


Researcher : Ho PSY

Project Title:In search of romance: Life choices among women in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Ho PSY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:09/2006
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to document the lived experience of women in mid-life, their identities, relationships, intimacies and coping strategies during a period of rapid social and economic change in Hong Kong. We analyze through their narratives the way women understand happiness or hang-fuk (幸福) in relation to other pursuits in life including romance, adventure and ecstasy, through interest groups, hobbies, internet dating, extra-marital relationships & various forms of erotic pursuits as well as how they cope with the social and moral pressures related to their life decisions and sexual choices. The study will help develop a new way of mapping the desire of women in contemporary societies with a view to develop a new framework that can capture better their aspirations, hopes and dreams that are beyond their social roles as mothers, wives and daughters.


Project Title:1st Global Conference - Persons, Intimacy and Love: Probing the Boundaries Happy Swinging: Life Choices of Chinese Men and Women in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Ho PSY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:03/2007
Abstract:
N/A


Project Title:The second spring: Roads taken and not taken by Hong Kong women in middle life
Investigator(s):Ho PSY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:General Research Fund (GRF)
Start Date:01/2008
Completion Date:12/2009
Abstract:
To understand the experience of middle-aged women, how they negotiate domestic roles and develop extra-domestic lives as modern women and how they cope with social and moral pressure involved. To understand women's idea of happiness–how they expand their life world and pursue self-development in extra-domestic spheres at a time of social and personal transition. To understand the changing notions of gender roles and family as Hong Kong restructures its position with mainland China and the world amidst the pressurising socioeconomic transformations.


Project Title:One country, two women: Sexual encounters between Hong Kong men and Mainland Chinese women
Investigator(s):Ho PSY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:12/2008
Abstract:
The aim of the project is to explore how HK men deal with the border between Hong Kong and China especially after 1997 and how their masculinity is enhanced through different kinds of relationships and sexual encounters with Mainland women including encounters with sex workers, having mistresses in China and cross-border marriages. I will focus on the experience of a group of middle-class Chinese men with sexual relationships with Mainland women whom I will refer to as “nice” guys with “bad” behaviours. I hope to map out their pursuit of aspirations beyond conventional gendered prescriptions for them to be emotionally and sexually monogamous. I also want to look at how they think about themselves as new men in contemporary society and in what ways they think they are different from men of their father or grandfather's generation in the way they see gender, sex and marriage. I will also explore how they perceive the impact of their lifestyle and sexual choices on themselves, their “steady partners” and their other partners.


Project Title:Gender, Intimacy and Modernity, East and West: An exploratory comparative study
Investigator(s):Ho PSY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:ESRC/RGC JRS
Start Date:12/2009
Abstract:
To explore and compare lay and sociological understandings of the gendered implications of rapid social change in the West (primarily Britain) and in East Asia (primarily Hong Kong), with particular emphasis on the intimate lives of two cohorts of women: young women in their late teens and early twenties and their mothers’ generation, midlife women.


Project Title:The 6th International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (QI 2010) On Rigor in Arts-Based Research (documentary films)
Investigator(s):Ho PSY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:05/2010
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Ho P.S.Y., Feminist Qualitative Research: Merging Feminist Principles, Personal Experiences And Art-based Methodologie, Beijing Normal University, 个体经验、学术探索与艺术创作 女性主义质性研究的多元可能 , 2010.
Ho P.S.Y., Gender And Sexuality Education - A Reflection, 「大專院校性/別議題討論的再思」論壇, 2010.
Ho P.S.Y., Rigors In Art-based Research, The Sixth International Congress Of Qualitative Inquiry . 2010.
Ho P.S.Y., Sexualities. 2010.


Researcher : Ho TH

List of Research Outputs

Ho T.H., Potash J.S., Fu W., Wong K.P.L. and Chan C.L.W., Changes in Breast Cancer Patients after Psychosocial Intervention as Indicated in Drawings, Psycho-oncology. 2010, 19: 353-360.
Ho T.H., Dance Therapy Workshop, Department of Psychological Health Education and Counseling Center, Xiamen University, and Professional Committee of Counseling and Training, Xiamen Association of psychology. Xiamen, P.R. China.. 2009.
Ho T.H., Dance Therapy for School and Educational Settings, The Hong Kong Schools Dance Association. 2010.
Ho T.H., Dance Therapy for Self-Knowledge, Personal Services & Staff Relations Branch, Hong Kong Police Force, Hong Kong. 2009.
Ho T.H., Innovative Projects and Special Populations in Dance Therapy in Hong Kong, American Dance Therapy Association 44th Annual Conference. 2009.
Ho T.H., Cheung K.M. and Lo P.H.Y., Regaining Control of Emotional Expression: Dance Movement Therapy for Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors [Abstract of the American Dance Therapy Association 44th Annual Conference, Portland, OR, US. 8-10 Oct, 2009], American Journal of Dance Therapy. 2009, 32 (1): 36-37.
Ho T.H., The Cultural Barriers and Adaptation of Applying Dance Movement Psychotherapy to Chinese Population, International Conference on Transcultural Psychiatry: Cultural Diversiyt, Social Change and Mental Health Association. Shanghai, China, 2010.
Hsiao F...H..., Yang T...T..., Ho T.H., Jow G...M..., Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., The Self-perceived symptoms distress and health-related conditions associated with morning to evening diurnal cortisol patterns in outpatients with major depressive disorder, Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009, 35: 1275-1286.
Lai J...C...L..., Chong A...M...L..., Oswarld S...O...T...S..., Chan C.L.W. and Ho T.H., Humor Attenuates the Cortisol Awakening Response in Healthy Older Men, Biological Psychology. 2010, 84: 375-380.


Researcher : Ho Tsang KM

Project Title:Enhancing the teaching and learning of communicative skills in social work profession
Investigator(s):Tsang SKM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Teaching Development Grants
Start Date:01/1999
Abstract:
To evaluate how well the materials prepare students for their placements; to strengthen profession-related communicative skills in English for their placements; to assist social work teachers and fieldwork instructors in planning and delivering the four essential social work modules in professional skills more effectively.


Project Title:Towards evidence-based parent education: Hong Kong parent education database and resource bank
Investigator(s):Tsang SKM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:09/2007
Completion Date:08/2009
Abstract:
Efforts to use education programmes to help parents improve their parenting knowledge, attitude and skills has been practiced in Hong Kong since the 1970s. However, there is a dearth of systematic research to demonstrate which programme benefits what kind of parents to what extent. In 2002, a pilot unfunded parent education database project was set up in which three non-governmental organizations provided information on pre- and post-intervention measures on child behaviour and parenting stress in relation to their parent education programmes. The initial results were encouring and were published in Leung and Tsang (in press), but the small sample size does not allow for comparison across progrmmes. Subsequently, 11 social service organizations, including the Social Welfare Department, participated in a pilot project led by the two investigators in this proposal, under the joint auspice of University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Department of Health (DH), until the DH can no longer support the project owing to staff turnover and service priorities (Appendix 1). This project is designed to sustain and strengthen this meaningful move in parent education in Hong Kong. Through the setting up of a database and resource bank, a professional platform can be established to fill the knowledge and research gap and provide inter-program, inter-theory, inter-agency and even cross-cultural comparison. The resource bank will support service, research and knowledge exchange to facilitate practitioners to enhance their service and research skills. 1. Purposes – To establish a parent education database and resource bank where the effectiveness of parent education can be systemtatically evaluated and information could be shared through the following features: a) Uniform validated outcome measurement for comparison - all participating programmes/agencies will employ the same instruments for measuring the outcomes of the programme. Validated internationally used measures will be used. This enables systematic comparison and evaluation of the effectiveness of programmes and potentially, cross-cultural comparisons b) Research support and training for frontline staff – Instruments for program assessment, support for data collection, data entry and data analsysis will be provided to participating projects as incentives. Participating parent educators will be trained on evaluation and research to enhance and develop their competence in evaluation research. c) Data for futher theorization on programme effectivieness and service planning - programme characteristics (e.g. theoretical approach, delivery format), facilitator characteristics, client characteristics (child and parent demographic variables) will be collected for comparative research. This will facilitate comparison of programme effectiveness in terms of programme characteristics, client characteristics and facilitor background, which can facilitate service planning and theorization about the predicotrs to programme effectivness for different client groups . d) Platform for experience and knowedge sharing – a web-based resource bank will be estbablished where literature on parent education research, information of parent education programmes, useful instruments for evaluation can be made accessible to frontline workers. Eventually, it is anticipated that evaluation data entry and analysis can be web-based. 2. Key Issues: Parent education in Hong Kong has a long history but is varied in nature, scope and quality to make it a substantial body of social sciences applied knowledge to advance parenting quality. Some key issues include: a) Need for evidence-base for parent education programmes - though there is a long history of parent education programmes conducted by social service agencies in Hong Kong, there is little attempt at systematic evaluation of programme effectiveness. Most programs only conduct client satisfaction surveys and there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of parent education programmes in terms of improvement in child and parent well-being. Evidence-based practice is important to ensure that the service is effective in meeting client needs identified through systematic frameworks. b) Need for promoting evidence-based practice among parent education frontline workers- though the importance of evidence-based practice is recognized by frontline workers and managers, they face various difficulties in systematically evaluating the effectiveness of their work. The difficulties include lack of confidence in research methodology and statistics, lack of access to valid instruments for measuring effectiviess, and lack of manpower and resources for carrying out evaluation activities. c) Need for knowledge of factors associated with success of parent education programmes – though many parent education programmes are being conducted, it is not clear whether certain programme approach or delivery format are particularly suitable to particular groups of clients. If such information is available, it is possible for service providers to target specific programmes to specific clients, to maximize the benefit for clients and to achieve optimum use of resources. This also allows for higher level theorization on the effectiveness of parent education programmes. 3. Problems being addressed a) Bridging research, practice and policy – it is recognized that research, practice and policy should inform each other so that policy and practice are evidence-based. This project capitalizes on existing resources by establishing a large database to inform service providers and policy makers of the effectiveness of parent education programmes. b) Promoting evidence-based practice among parent education frontline workers – the current project aims to continue the meaningful exercise of promoting evidence-based practice among frontline workers by providing more systematic support in training; supply of measurement instruments; data collection, entry and analysis, intitially through research assistant support, and eventually, through the web-based resource bank. c) Providing a clearinghouse for exchange of parent education information – the resource bank provides useful information on parent education research and services to keep frontline workers up-to-date with current research and practice. It also provides an avenue for sharing of best practices. d) Theorization on parent education – with a large database, it is possible to theorize on the effectiveness of parent education programmes in terms of which programme benefits what kind of parents to what extent. e) Comparison across cities and cultures - the use of internationally known questionnaires will also allow for comparison with other programmes internationally, and throw light on cross-cultural application of parent education programmes.


Project Title:Protecting Children from Parental Substance Abuse: Building an assessment and intervention package
Investigator(s):Tsang SKM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:01/2010
Abstract:
Broad Objective Draw on the first-hand experience of parents with substance abuse history and their growing up children, and the experience of frontline social workers to fill immediate knowledge and service gaps on child protection issues in such families. Specific Purposes: (a) Examine the stress and coping of parents with substance abuse history (b) Examine the stress and coping of dependent children under 15 living with parents suffering from substance abuse (c) Design a systematic indigenous framework for the comprehensive assessment of the risk and protective factors facing such children and their families, and make the assessment ready for future validation (d) Develop an intervention package for the professional education and care of such children and families, and make the package ready for future evaluation studies. Key Issues and Problems Addressed: International literature (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, 2003; Dawe, et al. 2007) on population estimates and household surveys indicate that about one in ten children are affected by their live-in parents who indulge in substance abuse. The negative impact can range from neglect, deprivation of stable home environment and developmental opportunities, to psychological as well and physical and even sex abuse. In Hong Kong, while there is heated attention in the past five years on the prevention, early identification and rehabilitation of youth substance abuse problems, there is relatively little attention paid to the early identification and protection of children suffering from parental substance abuse. It was only in 2009 that the PI collaborated with a youth drug counseling centre to develop a resource kit to help parents with substance abuse history to improve their parenting effectiveness and prevent cross-generational drug abuse (Tsang & T.W.G.Hs, 2008; T.W.G.Hs & Tsang, 2009). In the United Kingdom, the aptly-named report “Hidden-Harm: responding to the needs of children of problem drug users” clearly calls for urgent attention to this long-neglected area which can breed child emotional and behavior problems eventually resulting in long term individual and social costs. The PI is also conducting a territory-wide review on the services run by the 61 Integrative family service centres in Hong Kong. In this comprehensive study covering the service policy, model, direction, scope, tools and resources, the workers expressed they urgently need assessment tools that can guide them clearly understand the risks and protective factors facing families at stake, especially parents with substance abuse history. They witness the cross-generational, and cross system (spousal, parent-child, sibling, family and school) impact of such parental problems and need handy packages to best understand, educate and care for these families in context and as a system. The review study by Philips, Glesson & Waites-Garrett (2009) emphasized the need of such packages but found they were few in number and often not properly evaluated. The study will address the needs of both the service users (parents with substance abuse history and their dependent children) and the service providers, mainly social workers, who have to assess family and child needs and provide necessary intervention and referral. It strives to articulate the policy directions of “child-centred”, “family-focused”, “early identification” and “service integration” underlying family services in Hong Kong. Key references Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. (2003). Hidden Harm: responding to the needs of children of problem drug users. London: Home Office. Retrieved on 30th July 2009 at http://www.hertsdef.org/images/pdfs/Hidden%20Harm%20Executive%20Summary1.pdf Dawe, S., Frye, S., Best, D., Lynch, M., Atkinson, J., Evans, C., Harnett, P.H. (2007) Drug Use in the Family: Impacts and Implications for children. Australian National Council on Drugs, Canberra. http://www.ancd.org.au/publications/pdf/rp13_drug_use_in_family.pdf Phillips, S. D., Glesson, J. P., & Waites-Garrett, M. (2009). Substance abusing parents in the criminal justice system: Does substance abuse treatment improve their children’s outcome? Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 48:120-138. Tsang, S.K.M. & T.W.G.Hs. (2008). Engagement of parents in anti-drug work: Research Report and four program manuals on implementation guidelines, prevention programmes for general parents, parents with at risk children and parents with drug-taking history. Commissioned by Narcotics Division, Hong Kong SAR Government. T.W.G.Hs. & Tsang, S.K.M. (2009). Resources kits for providing drug prevention programs for parents including four manuals, one DVD and one website. Commissioned by Narcotics Division, Hong Kong SAR Government.


List of Research Outputs



Researcher : Hu Y

List of Research Outputs

Hu Y. and Chow A.Y.M., The Gendered Migration, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.


Researcher : Hui HSK

List of Research Outputs

Wong D.F.K. and Hui H.S.K., CBT For Chinese People: Current Development and Future Direction, In: Lynn McFarr, Danielle Kaplan and Aleksandra Kalinich, Newsletter of Advances In Cognitive Therapy. Philadelphia, USA, Academy of Cognitive Therapy, 2010, 1,5.


Researcher : Khng NWJ

List of Research Outputs

Khng N.W.J., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan C.L.W., Sense of indebtedness to parents among Singaporean Childhood Cancer Survivors: A protective factor?, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Khng N.W.J., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan C.L.W., Sense of indebtedness to parents among Singaporean childhood cancer survivors: A protective factor?, 2010 World Congress of Social Work and Social Development – The Agenda. IFSW, IASSW, ICSW Joint World Congress, Hong Kong. 2010.


Researcher : Lam CW

Project Title:全球化條件下兩岸三地勞工與社會保障研討會 勞工的困境和社會福利的限制 - 香港實況分析
Investigator(s):Lam CW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:01/2002
Abstract:
N/A




Researcher : Lam CY

List of Research Outputs

Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Fung J.Y.C. and Lam C.Y., Promoting digital inclusion among older people in Hong Kong: Challenges and prospect, The 6th international conference of the East Asian Social Policy Research Network (EASP). 2009.


Researcher : Lam DOB

Project Title:A study of parenting stress and emotion and the child's psychological well-being in Shanghai
Investigator(s):Lam DOB
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:11/2003
Abstract:
To explore the parental stress level, social support, coping style, and anger state of parents of primary school students in Shanghai; to explore the relationship of parental stress with the academic standard of the schools the children attending; to explore the relationship of parental stress, social support, coping style, and anger state of Shanghai parents; to study the relationship of parental anger and the child's psychological well-being.


Project Title:11th UK Joint Social Work Education Conference with the 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference From the students voices - What happens in a self-reflective journey?
Investigator(s):Lam DOB
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:07/2009
Completion Date:07/2009
Abstract:
N/A


Project Title:Use of group work in different social work settings in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Lam DOB, Choy BK
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:01/2010
Abstract:
Group work is one of the methodologies used by social workers in helping clients to work with their own problems under group support and develop meaningful relationships with other people. In the United States, however, the method has been considered under utilized due to the different training emphasis in different universities. The use of the method could be affected by many factors. I have conducted a study of the utilization of group work by social workers some 17 years ago. Given the rapid changes of socioeconomic and political environments, group work has changed tremendously. It is high time to review the current group work practice situation and changes incurred. This research aims to: 1. Delineate the current state of group work practice by Non-government organizations (NGOs) in HK, including the practice model employed and the nature of groups offered. 2. Identify the changes between current group work practice with group work practice over a decade ago 3. Extract the factors affecting group work practice in Hong Kong 4. Draws implications on the group work training of social workers and agency management


List of Research Outputs

Chan S.S.C., Wong C.N., Leung A.Y.M., Mak Y.W., Fong D.Y.T., Lam D.O.B. and Lam T.H., Gender differences in quitting behavior and intention among youth smokers who seek smoking cessation counseling through a youth quitline in Hong Kong, Society for Reserach on Nicotine and Tobacco First Asian Regional Conference: Developing Research Infrastructure and Skills to Meet FCTC Obligations, Bangkok, Thailand. 28-31 October. 2009.
Chan S.S.C., Leung Y.P., Leung A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B., Fong D.Y.T. and Lam T.H., Impact of the smoking free legislation on youth quitting-related behaviors in Hong Kong via a smoking cessation hotline, Circulation. American Heart Association, 2010, 122(2): e87.
Cheng F. and Lam D.O.B., How is street life? An examination of the subjective wellbeing of street children in China., International Social Work. London, Sage, 2010, 53: 353–365.
Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B. and Chan F.P., Promoting Reflexivity among Social Work Students: The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Course ‘Knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World’, 11th UK Joint Social Work Education Conference with the 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, Hertfordshire, England. 2009.
Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan F.P., From the students’ voices - What happens in a self-reflective journey?, 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference and 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, organized by the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre, Higher Education Academy (SWAP), at Hatfield, U.K., July 8-10, . 2009.
Lam D.O.B., Promoting reflexivity among social work students: The development and preliminary evaluation of a course 'Knowing ourselves, knowing our world.', 11th UK Joint Social Work Education Conference with the 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference. 2009.
Lam D.O.B., Students' experience of small group in PBL – A Hong Kong experience. , the 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development at Hong Kong, 10 – 14 June, 2010.
Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B., Chung L.P. and Chan F.P., Cultivating Self-reflective Ability In Social Work Students: An Evaluative Study On A Course "knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World:, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development, Hong Kong, China, June 10-14. 2010.
Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B. and Chan F.P., Promoting Reflexivity among Social Work Students: The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Course ‘Knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World., 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference and 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, organized by the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre, Higher Education Academy (SWAP), at Hatfield, U.K., July 8-10. 2009.
Tsang S.K.M., Leung J.C.B., Law C.K., Chu Yeung P.P.Y., Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M. and Yeung K.C., Building Effective Family Services: Review on the Implementation of the Integrated Family Service Centre Service Mode, Hong Kong, Social Welfare Department, 2010.
Wong C.N., Chan S.S.C., Leung A.Y.M., Fong D.Y.T., Mak Y.W., Leung Y.P., Chik B.C.B., Lam D.O.B. and Lam T.H., Implementation of Youth Quitline to help youth and young adults quit smoking: An experience in Hong Kong, The 3rd Cross-Strait Conference on Tabacco Control, Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. Hong Kong, 2009, 155.
Wong C.N., Chan S.S.C., Leung A.Y.M., Fong D.Y.T., Mak Y.W., Leung Y.P., Chik B.C.B., Lam D.O.B. and Lam T.H., Tobacco control policy has an indirect impact to help youth get rid of the risk of future cardiovascular disease: The side on smoking cessation motivation., Circulation. 2010, 122: e276.
Wong C.N., Chan S.S.C., Mak Y.W., Leung A.Y.M., Fong D.Y.T., Chik B.C.B., Lam D.O.B. and Lam T.H., When will youth smokers make a quit attempt and resume smoking after receiving telephone counseling? A longitudinal study., Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 16th Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 24-27 February 2010. Maryland, USA, 29.
Wong C.N., Chan S.S.C., Leung A.Y.M., Fong D.Y.T., Leung Y.P., Chik B.C.B., Lam D.O.B. and Lam T.H., Who called the Youth Quitline? A comparison of characteristics between youth smokers in school and in the workplace., Proceedings of the 4th Hong Kong Nursing Forum, School of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, June 4-5, 2010.
Wong C.N., Chan S.S.C., Mak Y.W., Leung A.Y.M., Fong D.Y.T., Leung Y.P., Chik B.C.B., Lam D.O.B. and Lam T.H., Youth quitline: A peer-led hotline to assist youth quit smoking, The Hong Kong Public Health Forum 2009. Hong Kong, 51.


Researcher : Law BCM

List of Research Outputs

Hui E.K.P., Tsang S.K.M. and Law B.C.M., A secret book of bullying prevention, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme (Secondary One Curriculum). (Lesson plan on web: http://www.paths.hk/download/tier1_new.asp). Hong Kong, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood, 2010.
Hui E.K.P., Tsang S.K.M. and Law B.C.M., What should I do?, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme (Secondary One Curriculum). (Lesson plan on web: http://www.paths.hk/download/tier1_new.asp). Hong Kong, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood, 2010.
Tsang S.K.M., Hui E.K.P. and Law B.C.M., Incidents of bullying, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme (Secondary One Curriculum). (Lesson plan on web: http://www.paths.hk/download/tier1_new.asp). Hong Kong, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood, 2010.
Tsang S.K.M., Hui E.K.P., Shek D...T...L. and Law B.C.M., Subjective outcome evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Findings based on the perspective of the program implementers (Secondary 1 program), TheScientificWorldJOURNAL. 2010, 10: 201-210.
Tsang S.K.M., Hui E.K.P. and Law B.C.M., Subjective outcome evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Findings based on the perspective of the program implementers in the second year of the full implementation phase (Secondary One Level)., International Public Health Journal. 2009.


Researcher : Law CK

Project Title:Social Policy Association Annual Conference 2009 Challenges in comparative study - the case of a comparison study of urban renewal policies in six Asian Cities" in the SPA conference
Investigator(s):Law CK
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:06/2009
Completion Date:07/2009
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Chui E.W.T., Law C.K., Wong Y.C. and Lee C.K.M., Registered social workers and continuing professional development. Report submitted to Hong Kong Social Workers Registration Board., 2010.
Law C.K., Wong Y.C., Ho L.S., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V.W.P., Case study report: Regeneration of the South Bank, London. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority. , 2009.
Law C.K., Chua H...W..., Yeung K.C., Wong Y.C., Chan M..., Wong P..., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V..., Final Report of the Consultancy Work for the Development of an "Enhanced Placement Services Model", Report submitted to Employment Retraining Board. Hong Kong, Department of Social Work and Socail Administration, HKU, 2010.
Law C.K., Yu R.W.M. and Ho L.S., What has gone wrong in the planning and development of the City of Misery: the case of Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong, East Asian Social Policy international conference "Global economic crisis and welfare restructuring in East and West. 2009, 14.
Tsang S.K.M., Leung J.C.B., Law C.K., Chu Yeung P.P.Y., Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M. and Yeung K.C., Building Effective Family Services: Review on the Implementation of the Integrated Family Service Centre Service Mode, Hong Kong, Social Welfare Department, 2010.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Fung J.Y.C. and Lam C.Y., Promoting digital inclusion among older people in Hong Kong: Challenges and prospect, The 6th international conference of the East Asian Social Policy Research Network (EASP). 2009.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Chen H., Lee V.W.P. and Chan L., Report of the study of social network in old urban areas. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority (URA), 2010.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K. and Ho L.S., Social impact tracking study on Hai Tan Street/Kweilin Street And Pei Ho Street redevelopment project. First tracking study report. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority., 2010.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Fung J.Y.C. and Lee V.W.P., Digital divide and social inclusion: Policy challenge for social development in Hong Kong and South Korea., Journal Of Asian Public Policy. 2010, 3: 34-52.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K. and Ho L.S., Social impact tracking study on Hai Tan Street/Kweilin Street And Pei Ho Street redevelopment project. Baseline study report. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority., 2009.


Researcher : Lee CKM

List of Research Outputs

Chui E.W.T., Law C.K., Wong Y.C. and Lee C.K.M., Registered social workers and continuing professional development. Report submitted to Hong Kong Social Workers Registration Board., 2010.


Researcher : Lee FWL

Project Title:The Feasibility of Adopting a Restorative Justice (RJ) Approach for Young Offenders in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Lee FWL
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:10/2007
Completion Date:09/2009
Abstract:
The present proposed study has the following objectives: (1) To investigate how different concerned parties understand the conception and practice of RJ; (2) To understand concerned parties’ views on the pros and cons of RJ; (3) To assess the feasibility of adopting the RJ model in the juvenile justice system in Hong Kong; and (4) To recommend appropriate RJ practice(s) for young offenders in Hong Kong if the adoption of the model is feasible.


Project Title:THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION OF OUTREACHING SOCIAL WORK (OSW) SERVICE WITH YOUTH-AT-RISK IN HONG KONG
Investigator(s):Lee FWL
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:12/2009
Abstract:
(1) To identify the therapeutic elements that OSW service has with the clients. (2) Based on the findings, to make recommendations for further improvement of the service.


List of Research Outputs

Lee F.W.L., Adventure-based counselling (ABC) approach: Working with young people in a world of conflicts, International Journal of Child Health and Human Development. 2009, 2(4): 403-8.
Lee F.W.L. and Wong C.S.Y., Job Satisfaction of Outreach Youth Workers in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Journal of Social Work. Singapore, 2009, 43(2): 121-44.
Lee F.W.L., The Feasibility of Adopting a Restorative Approach to Young Offenders in Hong Kong: A Public Survey, Contemporary Justice Review. USA, 2009, 12(4): 469-83.
Lee F.W.L., Working with Young Night Drifters in Hong Kong, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.


Researcher : Lee GL

List of Research Outputs

Lee G.L., Living through fertility less: The experience of Hong Kong Chinese women and men after in vitro fertilization. 2010.


Researcher : Lee VWP

List of Research Outputs

Law C.K., Wong Y.C., Ho L.S., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V.W.P., Case study report: Regeneration of the South Bank, London. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority. , 2009.
Lee V.W.P. and Wong Y.C., A study of the impacts on the migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta, China, under the financial tsunami, The 6th international conference of the East Asian Social Policy Research Network (EASP). 2009.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Chen H., Lee V.W.P. and Chan L., Report of the study of social network in old urban areas. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority (URA), 2010.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Fung J.Y.C. and Lee V.W.P., Digital divide and social inclusion: Policy challenge for social development in Hong Kong and South Korea., Journal Of Asian Public Policy. 2010, 3: 34-52.
Wong Y.C., Yip H.K., Lee V.W.P. and Lo R., Survey on the use of Internet final report. Report submitted to the Office of Chief Government Information Officer (OGCIO), HKSAR Government, 2010.


Researcher : Lee WY

Project Title:Seminar and Workshop: One Therapist, Four Cultures One Therapist, Four Cultures: Working with Families in Greater China
Investigator(s):Lee WY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:06/2002
Abstract:
N/A


Project Title:Families in the Asian Region: Challenge and Opportunities
Investigator(s):Lee WY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Professional Services Development Assistance Scheme
Start Date:08/2006
Abstract:
Following the International Conference on Couples in 2005 which was funded by PSDAS, the development of a Consortium of Institutes on Family in the Asian Region (CIFA) was conceived and HKU was entrusted the task to take lead in its formation. The HKU is committed to carry out this project with the aims to: position Hong Kong as Asia's world city and promote its competitiveness in the field of family practice and studies. - create a regional forum and pledge for multi-disciplinary collaboration in the development of strategies and policies on the family. - consolidate the leadership of Hong Kong in family research and clinical practive, and help sustain the on-going professional networking and collaboration in the region. - create a regional hub for better sharing and understanding of the challenges, family health. To acheive these objective, a regional symposium will be organized to share findings in evidence-based research and experience in clinical practice, and provide opportunities for professional consultation and trans-disciplinary training.


List of Research Outputs

Lee W.Y., Advanced Intensive Course on Clinical Supervision, Summer Intensive 2008, The Minuchin Center for the Family. 2009.
Lee W.Y., Ng M.L., Yung J.W. and Cheung B.K.L., Capturing children's response to parental conflict and making use of it, Family Process. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, 49: 43-58.
Lee W.Y., Capturing children’s response to parental conflicts and making use of it, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development: The Agenda Pre-Conference Workshop. 2010.
Lee W.Y., Consultant, Hong Kong Association of Specific Learning Difficulties, Hong Kong. 2009.
Lee W.Y., Council Member, Family Council, HKSAR Government. 2009.
Lee W.Y., Honorary Consultant, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, P.R. China. 2009.
Lee W.Y., Member of Editoral Advisory Board, Family Process. 2010.
Lee W.Y., The Fun and Challenge in Conducting Family Therapy with Asian Chinese Families, Satir World Conference 2010. 2010.
Lee W.Y., The Power Of Structural Family Therapy, Summer Intensive 2008, The Minuchin Center for the Family. 2009.
Lee W.Y., Training of Marriage and Family Therapy, Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan. 2009.
Lee W.Y., Training of Marriage and Family Therapy, Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan. 2010.
Lee W.Y., Training of Structural Marriage and Family Therapy, New Health, Beijing, P.R. China. 2010.
Lee W.Y., Training of Structural Marriage and Family Therapy, Shanghai Mental Health Institute, Shanghai, P.R. China. 2010.
Lee W.Y., Training of Structural Marriage and Family Therapy, Shanghai Mental Health Institute, Shanghai, P.R. China. 2009.
Lee W.Y., Training of Structural Marriage and Family Therapy, Shenzhen Mental Health Institute, Shenzhen. 2009.
Lee W.Y., Training of Structural Marriage and Family Therapy, Shenzhen Mental Health Institute, Shenzhen. 2010.


Researcher : Leung GSM

List of Research Outputs

Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M. and Chan F.P., From the students’ voices - What happens in a self-reflective journey?, 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference and 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, organized by the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre, Higher Education Academy (SWAP), at Hatfield, U.K., July 8-10, . 2009.
Leung G.S.M., Yeung K.C. and Wong D.F.K., Academic Stressors and Anxiety in Children: The Role of Paternal Support, Journal of Child and Family Studies. Netherlands, Springer Netherlands, 2010, 19 (1): 1062-1024.
Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B., Chung L.P. and Chan F.P., Cultivating Self-reflective Ability In Social Work Students: An Evaluative Study On A Course "knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World:, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development, Hong Kong, China, June 10-14. 2010.
Leung G.S.M., Chow A.Y.M., Lam D.O.B. and Chan F.P., Promoting Reflexivity among Social Work Students: The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Course ‘Knowing Ourselves, Knowing Our World., 11th Joint Social Work Education Conference and 3rd UK Social Work Research Conference, organized by the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre, Higher Education Academy (SWAP), at Hatfield, U.K., July 8-10. 2009.
Leung G.S.M., The Effect of Academic Stress and Parental Support on the Mental Health of Primary School Students in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Conference on Promoting Community Mental Health – Issues, Achievements and Visioning into the Future, Hong Kong, China, December 15-17. 2009.
Tsang S.K.M., Leung J.C.B., Law C.K., Chu Yeung P.P.Y., Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M. and Yeung K.C., Building Effective Family Services: Review on the Implementation of the Integrated Family Service Centre Service Mode, Hong Kong, Social Welfare Department, 2010.


Researcher : Leung JCB

Project Title:The impact of social assistance on social exclusion in China: a longitudinal study
Investigator(s):Leung JCB, Wong YC, Xu XB
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:General Research Fund (GRF)
Start Date:01/2007
Completion Date:10/2009
Abstract:
(1) To document a detailed picture on the dynamics of social exclusion - circumstances, livelihood, risks, changes and reponses experienced by the social assistance recipients - what can happen when people suffer from a combination of linked problems. (2) To examine the delivery process of the social assistance programme - accessibility and adequacy. (3) To access the impact and effect of the social assistance programme on targeted families - why and how people have to be dependent on welfare, or can exit from the 'social assistance career'.


List of Research Outputs

Tsang S.K.M., Leung J.C.B., Law C.K., Chu Yeung P.P.Y., Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M. and Yeung K.C., Building Effective Family Services: Review on the Implementation of the Integrated Family Service Centre Service Mode, Hong Kong, Social Welfare Department, 2010.


Researcher : Leung PPY

Project Title:Meaning in end-of-life: The development of an empirical model for palliative care patients in the Chinese cultural context
Investigator(s):Leung PPY, Chan CLW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:03/2009
Completion Date:06/2010
Abstract:
Background and key issues Palliative care aims at providing holistic care to achieve the best quality of life for patients [1]. In addition to alleviating pain and physical symptoms, caring for psychosocial and spiritual needs of patients are stressed in palliative services [1]. In fact, symptoms relating to psychological and existential distress are more prevalent than physical symptoms for many patients with advanced illness [2, 3]. In the past two decades, the importance of spiritual and existential concerns among patients diagnosed with cancer has been increasingly recognized. Moadel et.al. [4] conducted a study on the spiritual and existential needs of cancer patients of diverse ethnic origins. Results indicate that patients need help to find hope, meaning in life and meaning in death. In a qualitative study on terminally ill patients in Sweden, Bolmsjo [5] suggests that existential issues related to meaning, relations, autonomy, guilt, and dignity are common concerns among the respondents. Studying quality of life among advanced patients, Cohen et.al. [6] find that existential well-being is an important determinant of QOL. Similar results are found in a study conducted in Hong Kong. Lo (Co-investigator) and colleagues [7] find that existential domain is the most important domain in predicting overall QOL among Chinese palliative patients. Additionally, Chochinov et al. [8] find that hope seems to depend more on patient’s ability to maintain a sense of meaning and purpose than on prognostic expectation in their studies with Canadian and Australian palliative care patients. Most importantly, increasing evidences suggest that meaning and spiritual/existential well-being can protect against depression, hopelessness, desire for hastened death [9-14], and foster a sense of inner peace, enjoyment and better quality of life in patients with advanced cancer [14-17]. All the above has pointed to the importance of existential concerns and meaning for patients, regardless of diversity in ethnical origins, when they approach the end of life. The realization of the finiteness of life and the experience of suffering seem to engender a sense of urgency and significance to search for meaning and purpose among patients in advanced stage [18]. While existential concerns may be a source of distress, the process of questing for meaning may bring forth a profound spiritual reflection in patients and prompt a reappraisal of one’s goals, value, purpose and relationship with self, others and the world. Seeking and living out life fully with meaning appears to facilitate a sense of coherence in patients during the end-of-life [19]. While there is a growing body of research on meaning among cancer patients facing an advanced diagnosis, there is a dearth of corresponding study on the Eastern population. Given that culture influences people’s understanding and interpretation of experience, there is a concern about the extent to which findings on meaning in end-of-life can be uncritically applied in another ethnic and cultural group. Chinese people are having greater difficulties in expressing strong emotions [20, 21]. They are also known to be more relational, deriving meaning from the communal and the interpersonal aspects of their lives [22]. Hence, their meaning framework may be different from their Western counterparts. In this regard, investigation on how Chinese patients make meaning at the end-of-life is warranted and findings will serve to fill the knowledge gap as well as benefit significantly practitioners in addressing existential/spiritual concerns of patients during the end-of-life. Work done by us In studying meaning reconstruction among breast cancer patients, the Principal Investigator (Leung) finds that selfhood reconstruction is an important component in Chinese women’ illness adjustment and meaning making process [23]. The Chinese women in her study construct meaning and a sense of self from intrapersonal (a sense of inner strengths), interpersonal (fulfilling cultural obligations and development of a deepened relationship with other people), and transpersonal (connectedness with God and the Nature) domains, from which they also derived coping strengths [24]. Chinese women also utilize cultural concepts such as “self realization through hardship”, “suffering as karma” and “letting nature to take its course” in their attempts to make sense from their cancer experiences. As the study focused on primary stage patients, further investigation using the meaning reconstruction framework to understand how patients with more advanced stage describe their meaning will illuminate valuable information. Additionally, the Principal Investigator develops the timeline autobiographical interview technique (a qualitative interview method that combined life review with narrative story-telling) to help patients articulate and reconstruct meaning in her meaning reconstruction study [25]. The technique can readily be adopted in other studies that investigate meaning. In a multi-centre study on patients’ QOL in Hong Kong, the Co-Investigator (Lo) and his team find that there are unique cultural facets that worth attention in understanding Chinese patients’ perception on QOL [7]. They find that “face” (feeling being respected) is one of the unique cultural factors relevant to patients’ QOL [7]. It is likely that “face” has a unique place in Chinese people’s frame of meaning and thus may have potential implications in psycho-therapeutic intervention. As reported earlier, Lo et.al. [7] find that existential domain contribute significantly to Chinese patients’ overall QOL. All of these pinpoint the potential contributions of investigating in-depth the meaning and existential concerns of Chinese patients during the end-of-life. Objectives Building on the previous work of the Investigators, the objective of this study is to develop an empirically-based and culturally attuned model of meaning that describes meaning of life from the perspective of Chinese people living with advanced cancer, and what supports or undermine their personal sense of meaning. The specific research questions include: a. What are the existential concerns, within a framework of meaning, of Chinese people with advanced cancer? b. How do advanced patients perceive meaning of life? What are their sources of meaning? c. How may meaning play a role in patients’ coping and living with advanced illness?


List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Chan C.H.Y., Ho T.H., Ho A.H.Y., Tin A.F., Chow A.Y.M., Leung K.T., Leung P.P.Y. and Ng S.M., 2010 Communication Awards, In: www.enable.hk, International Award for Creative Output to the Project ENABLE Website. 2010.
Chan C.L.W., Leung P.P.Y., Ng O.K.P., Wong P.Y. and Leung K.T., Integrative Eastern Body-mind-spirit healing - arts and science of acceptance and transformation of pain and suffering, Convergence and Collisions: Disease, Religion and Healing in Asia, Centre for the Humanities and Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 25-25 March, 2010.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming Bitterness into Enlightenment - Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, In: Fu Dan University, Keynote Address in the Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming bitterness into Enlightenment – Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. Shanghai, China, 5 December. 2009.
Hung A.T.F., Leung P.P.Y., Yau P.K., Sin Y.W.C., Mak M.M.S., Chau P.W.P. and Lui J.Y.M., The effect of a Satir-based psychosocial group in enhancing self esteem and interpersonal relationship of persons with chronic illness in Hong Kong: A randomized control trial, the International Conference on Promoting Chronic Care: Towards a Community-based Chronic Care Model for Asia. Hong Kong, 7-10 January. 2010.
Kwok A.Y.Y., Chau P.W.P., Leung P.P.Y. and Wong D.F.K., Evidence-based Psychosocial Service for People with Chronic Illness & their Families: Outcomes on Mental Health & Wellness, Symposium on Community Engagement V: Family - The Key to a Healthy Community, organized by the Hong Kong East Cluster of Hospital Authority, 15 May. 2010.
Leung P.P.Y. and Au Yeung F.S.W., Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit Approach in Social Work Intervention, Invited Workshop in The Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development, Hong Kong, 10-15 June. 2010.
Leung P.P.Y., Sin Y.W.C., Yau P.K., Mak M.M.S., Hung A.T.F. and Lui J.Y.M., A Randomized Control Trial on Impact of a Satir-based Intervention on Psychosocial Outcomes of Chinese People with Chronic Illness, The 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development, Hong Kong, June 10-14. 2010.
Leung P.P.Y., Sin Y.W.C., Yau P.K., Mak M.M.S., Hung A.T.F. and Lui J.Y.M., Best Abstract (Researcher) Award, The 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Leung P.P.Y., Connecting the body, mind and spirit - A case of embodiment of grief and meaning reconstruction, Symposium on Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit Therapy organized by The University of Hong Kong. Hong Kong,10th July,. Hong Kong, 2009.
Leung P.P.Y., Hung A.T.F., Lui J.Y.M., Sin Y.W.C., Yau P.K. and Mak M.M.S., Peace within, Peace between: Enhancing interpersonal relationship using a Satir-based group intervention in a community rehabilitation setting, Satir World Conference 2010, Hong Kong, 15-19, June. 2010.
Leung P.P.Y., What a beautiful life - Talking about life and death with our patients, Invited Workshop in the International Conference on Promoting Chronic Care: Towards a Community-based Chronic Care Model for Asia. Hong Kong, 7-10 January. 2010.
Liu K.H., Leung P.P.Y., So A., Kwan J.C.Y., Chan O.K.M., Wong T.K.H. and Lui J.Y.M., Love Life as it is: An Evaluation on a Life and Death Educational Group for People with Chronic Diseases in Hong Kong, International Conference on Promoting Chronic Care: Towards a Community-based Chronic Care Model for Asia. Hong Kong, 7-10 January. 2010.
Lo P.H.Y., Chan C.L.W., Ho T.H. and Leung P.P.Y., A 3-year randomized controlled trial on the impact of brief psychosocial interventions on breast cancer survivorship, Society for Social Work and Research Conference 2010 Social Work Research: A World of Possibilities. San Francisco USA, 2010.
Ng O.K.P., Leung P.P.Y., Chan C.L.W. and Lui J.Y.M., Let the dying shine: Are they lessons of dying or lessons of living? Meaning making of patients with terminal cancer in Chinese cultural context, The 16th Hong Kong International Cancer Congress, Hong Kong, 5-7 November. 2009.
Sha W., Chan C.L.W., Leung P.P.Y. and Ho A.H.Y., The meaning and continuing bond with the diseased – A study of bereaved parents on the lost of their children , In: Fu Dan University, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.


Researcher : Li H

List of Research Outputs

Li H., Social support and its constructed meaning in the experience of people with physical disabilities: A qualitative study in the city of Changchun in China. 2009.


Researcher : Li J

List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming Bitterness into Enlightenment - Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, In: Fu Dan University, Keynote Address in the Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming bitterness into Enlightenment – Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. Shanghai, China, 5 December. 2009.


Researcher : Li J

List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming Bitterness into Enlightenment - Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, In: Fu Dan University, Keynote Address in the Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming bitterness into Enlightenment – Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. Shanghai, China, 5 December. 2009.


Researcher : Liu T

List of Research Outputs

Chan E.K.L., Liu T., Choi W.M. and Zhu Y., In-law conflict and intimate partner violence, Collection of Women's studies. 2010, 98(2): 29-34.


Researcher : Lou VW

Project Title:Protecting social Isolation and Loneliness: Attributions and Coping Strategies among Older Adults Living Alone in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Lou VW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:09/2009
Abstract:
Purpose of the proposed project This study aims to examine attributions and coping strategies used by older adults living alone in Hong Kong in protecting from social isolation and loneliness. Key issues identified and problems being addressed Social isolation and loneliness in older people have been recognized to have negative impacts on their well-being and quality of life internationally and locally. In the World Health Organization’s active aging framework (2002), social isolation is identified as one of the psychological risk factors that determine whether an older adult can achieve active aging or not. Social isolation is also argued to be associated with various risks for ill-health, for example, poor eating habits, more prone to barriers of their physical environment, lack of housing safety, increased risks for disability and early death, and is linked to a decline in mental well-being. As compared to international literature, the prevalence of loneliness among Chinese older people is estimated to increase in the context of social and economic changes (Yang & Victor, 2008). In addition, feelings of loneliness in Chinese elders would be more harmful. Studies supported a relational hypothesis in regard to the relationship between loneliness and psychological well-being, which proposed that the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction was stronger among a culture that has strong expectations of social cohesion like Chinese culture (Goodwin, et al., 2001). In Hong Kong, the impacts of social isolation and loneliness on older adults can be inferred from literature on living arrangement and family structure change, childless elders, living alone, and loneliness study. 1. According to the 2006 by-census, about 11.6% of the older persons live alone as compared to 5.4% of the whole population. About 98,924 older persons live alone (Census and Statistics Department, 2008). 2. According to a study comparing the elderly living alone and living with others in the community, elders living alone were found to be “younger and more likely to be single, divorced or widowed. Living alone older adults rated their health as being poorer. Living alone older people appeared to have a smaller network of relatives, have less frequent contact with their relatives and received less emotional and instrumental support. Further, living alone older people had a higher level of financial strain, report more depressive symptoms, and have a lower level of satisfaction with life” (Chou & Chi, 2000). In sum, elderly people living alone are more likely to suffer from limited social support, financial difficulties, and have poor mental health. 3. Loneliness was found to be a significant contributing factor correlating with depressive symptoms among community dwelling older adults older than 75 years (Chou & Chi, 2005). Loneliness was also found to have predictive power for depression in an 8-month follow up longitudinal study among community dwelling older adults (Chou, 2006). Theoretical approaches in understanding social isolation and loneliness Even though terms like loneliness, social isolation and living alone are often used interchangeably, Weiss (1973) published a milestone book “Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation,” which distinguished loneliness studies from other related study areas. A decade later, Peplau and Perlman (1982) contributed a book “Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy,” which further consolidated conceptualization, theoretical approaches, and interventions about loneliness. In the past thirty years, loneliness as an area of study has attracted a bulk of studies as well as developing intervention strategies.


Project Title:Family Caregivers for the Frail and Very Elderly: Well-being and Needs in Hong Kong and Shanghai
Investigator(s):Lou VW, Kwan CW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:General Research Fund (GRF)
Start Date:10/2009
Abstract:
1) To examine and develop a model that containing factors that contribute to well-being of the caregivers by adopting ecological perspective in Shanghai; 2) Validate the developed ecological model in Hong Kong context; 3) To identify service needs of family caregivers who may be at particular risk of psychological distress and/or ill-health; 4) To draw policy implications for caregiving policies in Hong Kong and Shanghai.


Project Title:62nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America The Family Caregiving Burden: The Role of Gender and Care Receiver/Care Provider Relations The Role of Psychosocial Factors in Long-Term Care Utilization among Elderly Chinese
Investigator(s):Lou VW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:11/2009
Completion Date:11/2009
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Chan L.Y., Fok S.Y., Lou V.W. and Tsui K.M., Spirituality: Conceptualization and its implication in social work practice in the Chinese context, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work & Social Development: The Agenda. June 10-14, Hong Kong, 2010, 178.
Leung A.Y.M., Lou V.W., Chan K.S., Yung A. and Chi I., Care management service and falls prevention: A case-control study in a Chinese population, Journal of Aging and Health. 2010, 22(3): 348-361.
Leung A.Y.M., Chi I., Lou V.W. and Chan K.S., Psychosocial risk factors associated with falls among Chinese community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong, Health and Social Care in the Community. 2010, 18(3): 272-281.
Lou V.W., A final report on a preliminary study on the prevalence rate of depressive symptoms of older adults receiving community-based and residential long-term care submitted to Services for Elderly, Caritas Hong Kong, 2010.
Lou V.W., Case management mode in community-care services in long-term care in Hong Kong, A symposium on community-based long-term care services in Hong Kong: From theory to practice. Hong Kong, 2009.
Lou V.W., Chi I., Kwan C.W. and Leung A.Y.M., Changes in the functioning health of nursing home residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairement, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work & Social Development: The Agenda. June 10-14, Hong Kong, 2010, 164.
Lou V.W., Lo S.S.C., Chan K.N. and Cheung P.P.Y., Depressive symptoms in frail older adults receiving community-based long-term care: Prevalence, associated factors, and intervention, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work & Social Development: The Agenda. June 10-14, Hong Kong, 2010, 238.
Lou V.W., Depressive symptoms of older adults in Hong Kong - The role of grandparent reward, Intergenerational Family Support for Chinese Older Adults: New Perspectives on Chinese Culture and Society. Los Angeles, University of Southern California, 2010, 14.
Lou V.W., Enhancing personal growth for social work students: Using the Satir model, The Satir Journal: Transformational Systemic Therapy. 2009, 3(2): 5-21.
Lou V.W., Life satisfaction of older adults in Hong Kong: The role of social support from grandchildren, Social Indicators Research. 2010, 95(3): 377-391.
Lou V.W. and Wong C., Material security and interacting social being: The case of "Hard to reach" elders in Hong Kong, Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. 2009, 13(1): S372.
Lou V.W., Outstanding paper presentation award, Sixteenth Annual Congress of Gerontology, Hong Kong Association of Gerontology. 2009.
Lou V.W., Chui E.W.T., Leung A.Y.M., Kwan C.W., Chi I. and Leung Wong E.K.S., Psychological factors affecting long-term care utilization in Hong Kong, A symposium on Community-based Long-term Care in Hong Kong: From Theory to Practice. Hong Kong, 2009.
Lou V.W., The family caregiving burden: The role of gender and care receiver/care provider relations, The Gerontological Society of America 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting. Atlanta, GA, The Gerontological Society of America, 2009, 134.
Lou V.W., Chui E.W.T., Leung A.Y.M., Kwan C.W., Chi I. and Leung E., The role of psychosocial factors in long-term care utilization among elderly Chinese, The Gerontological Society of America 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting. Atlanta, GA, The Gerontological Society of America, 2009, 111.
Lou V.W., Kwan C.W., Chi I. and Leung A.Y.M., Willingness to provide care of family caregivers for community-dwelling older adults: Trends in Hong Kong 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work & Social Development: The Agenda. June 10-14, Hong Kong, 2010, 163.
Lou V.W. and 童紅梅 , 中國老年社會工作者的能力要求: 一個質性研究的初步探討, 可持續發展與社會工作: 實務與前瞻 - 華人社區社會工作專業研討會. 天津, 南開大學 / 香港社會工作人員協會, 2009, 42.
Lou V.W. and 盧家詠 , 新移民婦女全面觀, Annual Gender Role Workshop 2008: Migrant women from China. 香港, 香港中文大學亞太研究所 性別研究中心, 2009, 68.
Lou V.W., 方案開發, In: 顧東輝, 社會工作評估. 北京, 高等教育出版社, 2009, 187-208.
Lou V.W., 社會工作服務, In: 南登崑 and 黃曉琳, 實用康復醫學. 北京, 人民衛生出版社, 2009, 709-715.
Lou V.W., 院舍長者精神健康的需要, 嗇色園院舍服務質素研討會, 2010.
Mjelde-Mossey L.A., Chi I., Lubben J. and Lou V.W., Relationship between productive activities, family relations, and aging well for elders in China, Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work. 2009, 18(4): 292-308.
Ng J.W., Chan K.N. and Lou V.W., Different perceptions of grandparents' roles and functions across the three generations in Hong Kong, 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work & Social Development: The Agenda. June 10-14, Hong Kong, 2010, 116.
Wong C.K. and Lou V.W., "I Wish to be Self-Reliant": Aspiration for self-reliance, need and life satisfaction, and exit dilemma of welfare recipients in Hong Kong, Social Indicators Research. 2010, 95(3): 519-534.
Wong M.C.S., Tsoi K.K.F., Ng S.S.M., Lou V.W., Choi S.Y.P., Ling K.W.K., Chan F.K.L., Griffiths S.M. and Sung J.J.Y., A comparison of the acceptance of FIT and colonoscopy in colorectal cancer screening: a prospective study among Chinese, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 2010, 32(1): 74-82.
Yang L. and Lou V.W., Applying the Satir model of counseling in Mainland China: Illustrated with case studies, The Satir Journal: Transformational Systemic Therapy. 2010, 4(1): 24-52.


Researcher : Lou W

Project Title:Protecting social Isolation and Loneliness: Attributions and Coping Strategies among Older Adults Living Alone in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Lou VW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:09/2009
Abstract:
Purpose of the proposed project This study aims to examine attributions and coping strategies used by older adults living alone in Hong Kong in protecting from social isolation and loneliness. Key issues identified and problems being addressed Social isolation and loneliness in older people have been recognized to have negative impacts on their well-being and quality of life internationally and locally. In the World Health Organization’s active aging framework (2002), social isolation is identified as one of the psychological risk factors that determine whether an older adult can achieve active aging or not. Social isolation is also argued to be associated with various risks for ill-health, for example, poor eating habits, more prone to barriers of their physical environment, lack of housing safety, increased risks for disability and early death, and is linked to a decline in mental well-being. As compared to international literature, the prevalence of loneliness among Chinese older people is estimated to increase in the context of social and economic changes (Yang & Victor, 2008). In addition, feelings of loneliness in Chinese elders would be more harmful. Studies supported a relational hypothesis in regard to the relationship between loneliness and psychological well-being, which proposed that the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction was stronger among a culture that has strong expectations of social cohesion like Chinese culture (Goodwin, et al., 2001). In Hong Kong, the impacts of social isolation and loneliness on older adults can be inferred from literature on living arrangement and family structure change, childless elders, living alone, and loneliness study. 1. According to the 2006 by-census, about 11.6% of the older persons live alone as compared to 5.4% of the whole population. About 98,924 older persons live alone (Census and Statistics Department, 2008). 2. According to a study comparing the elderly living alone and living with others in the community, elders living alone were found to be “younger and more likely to be single, divorced or widowed. Living alone older adults rated their health as being poorer. Living alone older people appeared to have a smaller network of relatives, have less frequent contact with their relatives and received less emotional and instrumental support. Further, living alone older people had a higher level of financial strain, report more depressive symptoms, and have a lower level of satisfaction with life” (Chou & Chi, 2000). In sum, elderly people living alone are more likely to suffer from limited social support, financial difficulties, and have poor mental health. 3. Loneliness was found to be a significant contributing factor correlating with depressive symptoms among community dwelling older adults older than 75 years (Chou & Chi, 2005). Loneliness was also found to have predictive power for depression in an 8-month follow up longitudinal study among community dwelling older adults (Chou, 2006). Theoretical approaches in understanding social isolation and loneliness Even though terms like loneliness, social isolation and living alone are often used interchangeably, Weiss (1973) published a milestone book “Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation,” which distinguished loneliness studies from other related study areas. A decade later, Peplau and Perlman (1982) contributed a book “Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy,” which further consolidated conceptualization, theoretical approaches, and interventions about loneliness. In the past thirty years, loneliness as an area of study has attracted a bulk of studies as well as developing intervention strategies.


Project Title:Family Caregivers for the Frail and Very Elderly: Well-being and Needs in Hong Kong and Shanghai
Investigator(s):Lou VW, Kwan CW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:General Research Fund (GRF)
Start Date:10/2009
Abstract:
1) To examine and develop a model that containing factors that contribute to well-being of the caregivers by adopting ecological perspective in Shanghai; 2) Validate the developed ecological model in Hong Kong context; 3) To identify service needs of family caregivers who may be at particular risk of psychological distress and/or ill-health; 4) To draw policy implications for caregiving policies in Hong Kong and Shanghai.


Project Title:62nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America The Family Caregiving Burden: The Role of Gender and Care Receiver/Care Provider Relations The Role of Psychosocial Factors in Long-Term Care Utilization among Elderly Chinese
Investigator(s):Lou VW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:11/2009
Completion Date:11/2009
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs



Researcher : Lui JYM

List of Research Outputs

Hung A.T.F., Leung P.P.Y., Yau P.K., Sin Y.W.C., Mak M.M.S., Chau P.W.P. and Lui J.Y.M., The effect of a Satir-based psychosocial group in enhancing self esteem and interpersonal relationship of persons with chronic illness in Hong Kong: A randomized control trial, the International Conference on Promoting Chronic Care: Towards a Community-based Chronic Care Model for Asia. Hong Kong, 7-10 January. 2010.
Leung P.P.Y., Sin Y.W.C., Yau P.K., Mak M.M.S., Hung A.T.F. and Lui J.Y.M., A Randomized Control Trial on Impact of a Satir-based Intervention on Psychosocial Outcomes of Chinese People with Chronic Illness, The 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development, Hong Kong, June 10-14. 2010.
Leung P.P.Y., Sin Y.W.C., Yau P.K., Mak M.M.S., Hung A.T.F. and Lui J.Y.M., Best Abstract (Researcher) Award, The 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. 2010.
Leung P.P.Y., Hung A.T.F., Lui J.Y.M., Sin Y.W.C., Yau P.K. and Mak M.M.S., Peace within, Peace between: Enhancing interpersonal relationship using a Satir-based group intervention in a community rehabilitation setting, Satir World Conference 2010, Hong Kong, 15-19, June. 2010.
Liu K.H., Leung P.P.Y., So A., Kwan J.C.Y., Chan O.K.M., Wong T.K.H. and Lui J.Y.M., Love Life as it is: An Evaluation on a Life and Death Educational Group for People with Chronic Diseases in Hong Kong, International Conference on Promoting Chronic Care: Towards a Community-based Chronic Care Model for Asia. Hong Kong, 7-10 January. 2010.
Ng O.K.P., Leung P.P.Y., Chan C.L.W. and Lui J.Y.M., Let the dying shine: Are they lessons of dying or lessons of living? Meaning making of patients with terminal cancer in Chinese cultural context, The 16th Hong Kong International Cancer Congress, Hong Kong, 5-7 November. 2009.


Researcher : Ng HN

List of Research Outputs

Ng H.N., The meaning of sexual intercourse: Personal accounts of Hong Kong Chinese married women who have experienced difficulty in vaginal penetrative sex. 2010.


Researcher : Ng SM

Project Title:Study on the efficacy of psychoeducational group for children suffering from asthma and their parents
Investigator(s):Ng SM
Department:Centre on Behavioral Health
Source(s) of Funding:Other Funding Scheme
Start Date:06/2003
Abstract:
To develop evidence-based psychoeducational groups for children suffering from asthma, and a parallel group for the parents; to evaluate the efficacy of these groups. Outcome measures will include: (a) on the children - adjustment behavioral checklist, lung function, and relapse rate, (b) on the parents - physical symptoms checklist, social and functional competence, emotional well being, and spiritual health.


Project Title:Development and validation of the Chinese Functional Bowel Disorders Questionnaire basing on the Rome II criteria for functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders
Investigator(s):Ng SM, Chan CLW
Department:Centre on Behavioral Health
Source(s) of Funding:Research Mentorship Programme
Start Date:09/2005
Abstract:
To develop and validate a Chinese questionnaire for diagnosing/screening functional bowel disorders basing on the Rome II criteria for functional GI disorders


Project Title:A survey of stagnation among Hong Kong Chinese adults in the community
Investigator(s):Ng SM, Chan CLW, Ho TH, Yip PSF
Department:Centre on Behavioral Health
Source(s) of Funding:General Research Fund (GRF)
Start Date:01/2009
Abstract:
1) The proposed research aims to survey stagnation among Hong Kong Chinese adults in the community, with specific objectives of examining: i. the prevalence of stagnation, ii. its demographic characteristics, iii. symptoms profile and iv. impacts on physical and mental health


Project Title:The 6th World Congress of Chinese Medicine Chinese medicine psychology for somatoform disorders - A strategic-holistic approach
Investigator(s):Ng SM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:12/2009
Completion Date:12/2009
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Chan C.H.Y., Ho T.H., Ho A.H.Y., Tin A.F., Chow A.Y.M., Leung K.T., Leung P.P.Y. and Ng S.M., 2010 Communication Awards, In: www.enable.hk, International Award for Creative Output to the Project ENABLE Website. 2010.
Hsiao F...H..., Yang T...T..., Ho T.H., Jow G...M..., Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., The Self-perceived symptoms distress and health-related conditions associated with morning to evening diurnal cortisol patterns in outpatients with major depressive disorder, Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009, 35: 1275-1286.
Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T. and Wang X., A Hong Kong Perspective, In: N. Thompson & J. Bates, Promoting workplace well being. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, 174-188.
Ng S.M., Comparing the application of Wolfensberger's normalization and Schalock's QOL approach in psychiatric rehabilitation in Chinese communities, 比較 Wolfensberger「正常化」和 Schalock「生活質量」原則於華人社區精神康復服務的應用, 開放與共融- 穗港澳三地社區精神康復服務新機遇研討會, Guangzhou, 2009.
Ng S.M., Comparing the application of Wolfensberger's normalization and Schalock's quality of life principles in psychiatric rehabilitation services of Chinese cummunities, 比較 Wolfensberger 「正常化」和 Schalock 「生活質量」原則於華人社區精神康復服務的應用, In: Richmond Fellowship of Hong Kong, New Opportunities in Community Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services. 社區精神康復服務新機遇, Hong Kong, Richmond Fellowship of Hong Kong, 2009, 28-35.
Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Au-Yeung F.S.W. and Law K.Y., Cultivating holistic care culture and normalization values against job burnout among staff of rehabilitation services - A longitudinal cohort study, Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development. Hong Kong, 2010.
Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Facilitating Chinese people to reconstruct and transform in face of losses, Illness, Crisis & Loss. 2010, 18(2): 93-94.
Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Wang X. and Wang Y., Further validation of the Stagnation Scale - confirmatory factor analysis and diagnostic cutoff points, 4th International Conference on TCM Psychology. Chengdu Traditional Chinese Medicine University, 2010.
Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Wang X. and Wang Y., Further validation of the Stagnation Scale - confirmatory factor analysis and diagnostic cutoff points, In: M. Q. Wang & W. J. Ding, Selected Thesis of International TCM Psychology and Systems Bioinformatics. Singapore, Medicine Press of Singapore, 2010, 76-77.
Ng S.M., Mental health and Chinese culture, Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore. 2010.
Ng S.M., Mental health and law, 精神健康與法律, Conference on Social Welfare and Law. 社會福利與法律應用研討會, Hong Kong, 2010.
Ng S.M., Mental health, 精神健康, In: M. C. Chiu, S. L. Hung & Y. K. Chong, Social Welfare and Law: Communication and Empowerment. 社會福利與法律應用 : 溝通與充權, Hong Kong, Red Publishing, 2010, 116-124.
Ng S.M., Operationalize Chinese medicine 'stagnation' syndrome for mental health practitioners, In: Chinese Psychiatry Association, International Conference on Transcultural Psychiatry: Cultural Diversity, Social Change and Mental Health in China. Shanghai, Chinese Psychiatry Association, 2010, 138-140.
Ng S.M., Post-disaster community rehabilitation - Implications of the 2004 South Asia Tsunami, 大型災難後社區復康 - 2004南亞海嘯的啟示, In: HOng Kong Medical Association and Chinese Medical Association, 11th Beijing-Hong Kong Medical Exchange Conference. Chengdu, China, 2009, 59.
Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Special issue on working with Chinese people in face of losses, Illness, Crisis and Loss. London, Baywood Publishing, 2010, 18(2): 93-182.
Ng S.M. and Sun Y.S., Validation of the Concise Chinese Level of Expressed Emotion Scale, In: Chinese Psychiatry Association, International Conference on Transcultural Psychiatry: Cultural Diversity, Social Change and Mental Health in China. Chinese Psychiatry Association, 2010, 153-154.
Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Bereaved Government Officials in Quake-hit Areas: Resilience, The Association for Death Education and Counselling’s 32nd Annual Conference (ADEC). 2010.
Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Psychological Well-being of Grass-roots Cadres in the face of Bereavements and Meaningful but Challenging Post-quake Restoration Work in Sichuan China: Worsened or Sustained?, 31st Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM). 2010.
Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Psychological well-being of grass-roots cadres in the face of bereavements and meaningful but challenging postquake restoration work in Sichuan, China: Worsened or sustained?, Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2010, 39: s146.
Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ng S.M., Wang B. and Chan C.L.W., Sustaining engagement through work in postdisaster relief and reconstruction, Qualitative Health Research. 2010, Accepted, in press.


Researcher : Pearson VJ

Project Title:Evaluation research on 5 years of problem based learning in the Department of Social Work
Investigator(s):Pearson VJ, Ho JKM, Tsang SKM, Wong YC, Lee FWL, Wong KP
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Run Run Shaw Research and Teaching Endowment Fund - Teaching Grants
Start Date:04/2004
Abstract:
To document the experience of curriculum design and learning outcomes of problem based learning in a professional degrees (Master of Social Work); to evaluate the learning outcome for students; to present the views and opinions of employers and past students who are engaged in social work as to the relevance and usefulness of this learning approach based on their experience; to document the experience of PBL teachers in putting PBL theory into practice.




Researcher : Pon KL

List of Research Outputs

Pon K.L., My wonderful life and developing a game based intervention for patients with advanced cancer. 2010.


Researcher : Potash JS

List of Research Outputs

Ho T.H., Potash J.S., Fu W., Wong K.P.L. and Chan C.L.W., Changes in Breast Cancer Patients after Psychosocial Intervention as Indicated in Drawings, Psycho-oncology. 2010, 19: 353-360.
Kalmanowitz D. and Potash J.S., Ethical considerations in the global teaching and promotion of art therapy to non-art therapists, Arts in Psychotherapy. 2010, 37, 20-26.
Potash J.S., Conference of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, Cambridge, MA, Seeing the other: Facilitating exhibit viewing experiences for social change. 2009.


Researcher : Ramesh M

Project Title:Social Safety Nets in High and Middle Income Asia
Investigator(s):Ramesh M
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:06/2009
Completion Date:05/2010
Abstract:
Another economic crisis is upon us, only a decade after the 1997/98 economic crisis that shook the region to the core and fundamentally transformed the policy environment. The social economic and social dislocations the crisis caused reminded policy-makers that while economic growth was vital for improving people’s lives, it was not a substitute for social protection. The crisis was particularly painful because no country in the region (with the possible exception of Japan, which was not particularly affected by the 1997/98 crisis) had an adequate social protection system to protect their citizens from the adverse effects of the crisis. In the wake of the crisis, policy makers in the region began to admit openly, for the time, the need for robust social protection. The commitment is being tested now as the region finds itself amidst another economic crisis. It is thus an opportune time to assess the recent evolution and current state of social safety nets in Asia. The purpose of the proposed study is to assess the development of social safety nets in East and Southeast Asia since the 1997/98 economic crisis. The study will focus only on social safety nets – defined as non-contributory programs targeted at those who are poor or vulnerable to poverty that directly protect those affected by economic crisis: cash transfers; food-related programs; price and other subsidies; public works; health care services; and education, electricity and housing. Contributory programs are excluded because they involve no or little transfer to the recipient. It will also exclude general education, healthcare and pension programs even though they have a strong bearing on poverty. To keep the study focussed and draw meaningful conclusions, the study will cover only six middle and high income economies in Asia: Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The problems faced by dynamic Asian economies are different from their counterparts in other parts of the world. Having only recently developed, they are characterized by features typical of their low income counterparts and thus face the challenge of revamping their public institutions and policies commensurate with their new economic status. The six countries have selected for their remarkable similarities and yet distinct differences. The three high income economies included in this study have similar income levels but very different political economy and policy outlook. Japan is a mature industrialized country with the full range of programs found in industrialized countries. Hong Kong and Singapore, on the other hand, are former British colonies with evidence of strong colonial legacy in their social policies. Other than that, the Singapore state has been exceptionally interventionist in economic and some social policy matters (notably education and housing) and virulently opposed to transfer payments to households. Hong Kong, in contrast, has little intervention in the economic arena but is involved extensively in education, health care, housing and, even income maintenance. Among the middle income countries, Taiwan and Korea are former Japanese colonies with extensive social protection programs established in the Japanese mould over the last two decades. Malaysia’s social policies are remarkably similar to Singapore’s, despite their different levels of economic development. Thailand, as the only country in the region with no recent history of colonization, has taken firm steps in recent years to strengthen its social protection institutions in consultation with international organizations. Notwithstanding the vital importance of the need for social protection in a globalized economy which periodically wrecks havoc on participating economies, very little is known about social safety nets in Asia. Indeed there is not a single publication that examines the issue in a systematic manner. The publications that do exist concentrate on education, health, housing, and pension in the region, with only passing reference to safety net programs directed at the poor. (See references below). The exception is Hong Kong where CSSA serves as an omnibus program to address a wide range of income protection issues. Specifically, the proposed project will: • Describe the historical development of social safety nets in East and Southeast Asia, particularly since 1997. • Identify and describe the Cash Transfers; Food-related Programs; Price and Other Subsidies; Public Works; and education, health care, and housing for the poor programs in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. • Estimate the social safety net programs’ level of coverage and benefits. • Assess the programs’ effectiveness in alleviating poverty in times of crisis. • Explore the economic, political and social determinants and consequences of social safety nets in the region. • Develop a greater understanding of the state of social protection in Asia and the quality of life they afford their citizens. Given the dearth of systematic information on the social safety net programs in many of the countries included here, the study will be necessarily preliminary. Completion of this preliminary study will allow me to identify a sharper research direction and an appropriate methodology for a more systematic subsequent study.


Project Title:21st World Congress of Political Science (Santiago 2009) Regulations in the healthcare sector in Asia
Investigator(s):Ramesh M
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:07/2009
Completion Date:07/2009
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Ramesh M., Case Study in Good Governance: Health Care in Singapore , UN Project Office on Governance (UNPOG) and the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety (MOPAS), 2010 international conference on "Good Governance and National Development". Theme: Cases of Good Governance and Public Administration for Developing Countries. 2010.
Ramesh M., Economic Crisis and its Social Impacts: Lessons from the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis, Global Social Policy. London, Sage, 2010, 9: 1: 79-99.
Ramesh M., Economic Crisis as Threat to National Security, International Conference on Comprehensive Security, Organized by Konrard Adnoir Foundation and Keio Univwersity, Tokyo. 2009.
Ramesh M., Evaluation of the UNICEF Country Assistance Program - Philippines, UNICEF, Manila. 2009.
Ramesh M., Globalization and Public Policy, Teaching Workshop organized by the Asian Political and International Studies Association, Kuala Lumpur. 2009.
Ramesh M., Health Care Reforms in Southeast Asia, Biannual Congress of the International Political Science Association, Santiago, chile. 2009.
Ramesh M., Health Care Reforms in Southeast Asia, Annual Congress of the Asian Political and International Studies Association, Manila. 2009.
Ramesh M., Measuring the Economic Costs of Child Abuse, UNICEF 'Think Tank' Meeting on the Immediate and Long Term Costs of Child Abuse", Bangkok. 2010.
Ramesh M., Pension in Malaysia and Singapore, OECD Seoul Centre Annual Conference on Pension, Seoul. 2009.
Ramesh M., Policy Change in International Organizations: The World Bank and Pension Reforms, Policy Change in Europe and North America: Policy Drivers and Policy Dynamics,. London, Routledge, 2009.
Ramesh M., Policy and Society, In: G. Capalano, D. Jarvis, M. Howlett, M. Ramesh, Policy and Society. 2009.
Ramesh M., Araral E. and Wu X., In:  M Ramesh, Eduardo Araral, Wu Xun, Reasserting the Public in Public Services, Routledge. London, Routledge, 2010, 240.
Ramesh M., World Political Science Review, In: Michael Howlett, Andrea Migone, M. Ramesh, World Political Science Review. 2009.
Wu X. and Ramesh M., Healthcare Reforms in Developing Countries: Potentials and Realities, Development and Change. london, Wiley, 2009, 40: 3: 531-549.
Wu X. and Ramesh M., Industrial Clusters and Innovation in China and India, Local Government Innovations and Economic Development in China and India, Hong Kong. 2010.


Researcher : Sha W

List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming Bitterness into Enlightenment - Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, In: Fu Dan University, Keynote Address in the Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming bitterness into Enlightenment – Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. Shanghai, China, 5 December. 2009.
Sha W., Chan C.L.W., Leung P.P.Y. and Ho A.H.Y., The meaning and continuing bond with the diseased – A study of bereaved parents on the lost of their children , In: Fu Dan University, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.


Researcher : Sha W

List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming Bitterness into Enlightenment - Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, In: Fu Dan University, Keynote Address in the Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.
Chan C.L.W., Sha W., Li J., Ho A.H.Y., Wang X., Chow A.Y.M. and Leung P.P.Y., Transforming bitterness into Enlightenment – Community Engagement and Empowerment Intervention in Sichuan after the 5.12 Earthquake, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. Shanghai, China, 5 December. 2009.
Sha W., Chan C.L.W., Leung P.P.Y. and Ho A.H.Y., The meaning and continuing bond with the diseased – A study of bereaved parents on the lost of their children , In: Fu Dan University, Symposium on Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 2009.


Researcher : Tsang SKM

Project Title:Enhancing the teaching and learning of communicative skills in social work profession
Investigator(s):Tsang SKM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Teaching Development Grants
Start Date:01/1999
Abstract:
To evaluate how well the materials prepare students for their placements; to strengthen profession-related communicative skills in English for their placements; to assist social work teachers and fieldwork instructors in planning and delivering the four essential social work modules in professional skills more effectively.


Project Title:Towards evidence-based parent education: Hong Kong parent education database and resource bank
Investigator(s):Tsang SKM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:09/2007
Completion Date:08/2009
Abstract:
Efforts to use education programmes to help parents improve their parenting knowledge, attitude and skills has been practiced in Hong Kong since the 1970s. However, there is a dearth of systematic research to demonstrate which programme benefits what kind of parents to what extent. In 2002, a pilot unfunded parent education database project was set up in which three non-governmental organizations provided information on pre- and post-intervention measures on child behaviour and parenting stress in relation to their parent education programmes. The initial results were encouring and were published in Leung and Tsang (in press), but the small sample size does not allow for comparison across progrmmes. Subsequently, 11 social service organizations, including the Social Welfare Department, participated in a pilot project led by the two investigators in this proposal, under the joint auspice of University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Department of Health (DH), until the DH can no longer support the project owing to staff turnover and service priorities (Appendix 1). This project is designed to sustain and strengthen this meaningful move in parent education in Hong Kong. Through the setting up of a database and resource bank, a professional platform can be established to fill the knowledge and research gap and provide inter-program, inter-theory, inter-agency and even cross-cultural comparison. The resource bank will support service, research and knowledge exchange to facilitate practitioners to enhance their service and research skills. 1. Purposes – To establish a parent education database and resource bank where the effectiveness of parent education can be systemtatically evaluated and information could be shared through the following features: a) Uniform validated outcome measurement for comparison - all participating programmes/agencies will employ the same instruments for measuring the outcomes of the programme. Validated internationally used measures will be used. This enables systematic comparison and evaluation of the effectiveness of programmes and potentially, cross-cultural comparisons b) Research support and training for frontline staff – Instruments for program assessment, support for data collection, data entry and data analsysis will be provided to participating projects as incentives. Participating parent educators will be trained on evaluation and research to enhance and develop their competence in evaluation research. c) Data for futher theorization on programme effectivieness and service planning - programme characteristics (e.g. theoretical approach, delivery format), facilitator characteristics, client characteristics (child and parent demographic variables) will be collected for comparative research. This will facilitate comparison of programme effectiveness in terms of programme characteristics, client characteristics and facilitor background, which can facilitate service planning and theorization about the predicotrs to programme effectivness for different client groups . d) Platform for experience and knowedge sharing – a web-based resource bank will be estbablished where literature on parent education research, information of parent education programmes, useful instruments for evaluation can be made accessible to frontline workers. Eventually, it is anticipated that evaluation data entry and analysis can be web-based. 2. Key Issues: Parent education in Hong Kong has a long history but is varied in nature, scope and quality to make it a substantial body of social sciences applied knowledge to advance parenting quality. Some key issues include: a) Need for evidence-base for parent education programmes - though there is a long history of parent education programmes conducted by social service agencies in Hong Kong, there is little attempt at systematic evaluation of programme effectiveness. Most programs only conduct client satisfaction surveys and there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of parent education programmes in terms of improvement in child and parent well-being. Evidence-based practice is important to ensure that the service is effective in meeting client needs identified through systematic frameworks. b) Need for promoting evidence-based practice among parent education frontline workers- though the importance of evidence-based practice is recognized by frontline workers and managers, they face various difficulties in systematically evaluating the effectiveness of their work. The difficulties include lack of confidence in research methodology and statistics, lack of access to valid instruments for measuring effectiviess, and lack of manpower and resources for carrying out evaluation activities. c) Need for knowledge of factors associated with success of parent education programmes – though many parent education programmes are being conducted, it is not clear whether certain programme approach or delivery format are particularly suitable to particular groups of clients. If such information is available, it is possible for service providers to target specific programmes to specific clients, to maximize the benefit for clients and to achieve optimum use of resources. This also allows for higher level theorization on the effectiveness of parent education programmes. 3. Problems being addressed a) Bridging research, practice and policy – it is recognized that research, practice and policy should inform each other so that policy and practice are evidence-based. This project capitalizes on existing resources by establishing a large database to inform service providers and policy makers of the effectiveness of parent education programmes. b) Promoting evidence-based practice among parent education frontline workers – the current project aims to continue the meaningful exercise of promoting evidence-based practice among frontline workers by providing more systematic support in training; supply of measurement instruments; data collection, entry and analysis, intitially through research assistant support, and eventually, through the web-based resource bank. c) Providing a clearinghouse for exchange of parent education information – the resource bank provides useful information on parent education research and services to keep frontline workers up-to-date with current research and practice. It also provides an avenue for sharing of best practices. d) Theorization on parent education – with a large database, it is possible to theorize on the effectiveness of parent education programmes in terms of which programme benefits what kind of parents to what extent. e) Comparison across cities and cultures - the use of internationally known questionnaires will also allow for comparison with other programmes internationally, and throw light on cross-cultural application of parent education programmes.


Project Title:Protecting Children from Parental Substance Abuse: Building an assessment and intervention package
Investigator(s):Tsang SKM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:01/2010
Abstract:
Broad Objective Draw on the first-hand experience of parents with substance abuse history and their growing up children, and the experience of frontline social workers to fill immediate knowledge and service gaps on child protection issues in such families. Specific Purposes: (a) Examine the stress and coping of parents with substance abuse history (b) Examine the stress and coping of dependent children under 15 living with parents suffering from substance abuse (c) Design a systematic indigenous framework for the comprehensive assessment of the risk and protective factors facing such children and their families, and make the assessment ready for future validation (d) Develop an intervention package for the professional education and care of such children and families, and make the package ready for future evaluation studies. Key Issues and Problems Addressed: International literature (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, 2003; Dawe, et al. 2007) on population estimates and household surveys indicate that about one in ten children are affected by their live-in parents who indulge in substance abuse. The negative impact can range from neglect, deprivation of stable home environment and developmental opportunities, to psychological as well and physical and even sex abuse. In Hong Kong, while there is heated attention in the past five years on the prevention, early identification and rehabilitation of youth substance abuse problems, there is relatively little attention paid to the early identification and protection of children suffering from parental substance abuse. It was only in 2009 that the PI collaborated with a youth drug counseling centre to develop a resource kit to help parents with substance abuse history to improve their parenting effectiveness and prevent cross-generational drug abuse (Tsang & T.W.G.Hs, 2008; T.W.G.Hs & Tsang, 2009). In the United Kingdom, the aptly-named report “Hidden-Harm: responding to the needs of children of problem drug users” clearly calls for urgent attention to this long-neglected area which can breed child emotional and behavior problems eventually resulting in long term individual and social costs. The PI is also conducting a territory-wide review on the services run by the 61 Integrative family service centres in Hong Kong. In this comprehensive study covering the service policy, model, direction, scope, tools and resources, the workers expressed they urgently need assessment tools that can guide them clearly understand the risks and protective factors facing families at stake, especially parents with substance abuse history. They witness the cross-generational, and cross system (spousal, parent-child, sibling, family and school) impact of such parental problems and need handy packages to best understand, educate and care for these families in context and as a system. The review study by Philips, Glesson & Waites-Garrett (2009) emphasized the need of such packages but found they were few in number and often not properly evaluated. The study will address the needs of both the service users (parents with substance abuse history and their dependent children) and the service providers, mainly social workers, who have to assess family and child needs and provide necessary intervention and referral. It strives to articulate the policy directions of “child-centred”, “family-focused”, “early identification” and “service integration” underlying family services in Hong Kong. Key references Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. (2003). Hidden Harm: responding to the needs of children of problem drug users. London: Home Office. Retrieved on 30th July 2009 at http://www.hertsdef.org/images/pdfs/Hidden%20Harm%20Executive%20Summary1.pdf Dawe, S., Frye, S., Best, D., Lynch, M., Atkinson, J., Evans, C., Harnett, P.H. (2007) Drug Use in the Family: Impacts and Implications for children. Australian National Council on Drugs, Canberra. http://www.ancd.org.au/publications/pdf/rp13_drug_use_in_family.pdf Phillips, S. D., Glesson, J. P., & Waites-Garrett, M. (2009). Substance abusing parents in the criminal justice system: Does substance abuse treatment improve their children’s outcome? Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 48:120-138. Tsang, S.K.M. & T.W.G.Hs. (2008). Engagement of parents in anti-drug work: Research Report and four program manuals on implementation guidelines, prevention programmes for general parents, parents with at risk children and parents with drug-taking history. Commissioned by Narcotics Division, Hong Kong SAR Government. T.W.G.Hs. & Tsang, S.K.M. (2009). Resources kits for providing drug prevention programs for parents including four manuals, one DVD and one website. Commissioned by Narcotics Division, Hong Kong SAR Government.


List of Research Outputs

Chui E.W.T., Tsang S.K.M. and Mok J.K.H., After the Handover in 1997:Development and Challenges for Social Welfare and Social Work Profession in Hong Kong, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development.. Singapore, National University of Singapore, 2010.
Hui E.K.P., Tsang S.K.M. and Law B.C.M., A secret book of bullying prevention, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme (Secondary One Curriculum). (Lesson plan on web: http://www.paths.hk/download/tier1_new.asp). Hong Kong, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood, 2010.
Hui E.K.P. and Tsang S.K.M., Subjective Outcome Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Comparison of Findings Based on the Perspective of the Program Participants and Program Implementers (Secondary One Program). , 2010 Joint Social Work World Conference held from 10-14 June, 2010 in Hong Kong.. 2010.
Hui E.K.P., Tsang S.K.M. and Law B.C.M., What should I do?, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme (Secondary One Curriculum). (Lesson plan on web: http://www.paths.hk/download/tier1_new.asp). Hong Kong, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood, 2010.
Leung C. and Tsang S.K.M., Development and pilot evaluation of the “Hands on Parent Empowerment” (HOPE) project – a parent education programme to establish socially disadvantaged parents as facilitators of preschool children’s learning., Journal of Children’s Services. 2009.
Leung C., Tsang S.K.M., Dean S. and Ng R., Evaluation of the “Hands On Parent Empowerment (HOPE)” Project to empower socially disadvantaged parents as active agents in their children’s learning – a randomized controlled trial, 2010 Joint Social Work World Conference held from 10-14 June, 2010 in Hong Kong.. 2010.
Leung C., Tsang S.K.M. and Sin T.C.S., Outcome study of applying Parent-child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to parents with children aged 2 to 7 exhibiting behavioral problems in Hong Kong. , 2010 Joint Social Work World Conference held from 10-14 June, 2010 in Hong Kong.. 2010.
Leung C. and Tsang S.K.M., The Chinese parental stress scale: Psychometric evidence using Rasch modeling on clinical and nonclinical samples. , Journal of Personality Assessment. 2009.
Tsang S.K.M., Best Abstract Award (Researcher): Engagement Of Parents In Anti-drug Work: Policy Implications Of evidence-based Parent Education Programs., In: 2010 Joint World Social Work Conference , 2010 Joint World Social Work Conference . Hong Kong, 2010 Joint World Social Work Conference, 2010.
Tsang S.K.M., Leung J.C.B., Law C.K., Chu Yeung P.P.Y., Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M. and Yeung K.C., Building Effective Family Services: Review on the Implementation of the Integrated Family Service Centre Service Mode, Hong Kong, Social Welfare Department, 2010.
Tsang S.K.M., Engagement Of Parents In Anti-drug Work: Policy Implications Of evidence-based Parent Education Programs., In: 2010 Joint World Social Work Conference held from 10-14 June, 2010 in Hong Kong., 2010 Joint Social Work World Conference held from 10-14 June, 2010 in Hong Kong.. 2010.
Tsang S.K.M., Hong Kong SAR Government Chief Executive’s 2009 Commendation for Community Services, 2009.
Tsang S.K.M., Hui E.K.P. and Law B.C.M., Incidents of bullying, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme (Secondary One Curriculum). (Lesson plan on web: http://www.paths.hk/download/tier1_new.asp). Hong Kong, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood, 2010.
Tsang S.K.M., Key stakeholders of their own development. , In: D.T.L. Shek, H.K.Ma & J. Merrick , Positive youth development: Evaluation and future directions in a Chinese context. 2009.
Tsang S.K.M., Response on the Action Plans of “Social Work and Social Developments: The local agenda in Ten years.”, Hong Kong Social Work Day (2010) Summit, organized by the Hong Kong Social Workers’ Association. Hong Kong on 16.3.2010.. 2010.
Tsang S.K.M. and Chu Y.K., Social cohesive efforts to meet youth development needs in Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong, In: Prof. Mok Ka Ho, Social cohesion in greater China: Challenges for social policy and government.. Imperial College Press (London) and World Scientific Publish, 2009.
Tsang S.K.M. and Hui E.K.P., Subjective Outcome Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Comparison of Findings Based on the Perspective of the Program Participants (Secondary One Program), In: 2010 Joint Social Work World Conference held from 10-14 June, 2010 in Hong Kong, 2010.
Tsang S.K.M., Hui E.K.P., Shek D...T...L. and Law B.C.M., Subjective outcome evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Findings based on the perspective of the program implementers (Secondary 1 program), TheScientificWorldJOURNAL. 2010, 10: 201-210.
Tsang S.K.M., Hui E.K.P. and Law B.C.M., Subjective outcome evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Findings based on the perspective of the program implementers in the second year of the full implementation phase (Secondary One Level)., International Public Health Journal. 2009.
Yip P.S.F., Cheung K.S.L., Law C.K. and Tsang S.K.M., Babies Born In Hong Kong To Mainland Women And Its Policy Implications For The Government, Central Policy Unit. 2009.
Yip P.S.F., Cheung K.S.L., Tsang S.K.M., Wong P.W.C., Tse S.S.K., Wong O.L., Laidler K.A. and Wong L., Drug Abuse Among Youths and Family Relationship , 青年濫藥與家庭關係的研究, Central Policy Unit. 2010.


Researcher : Tse SSK

Project Title:HKU Overseas Fellowship Awards 2009-10
Investigator(s):Tse SSK
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:HKU Overseas Fellowship Awards
Start Date:09/2009
Abstract:
To visit the School of Social Welfare in the University of Kansas, USA to complete the "train the trainer programme" in the Strengths Model of case management based at KU, and to develop a joint research programme involving HKU and KU.


Project Title:Psychosocial determinants of functional disability in Chinese adults with bipolar disorder: A study in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Tse SSK
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:03/2010
Abstract:
5.1 Project objectives 1. Evaluate the level and type of functional disability in Chinese adults with bipolar disorder (type I and II); 2. Examine the psychosocial determinants (e.g., service-related features, clinical and socio-demographic characteristics) on functional disability. 5.2 Background Bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD) is a relatively common psychiatric illness characterised by recurrent depressive episodes of low mood and distinct abnormally elevated mood. Two types of bipolar disorder have been further formulated. Bipolar I disorder (BDI) is featured by either one or more manic or mixed episodes, accompanied by at least one depressive episode, whereas bipolar II disorder (BDII) is characterised by recurrent major depressive episodes and at least one hypomanic episode, which is similar to mania but lasts for shorter intervals1. To date there is very limited understanding on functional disability caused by bipolar illness across individuals with BDI and BDII. Individuals with BD experience a relapsing and remitting course, in which they usually return to normal or near normal function between their manic, depressed or mixed episodes of illness. Up to 60% of patients have recurrences within the 2 years following an acute episode, and at least 50% experience significant inter-episode symptoms2. Moreover, rates of suicide caused by BD appear higher than any other psychiatric disorder. Scale of the problem In 1990, bipolar mood disorder was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the world’s 6th leading cause of disability-adjusted life years among people aged between 15 and 44 years3,4. It is estimated that 5.5% of Hong Kong’s total population is suffering from some forms of BD. Alarmingly 36% of these individuals are unaware of the problems caused by BD5,6. Place and Health It has become increasingly apparent that psychosocial factors within a particular context or geographical location (e.g., different healthcare systems, service characteristics) have a crucial role to play in the treatment of BD, for example, access to healthcare services, education on coping of the illness7,8. Furthermore, the psychiatric services including both the hospitals and community rehabilitation services in Hong Kong underwent considerable changes (e.g., scaling down the size of mental hospitals, launching new community-based healthcare initiatives) in the last decade. 5.3 Issues and problems being addressed As part of the preparation for this seed grant application, the applicant took the opportunity to meet with senior clinicians and researchers • Associate Professor K.F. Cheung, (Department of Psychiatry, HKU), met before then followed by emails contact) • S Ng, (Department manager, Kowloon Hospital), met on 23rd May • YC Ip, (Department manager, Kwai Chung Hospital), met on 1st June Service providers expressed an urgent need to study functional impacts of persistent mental illness such as BD and how mental health services could be enhanced to provide better care. There are two reasons why it is important to study functional disability (and performance) of individuals with BD. First the most prevalent age of onset of BD is 16-24 years followed by 25-44 years old. This early onset may potentially disrupt a range of functional skills, employment experiences that tend to develop in early adulthood. Yet the functional disability among Chinese adults with BD on has largely been overlooked in mental health research. Second, individuals with BD typically experience increased activity, decreased need for sleep, inflated self-esteem, overtalkativeness, distractibility, and excessive involvement in pleasure activity which may lead to serious negative consequences during a manic phase, whereas patients in a depressive episode typically experience difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, reduced energy, anhedonia, feelings of self reproach, and impaired concentration7-9. In other words, dysfunctional mood causes clinical distress and serious impairments in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning10. In some cases mood disorder may be associated with alleviated level of self-harm behaviours, addiction problems or violent outburst. Functional disability refers to the analysis and identification of functional activities and functional limitations. A functional limitation is a consequence of a health problem and represents an inability to meet a standard of anatomical, physiological, psychological or mental nature (impairment). This can lead to reduction in performance of tasks (disability) or deficits in fulfilment of social roles (handicap)11. The condition of BD is both complex and heterogeneous. To date, there is no systematic data on functional disability among adults affected by BD in the context of Chinese community.


List of Research Outputs

Doughty C. and Tse S.S.K., Can consumer-led mental health services be equally effective? An integrative review of CLMH services in high-income countries., Community Mental Health Journal. 2010.
Lloyd C. and Tse S.S.K., Supported education, In: C. Lloyd & G. Waghorn, Vocational rehabilitation and mental health . Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2010, 187-200.
Lloyd C., Deane F.P., Tse S.S.K. and Waghorn G., Supporting recovery orientated services for people with severe mental illness, Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling. 2009, 15: 1-11.
Nayar S., Tse S.S.K. and Sobrun-Maharaj A., Enhancing cultural competence in mental health settings: From undergraduate training to continuing education, Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice. 2009, 4: 30-36.
Rossen F., Tse S.S.K. and Vaidya R., New Zealand Asian & youth gambling: A secondary analysis of data from the Health Sponsorship Council 2006/07 Gaming and Betting Attitudes Survey, Auckland, Centre for Gambling Studies, University of Auckland, 2010, 118 pages.
Sobrun-Maharaj A., Tse S.S.K. and Hoque E., Barriers experienced by Asians in accessing injury related services and compensations, Journal of Primary Health Care. 2010, 2: 43-53.
Sobrun-Maharaj A., Tse S.S.K., Hoque E. and Rossen F., The settlement and social inclusion of immigrant youth in New Zealand, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. 2009, 4: 97-112.
Tse S.S.K., Tong K., Hong C. and Rasalingam N., A book chapter on: Working with Asian migrants in New Zealand, In: I. S. George , Cole’s medical practice in New Zealand. Auckland, Medical Council of New Zealand, 2010, 68-77.
Tse S.S.K., Davies M. and Li Y., Chinese migrants with mental health problems and use of the Strengths Model, American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation. 2010, 13: 171-188.
Tse S.S.K., Co-Editor, International Gambling Studies. Routledge, 2010.
Tse S.S.K., Doughty C., McIntyre L., Bristol F. and Wilson L., Creating HOPE: Health through online and offline peer support and education, Journal of Affective Disorder. 2010, 122: 28-33.
Tse S.S.K., Laverack G., Nayar S. and Foroughian S., Engaging Chinese community in injury prevention programme, Health Education Journal. 2010.
Tse S.S.K., Yu A.C.H. and Rossen F., Examination of Chinese gambling problems through a socio-historical-cultural perspective., TheScientificWorldJOURNAL: TSW Child Health & Human Development . 2010, 10: 1694–1704.
Tse S.S.K., Many routes to one same destination?’ Strengths Model and positive psychology. Conference hosted by United Centre of Emotional Health and Positive Living; Positive Psychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong; Oasis-Centre for Personal Growth and Crisis Intervention, Hospital Authority and Department of Psychiatry, United Christian Hospital, Hospital Authority, Applied Positive Psychology in Hong Kong 2010, Hong Kong. 26 February, 2010.
Tse S.S.K., Peer support, a tool to aid recovery. Second Conference hosted by the Hong Kong Mental Health Consumers Consortium, Hong Kong. 10-11 April, 2010.
Tse S.S.K., Talk therapy for people affected by bipolar disorder. Annual General Meeting Lecture, hosted by the Hong Kong University Master of Social Sciences Counselling Alumni Association, Hong Kong. 27 March, 2010.
Tse S.S.K., The recovery process: Perspective from parents, spouses & relatives. Workshop run at the Singapore Problem Gambling Conference: Understanding and addressing youth gambling, Singapore. 17-18 August, 2009.
Tse S.S.K. and Porteous N., The successes and challenges of integrating mental health and employment services, Vocational rehabilitation and mental health . Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2010, 33-49.
Tse S.S.K., Wellness Recovery Action Plan for bipolar disorders: Community development approach, New Zealand experience. 5th Biennal Conference, hosted by International Society for Affective Disorders, Vancouver, Canada. 16-19 April, 2010.
Tse S.S.K., “Problem gambling and the family: What do we know, what should we do? Plenary paper presented at the Singapore Problem Gambling Conference: Understanding and addressing youth gambling, Singapore. 17-18 August, 2009.
Wang G., Tse S.S.K. and Michalak E.E., Self-management techniques and New Zealand Chinese with bipolar disorder: A qualitative study, International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation. 2009, 16: 602-608.
Yip P.S.F., Cheung K.S.L., Tsang S.K.M., Wong P.W.C., Tse S.S.K., Wong O.L., Laidler K.A. and Wong L., Drug Abuse Among Youths and Family Relationship , 青年濫藥與家庭關係的研究, Central Policy Unit. 2010.


Researcher : Tsui PWE

List of Research Outputs

Tsui P.W.E., Subjective experiences of families of long-term prisoners in Hong Kong. 2010.


Researcher : Wang X

List of Research Outputs

Chan C.L.W., Wang X., Shi Z.B., Fan F.M. and Chow A.Y.M., Grief therapy and transformation in post-quake areas. , 11th Beijing / Hong Kong Medical Exchange. 2009.
Chan C.L.W., Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ho T.H., Ho A.H.Y., Chow A.Y.M., Wong P.Y., Lo P.H.Y. and Ng O.K.P., Local Professionals in Quake-hit Regions of Sichuan Province, China: Would They Still Be the Hope of Tomorrow if Their Psychological Well-being were Impaired? , International Conference on “Disaster Management and Social Work: Policy, Practice, and Research. 2009.
Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Wang X. and Wang Y., Further validation of the Stagnation Scale - confirmatory factor analysis and diagnostic cutoff points, 4th International Conference on TCM Psychology. Chengdu Traditional Chinese Medicine University, 2010.
Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Wang X. and Wang Y., Further validation of the Stagnation Scale - confirmatory factor analysis and diagnostic cutoff points, In: M. Q. Wang & W. J. Ding, Selected Thesis of International TCM Psychology and Systems Bioinformatics. Singapore, Medicine Press of Singapore, 2010, 76-77.
Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Bereaved Government Officials in Quake-hit Areas: Resilience, The Association for Death Education and Counselling’s 32nd Annual Conference (ADEC). 2010.
Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Psychological Well-being of Grass-roots Cadres in the face of Bereavements and Meaningful but Challenging Post-quake Restoration Work in Sichuan China: Worsened or Sustained?, 31st Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM). 2010.
Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ng S.M. and Chan C.L.W., Psychological well-being of grass-roots cadres in the face of bereavements and meaningful but challenging postquake restoration work in Sichuan, China: Worsened or sustained?, Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2010, 39: s146.
Wang X., Shi Z.B., Ng S.M., Wang B. and Chan C.L.W., Sustaining engagement through work in postdisaster relief and reconstruction, Qualitative Health Research. 2010, Accepted, in press.


Researcher : Wang Y

List of Research Outputs

Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Wang X. and Wang Y., Further validation of the Stagnation Scale - confirmatory factor analysis and diagnostic cutoff points, 4th International Conference on TCM Psychology. Chengdu Traditional Chinese Medicine University, 2010.
Ng S.M., Fong T.C.T., Wang X. and Wang Y., Further validation of the Stagnation Scale - confirmatory factor analysis and diagnostic cutoff points, In: M. Q. Wang & W. J. Ding, Selected Thesis of International TCM Psychology and Systems Bioinformatics. Singapore, Medicine Press of Singapore, 2010, 76-77.


Researcher : Wong AKY

List of Research Outputs

Chiang V.C.L., Leung S.S.K., Lee A.M., Lam S.K., Fung S., Wong A.K.Y. and Yung W.K., A short antenatal cognitive-behavorial program to prevent postpartum depression and anxiety in Hong Kong (oral presentation), The 4th International Conference on Community Health Nursing Research (Health in Transition: Researching for the Future), Adelaide, Australia. 2009.


Researcher : Wong DFK

Project Title:Developing a supported apartment for persons with mental illness in the community
Investigator(s):Wong DFK
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Other Funding Scheme
Start Date:07/2000
Abstract:
To develop a new service model of community care for mentally ill persons in the community; to evaluate the outcome of this service.


Project Title:1st Asian Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) Conference The Effectiveness of Cognitive-behavioral Therapy Group for Chinese People with Social Anxiety in Hong Kong: A Preliminary Study
Investigator(s):Wong DFK
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:05/2006
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Chiang V.C.L., Leung S.S.K., Mak Y.W., Chui Y.Y. and Wong D.F.K., Efficacy of a brief teachers’ stress management program using a cognitive-behavioral approach. , The 4th Hong Kong International Nursing Forum, Hong Kong.. 2010.
Kwok A.Y.Y., Chau P.W.P., Leung P.P.Y. and Wong D.F.K., Evidence-based Psychosocial Service for People with Chronic Illness & their Families: Outcomes on Mental Health & Wellness, Symposium on Community Engagement V: Family - The Key to a Healthy Community, organized by the Hong Kong East Cluster of Hospital Authority, 15 May. 2010.
Leung G.S.M., Yeung K.C. and Wong D.F.K., Academic Stressors and Anxiety in Children: The Role of Paternal Support, Journal of Child and Family Studies. Netherlands, Springer Netherlands, 2010, 19 (1): 1062-1024.
Wong D.F.K. and Hui H.S.K., CBT For Chinese People: Current Development and Future Direction, In: Lynn McFarr, Danielle Kaplan and Aleksandra Kalinich, Newsletter of Advances In Cognitive Therapy. Philadelphia, USA, Academy of Cognitive Therapy, 2010, 1,5.


Researcher : Wong LC

List of Research Outputs

Wong L.C., 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work & Social Development: The Agenda, Clinical intervention to promote couple's forgiveness and reconciliation in the Chinese context. 2010.
Wong L.C., Shame and guilt (in Chinese). Hong Kong, Breakthrough, 2010.


Researcher : Wong OL

List of Research Outputs

Wong O.L., Meaning of food in childhood obesity: An exploratory study in a Chinese family context, Health Care in Social Work. 2010, 49(4): 362-377.
Yip P.S.F., Cheung K.S.L., Tsang S.K.M., Wong P.W.C., Tse S.S.K., Wong O.L., Laidler K.A. and Wong L., Drug Abuse Among Youths and Family Relationship , 青年濫藥與家庭關係的研究, Central Policy Unit. 2010.


Researcher : Wong YC

Project Title:Senior persons' empowerment via information technology
Investigator(s):Wong YC, Fung JYC, Lee CKM
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:02/2005
Abstract:
Objectives: 1) To study how and to what extend can the use of information communication technology enhance the social life and self esteem of the older people. 2) To identify factors that affect the usage of ICT among the elderly persons, 3) To study the effectiveness of a large scale e-training programme for older persons in enhancing the ICT knowledge and skills. Hong Kong is a rapidly aging society as well as a speedily developing information society. Research on how information and communication technology (ICT) has cast impact on the aging process is of paramount concern to the helping profession. A recent local qualitative research had suggested that senior persons could be empowered via the exposure to ICT in different ways (Fung, 2004). In particular, it suggested that the social life of senior persons could be enhanced via the use of the internet. This proposed research project aims at providing quantitative data to further substantiate such thesis. According to the result of the previous research, ICT brought about positive changes in senior persons in three areas namely, Self-efficacy boosting; Awareness-raising; and Skill-building. This proposed research will develop instruments to measure the degree of such “changes”, focusing on the behavioral changes that senior persons exhibited with increased exposure to ICT. A non-governmental organization (NGO) has recently secured funding to train a large number of senior persons to use internet applications to communicate. There is a golden chance to ride on that training program for research purpose. Results of this proposed research could be used in calibrating community programs to enhance the quality of life of senior persons. It would also have great implications in understanding the effect of ICT on other disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities. Furthermore, investigation into other interesting areas such as cyber-relationship, net-addiction and other cyber behavior of senior persons and disadvantaged groups would be enlightened by the results of this research.


Project Title:EASP 6th International Conference A Study of the Impacts on the Migrant Workers in the Pearl River Delta, China, under the Financial Tsunami
Investigator(s):Wong YC
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:07/2009
Completion Date:07/2009
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Chen H., Wong Y.C. and Chan K.S., Social capital among older Chinese adults, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. 2009, 4(9): 107-123.
Chen H., Wong Y.C. and Ran M.S., Student stress at university: A Shanghai perspective, Journal of Social Work. Sage, 2009, 9(3): 323-344.
Chui E.W.T., Law C.K., Wong Y.C. and Lee C.K.M., Registered social workers and continuing professional development. Report submitted to Hong Kong Social Workers Registration Board., 2010.
Law C.K., Wong Y.C., Ho L.S., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V.W.P., Case study report: Regeneration of the South Bank, London. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority. , 2009.
Law C.K., Chua H...W..., Yeung K.C., Wong Y.C., Chan M..., Wong P..., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V..., Final Report of the Consultancy Work for the Development of an "Enhanced Placement Services Model", Report submitted to Employment Retraining Board. Hong Kong, Department of Social Work and Socail Administration, HKU, 2010.
Lee V.W.P. and Wong Y.C., A study of the impacts on the migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta, China, under the financial tsunami, The 6th international conference of the East Asian Social Policy Research Network (EASP). 2009.
Mok K.H., Wong Y.C. and Guo Y., Decentralization and marketization of education in China: Challenges for migrant children and social harmony., Governing the Asian Giants: The Search for Good Governance and Sustainable Development in China and India" 29 - 30 March 2010,. 2010.
Mok K.H., Wong Y.C., Walker R.M. and Zhang X.L., Embracing the Market: Examining the Consequences for Education, Housing and Health in Chinese Cities, In: Ka Ho Mok and Yeun-Wen Ku (eds), Social Cohesion in Greater China: Challenges for Social Policy and Governance. World Scientific Publishing Co., 2010, 187-224.
Mok K.H., Wong Y.C. and Zhang X.L., When marketization and privatization clashes with socialist ideals: Educational inequality in urban China, International Journal of Educational Development. 2009.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Fung J.Y.C. and Lam C.Y., Promoting digital inclusion among older people in Hong Kong: Challenges and prospect, The 6th international conference of the East Asian Social Policy Research Network (EASP). 2009.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Chen H., Lee V.W.P. and Chan L., Report of the study of social network in old urban areas. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority (URA), 2010.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K. and Ho L.S., Social impact tracking study on Hai Tan Street/Kweilin Street And Pei Ho Street redevelopment project. First tracking study report. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority., 2010.
Wong Y.C. and Mok K.H., Best Abstract Award (Researcher), 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development: The Agenda.. 2010.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K., Fung J.Y.C. and Lee V.W.P., Digital divide and social inclusion: Policy challenge for social development in Hong Kong and South Korea., Journal Of Asian Public Policy. 2010, 3: 34-52.
Wong Y.C., Research study on Internet education. Draft report prepared for Internet Education Campaign, together with YMCA, and Policy21, 2010.
Wong Y.C., Social Security System of Hong Kong, 香港社會保障制度, HKU SPACE (Training course for Finance Bureau, FoShan Municipality Government, PRC). 2010.
Wong Y.C., Law C.K. and Ho L.S., Social impact tracking study on Hai Tan Street/Kweilin Street And Pei Ho Street redevelopment project. Baseline study report. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority., 2009.
Wong Y.C., Yip H.K., Lee V.W.P. and Lo R., Survey on the use of Internet final report. Report submitted to the Office of Chief Government Information Officer (OGCIO), HKSAR Government, 2010.
Wong Y.C., The revealation of digital inclusion to the protection of children's rights, 數碼共融對維護兒童權利的啟示, Cross-sectoral Forum on 20th Anniversary of the Convention on Rights of the Child (Organized by HK Council of Social Service). 2009.
Wong Y.C. and Chan M., The test of an all-purpose social security system: How well does the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance (CSSA) Scheme in Hong Kong perform its income protection function during economic crises? , The 17th international research seminar of The Foundation for International Studies of Social Security, Sigtuna, Sweden. 2010.
Wong Y.C., Where have all the gemstones gone? The success and failures of the human capital investment approach in Hong Kong, Contemporary China Strategic Research Theme Symposium Series & 60th Anniversary of Social Work Education in HKU Symposium Series. 2009.
Wong Y.C. and Mok K.H., Worfare programme for single parents and child carers in Hong Kong: The experience of New Dawn Project., 010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development: The Agenda. 2010.


Researcher : Woo MHI

List of Research Outputs

Woo M.H.I. and Chan C.L.W., Management of survival guilt by a Chinese widower through the use of continuing bonds, Mortality. 2010, 15(1): 38-46.


Researcher : Xiang X

List of Research Outputs

Xiang X., Relationship Types and Marital Experiences during Conjugal Separation: A Study on migrant women in Beijing, China, Interconnecting Cultures in a Global Society. Canada, Calgary, Alberta, 2009.


Researcher : Yan ECW

Project Title:Abuse of older persons with dementia by family caregivers: An inquiry into the role of caregiver stress
Investigator(s):Yan ECW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:06/2008
Completion Date:06/2010
Abstract:
More than two decades have passed since elder abuse first emerged as a public concern. However, research on abuse of people with dementia remains sparse. This is due to the fact that many researchers believe that people with dementia may not be able to provide valid reports on incidents of abuse. However, recent studies suggest that caregivers are willing to admit to elder abuse in interviews (Cooney et al., 2006). The present study thus employs the caregivers reports in understanding the phenomenon. The aim of this study is to investigate the abuse of older persons with dementia. First, this study explores the prevalence and severity of abuse of older persons with dementia. Second, it explores the risk and resilient factors related to abuse of older persons with dementia using the caregiver stress model. Finally, it determines the role of traditional Chinese values as a resilient factor in mitigating abuse of older persons with dementia. Elder Abuse Elder abuse refers to a “single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person” (UK’s Action on Elder Abuse, 1995). Different types of abuse may include physical assault, sexual exploitation, psychological or verbal aggression, abandonment, financial or material exploitation, or neglect (National Center on Elder Abuse, 1998). The impact of elder abuse may be particularly serious and detrimental compared to other forms of family violence, as abusers are most often adult offspring that the victims raised themselves (Korbin, Anetzberger, Thomasson, & Austin, 1991). Aside from the bodily injuries resulting from physical assaults, victims may also suffer considerable emotional distress. Elevated levels of depressive symptoms have frequently been observed among abused relative to intact elders (Harris, 1996). A 9-year prospective study even found that older persons subjected to abuse and neglect had a greater mortality risk than their intact counterparts after adjusting for demographic characteristics, chronic diseases, functional status, social networks, cognitive status, and depressive symptomatology (Lach, 1998). Prominent Models on Elder Abuse With the growing research interest in elder abuse, theories from diverse perspectives have been proposed to understand the phenomenon. Prominent models include caregiver stress model, which suggests that elder abuse is caused by the stress associated with caring for an elderly patient; social exchange theory which addresses how unfair social exchange between a perpetrator and an older person may result in abuse; social learning theory, which sees violence as a learned behavior; and intra-individual dynamics which emphasizes the pathological characteristics of the perpetrators. The present study attempts to understand abuse of Chinese elders with dementia using the caregiver stress model. Caregiver Stress & Dementia Care Providing care for an individual with dementia produces a great deal of strain (Brody et al., 1990; Jansson et al., 1997; Pot et al., 1997). Studying elder abuse in the context of dementia care thus allow us to examine the various mechanisms of the caregiver stress model. Indeed, the repetitive, tedious, and unrewarding nature of dementia care, together with the stress of frequent deep, interpersonal contact over extended time (Maslach, 1982; Pines and Aronsonm 1988), is likely to result in burnout (Astrom et al., 1991; Dempsey & Baago, 1998). Caregiver may experience repeated frustration (Stolley et al., 1991) and may poorly understand and poorly tolerate the residents’ dementia-compromised behaviors (Hall, 1995). In some cases, the stress of caregiving may even lead to abuse (Froner, 1994). In a study of family caregivers for dementia patients, Quayhagen et al (1997) investigated behavioral deterioration and found that caregiver stress enhance the potential for aggression in families coping with dementia. Elder Abuse in Hong Kong Elder abuse is prevalent in Hong Kong as it is in other parts of the world. In a study of 276 older Chinese in Hong Kong (Yan & Tang, 2004), 27.5% reported having experienced at least one abusive behavior committed against them by their family caregivers during the surveyed year. Verbal abuse (26.8%) was more commonly reported than physical abuse (2.5%) and violation of personal rights (5.1%). Similar to their western counterparts, abused older Chinese reported deteriorated mental health (Yan & Tang, 2001). There is some preliminary evidence for the applicability of various theoretical models developed in western societies on the local population. Supporting the social exchange theory, Yan and Tang (2001) found that abused elderly, as compared to their intact counterparts, are more dependent on the abuser emotionally and they perceived their caregivers as being more emotionally dependent on them. In a separate study testing the social learning theory, the investigators found that children who reported childhood experience of domestic violence also reported higher levels of proclivity to elder abuse (Yan & Tang, 2003). Specific Objectives 1. To explore the prevalence and severity of abuse of Chinese elders with dementia in Hong Kong 2. To identify the relationship among various risk / resilient factors and abuse of Chinese elders with dementia 3. To explore the effectiveness of the caregiver stress model in understanding abuse of Chinese elders with dementia 4. To determine the role of traditional Chinese values as a resilient factor against abuse of Chinese elders with dementia


Project Title:Understanding Sexuality in Older Chinese Residing in the Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Yan ECW, Ho PSY
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:09/2008
Abstract:
The need for love and sexual intimacy does not diminish with advancing age. In fact, a majority of older persons report moderate to high level of sexual interest well into their 70s, 80s, and 90s (Delamater & sill, 2005; Gott & Hinchliff, 2003). Sexual interest and expression benefits older persons psychologically and physically. Having a good sex life has been shown to enhance older persons’ quality of life and self esteem (Kermode & MacLean, 2001). A higher level of sexual satisfaction was associated with reduced risk for new subsequent severe disabilities in older disabled women living with their spouse (Onder et al., 2003). Sexuality in the aging population, however, has largely been neglected by researchers, and seldom discussed among older persons, their children, and health care providers (Gott, 2005; Hajjar & Kamel, 2003). Elderly sexuality in the Chinese Context This under-discussion maybe particularly common in Chinese societies, where definition and expression of sexuality is heavily influenced by the Confucian principles, the Taoist traditions, and the Buddhist teachings. The Confucian principles prescribe that sex occurs only within a marriage for procreation purpose, any sexual activities beyond this purpose were considered undignified (Waley, 1989). According to the Taoist traditions, sex represents a loss of self discipline and is harmful to one’s health (Chung, 1982). Buddhist teachings require a person to give up the worldly pleasure and personal desire to achieve a state of peace. Sexual activity beyond the purpose of reproduction is thus undesirable. According to these traditional views of sexuality, an older person should not show any interest in sexual activities. Possibly owing to this cultural sanction, research on elderly sexuality in Chinese societies is sparse. However, there is some evidence that many older Chinese remain sexually active. A recent study of 412 older men and 204 older women in Taiwan showed that 36% of the older respondents were sexually active (Wang et al., 2008). In a separate survey of 528 older Chinese men in Hong Kong, 66% reported having sexual desire and 52% were sexually active in the surveyed year (Chan et al., 2004). Aging itself is suggested not to be the cause for a decrease in Chinese sexual interest and activities, but some other psychosocial factors like spousal relationship negatively influence elderly sexuality (Guan, 2004). Nevertheless, these factors have not been thoroughly examined among Chinese older persons as most available studies were conducted from a biomedical perspective. Studies on Elderly sexuality in the West Aside from cultural factors, demographic, socioeconomic and psychosocial factors can also have a major impact on the sexual attitudes and behavior of older persons (Kaiser, 1996). Studies in western societies showed that gender, availability of a partner, illness, medication, and sexual beliefs are major determinants of older persons’ interest and expression of sexuality. It has been found that older women were less sexually active then older men (Steinke, 1994). This is possibly because women are more likely to be living without a partner in their later years as women typically outlive men by 7-8 years. Related to this, a lack of an available partner is a common reason why women were not sexually active in their later lives (Laumann et al., 2005). It has also been established that chronic illness and medications influence sexual activity worldwide (Laumann et al., 2005). Research has also demonstrated strong relationships between sexual attitudes and activities (Delamater & Sill, 2008; Wang et al., 2008). Previous studies have also demonstrated that older persons lack important information about health issues and sexuality (Walker & Ephross, 1999). It is possible that poor knowledge in sexuality and aging also contribute to the low level of sexual interest and activity in some of the older persons. Objectives of the Present Study The aim of the present study is to investigate the knowledge, beliefs, interests, and activity of older Chinese regarding their own sexuality. Specific objectives of this study were: 1 To understand the meaning of sexuality among older Chinese 2 To provide preliminary estimates on knowledge, beliefs, interests and activity of older Chinese regarding their own sexuality. 3 To determine how various demographic characteristics (gender, availability of a partner), biological factors (chronic illness, medication, daily functioning), psychological factors (psychological distress, sexual beliefs and knowledge), and socio-cultural factors (traditional Chinese values) relate to sexual expression among older Chinese.


Project Title:62nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America Use of Restraints on Older Patients with Dementia: Reports from Nurses and Nursing Assistants in Hong Kong.
Investigator(s):Yan ECW
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:11/2009
Completion Date:11/2009
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Chan E.K.L., Brownridge D.A., Yan E.C.W., Fong D.Y.T. and Tiwari A.F.Y., Assessing the effects of child maltreatment polyvictimization on children’s adjustment in a nationally representative sample, Psychology of Violence. 2010.
Chan E.K.L., Yan E.C.W., Brownridge D.A., Tiwari A.F.Y. and Fong D.Y.T., Childhood Sexual Abuse Associated with Dating Partner Violence and Suicidal Ideation in a Representative Household Sample in Hong Kong, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2010.
Tang C., Wu A., Yeung D. and Yan E.C.W., Attitudes toward old age home placement: A study of young adult, middle aged, and older Chinese, Ageing International. 2009, 34: 237-251.
Yan E.C.W. and Kwok T., Abuse of older persons with dementia by family caregivers: An inquiry into the role of caregiver stress. , the 19th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2009.
Yan E.C.W., Factors associated with the abuse of older Chinese with dementia by their family caregivers: Results of a 6-month longitudinal study, Asian Conference on the Social Sciences. 2010.
Yan E.C.W. and Tang C., Personality vulnerabilities and their implications for Chinese women's adjustment to recent miscarriage, Building Asian families and communities in the 21st century. 2010, 402-415.
Yan E.C.W. and Kwok T., Use of restraints on older patients with dementia: Reports from nurses and nursing assistants in Hong Kong, Gerontologist. 2009, 49: 139.
Yan E.C.W., Tang C. and Chung T., Validation of the Perinatal Grief Scale for use in Chinese women who have experienced a recent reproductive loss, Death Studies. 2010, 34: 151-171.


Researcher : Yeung KC

Project Title:Oxford Symposium in School-Based Family Counseling in Hong Kong Parenting Project: Implications for School-Based Family counseling from the Study of Core Values on Parenting
Investigator(s):Yeung KC
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:06/2007
Abstract:
N/A


List of Research Outputs

Law C.K., Chua H...W..., Yeung K.C., Wong Y.C., Chan M..., Wong P..., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V..., Final Report of the Consultancy Work for the Development of an "Enhanced Placement Services Model", Report submitted to Employment Retraining Board. Hong Kong, Department of Social Work and Socail Administration, HKU, 2010.
Leung G.S.M., Yeung K.C. and Wong D.F.K., Academic Stressors and Anxiety in Children: The Role of Paternal Support, Journal of Child and Family Studies. Netherlands, Springer Netherlands, 2010, 19 (1): 1062-1024.
Tsang S.K.M., Leung J.C.B., Law C.K., Chu Yeung P.P.Y., Lam D.O.B., Leung G.S.M. and Yeung K.C., Building Effective Family Services: Review on the Implementation of the Integrated Family Service Centre Service Mode, Hong Kong, Social Welfare Department, 2010.
Yeung K.C., Gender Mainstreaming and Nurturing Caring Family, Women's Commision Conference 2009: Beyond Limits - Women in the 21st Century. 2009.


Researcher : Yip PSF

Project Title:22nd World Congress of the International Association for Suicide Preventation (IASP) Social Burden of Suicide Risk in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Yip PSF
Department:Statistics & Actuarial Science
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:09/2003
Abstract:
N/A


Project Title:IBC 2004 XXIInd International Biometric Conference in Parallel with ASC 2004 Australian Statistical Conference A Unification Method of Estimating Population Size via Capture-recapture Experiments
Investigator(s):Yip PSF
Department:Statistics & Actuarial Science
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:07/2004
Abstract:
N/A


Project Title:XVIII World Congress of the International Association for Suicide Prevention Suicide in Three Chinese Communities: China, Taiwan and Hong Kong
Investigator(s):Yip PSF
Department:Statistics & Actuarial Science
Source(s) of Funding:URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff
Start Date:09/2005
Abstract:
N/A


Project Title:HKU Overseas Fellowship Awards 2009-10
Investigator(s):Yip PSF
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:HKU Overseas Fellowship Awards
Start Date:09/2009
Abstract:
To visit the University of Melbourne, Australia to conduct collaborative projects on modeling of the contagious effect of mass media reporting and suicide, assessing the effect of exclusion period among life insured, monitoring and surveillance system for public health event, and geographical information system modeling and teaching innovation.


Project Title:Outstanding Researcher Award 2008-2009
Investigator(s):Yip PSF
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Outstanding Researcher Award
Start Date:12/2009
Abstract:
The Awards are intended to recognize, reward, and promote exceptional research accomplishments of academic and research staff.


Project Title:A Comparative Study on Quality of Suicide Prevention Websites in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China
Investigator(s):Yip PSF
Department:Soc Work & Social Administration
Source(s) of Funding:Small Project Funding
Start Date:12/2009
Abstract:
Increasing number of people is using the Internet to access health related, including suicide prevention related, information and services. Correspondingly, concern on quality of the web-based information is also growing. However, studies on quality of web-based information are imbalanced between information available in English and in Chinese, as well as between information about physical and mental health. In the west, there are continuing studies on evaluating quality of health websites and testing validity of criteria and indicators of content quality, through quantitative or qualitative or both research methods. These studies addressed a consistent conclusion that it’s important to educate health websites owners as well as consumers to be aware of the importance of content quality. Furthermore, some “action” initiatives have been developed. Guidelines or quality criteria for health related websites have been issued by organizations in America (Winker, et al., 2000) and European countries (eEurope, 2002). Quality label, as widely used HONcode, can be applied from the non-profit organization, the Health On the Net Foundation (HON). Special search engines or online catalog and index providing reliable and trustworthy results can be visited at MedHunt (Switzerland), Medical Matrix (United States), MedWebPlus (United States), HealthWeb (United States), and HealthInsite (Australia), etc. More recently, an automated quality assessment procedure (AQA)(Griffiths, Tang, Hawking, & Christensen, 2005) was designed by Australian researchers to automatically rank depression websites according to their evidence-based quality. On the other hand, studies on non-English websites, such as French (CISMeFteam, 2007; Darmoni, Thirion, J.P., Douyere, & Piot, 2001) and Japanese(Goto, et al., 2009; Nemoto, et al., 2007) websites, have also been published. However, studies on websites in the language of Chinese are rare. Among Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Taiwan shows the highest awareness of quality of online health related information, which also has the most websites obtaining HONcode among the three regions. One study in Taiwan(Sing-Ling & Sin-Kuo, 2005) developed an evaluation questionnaire for nursing websites and achieved a positive conclusion on its validation. One study in Hong Kong(Yan, 2008) explored Hong Kong Internet users’ online health information seeking behavior and their confidence on health information obtained. The researcher also summed up several major criteria for health websites from questionnaire survey. The study showed that 44% of 443 participants were uncertain about the reliability of the health information that they obtained from the Internet, whereas 41% of them thought the information was reliable. Compared with Hong Kong and Taiwan, quality of health related websites seems to be relatively poor. Two Chinese papers(Li, 2004; Su, Li, & Wan, 2006) reviewed websites of centers for disease control and prevention in different administrative levels in Mainland China. They found that most of these websites are disorganized, unable to determine source and last update of information, lacking information about authorship, lacking localized and original information, lacking interactivity, and not user-friendly. However, the evaluation of these two papers was based on authors’ subjective review rather than evidence-based criteria or indicators. Another study (Ou, Zhao, & Liao, 2006) introduced HONcode briefly to its readers in Mainland China and suggested Chinese health websites to adopt it. According to the study, although HONcode has already translated into Chinese, there are very few websites from Mainland China and Hong Kong but several websites from Taiwan obtaining the certification. If we divide health related websites into physical health related and mental health related, there are much fewer studies focusing on the latter in particular. In mental health field, quality of web-based information about depression is relatively often studied (Belcher & Holdcraft, 2001; Griffiths, et al., 2005; Nemoto, et al., 2007) and the quality was found to be generally poor. If we take a closer look at websites about suicide prevention, so far there is no study focusing on evaluation of quality of these websites at all. Several studies(Biddle, Donovan, Hawton, Kapur, & Gunnell, 2008; Recupero, Harms, & Noble, 2008) examined online suicide related information by searching through popular search engines and showed that some encouraging suicide websites can be easily searched out and have quite high rankings in the search result list. To reduce the potential harm to vulnerable people, filtering or censorship on pro-suicide information is practically inefficient and sensitive on ethical and legal issues. Therefore, researchers in suicide prevention field (Becker, Mayer, Nagenborg, El-Faddagh, & Schmidt, 2004; Bell, 2007; Mishara & Weisstub, 2007) widely suggested that it would be effective to create and promote more qualified suicide prevention information online to counterbalance potential harmful information that may encourage vulnerable people to commit suicide. Recently, we have conducted a comparative study on online suicide related information in simplified Chinese and English, which is under reviewing by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. We found that it is more notably lack of qualified and professional suicide prevention information in Chinese websites, compared with English websites. For further study, we suggested to examine quality of suicide prevention websites carefully and sum up valid criteria for the quality evaluation. In the proposed study, we will review websites about suicide prevention in particular and will include websites not only from Mainland China, but also from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Our first aim is to evaluate quality of web based information on suicide prevention in Chinese, including simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese, and conduct a comparison between the three regions. In addition, we aim to identify valid indicators of quality of suicide prevention websites in Chinese.


List of Research Outputs

Fong D.Y.T., Lee C.F., Cheung K.M.C., Cheng J.C.Y., Ng B.K.W., Lam T.P., Mak K.H., Yip P.S.F. and Luk K.D.K., A meta-analysis of the clinical effectiveness of school scoliosis screening, Spine. 2010, 35(10): 1061-1071.
Fu K.W., Chan W.S.C., Wong P.W.C. and Yip P.S.F., Internet addiction: prevalence, discriminant validity and correlates among adolescents in Hong Kong, British Journal of Psychiatry. UK, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010, 196: 486–492.
Lam T.H., Yip P.S.F., Ngan H.Y.S., Lo L., Ho K.Y., Jao M., Lai F.C.Y., Lee A.M., Mok J.H.F., Ng M.L., Siu Y.M., Yau K. and Yip K.Y., Report on the Survey of Family Planning Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Hong Kong 2007. Hong Kong, Family Planning Association of Hong Kong, 2009, pp 87.
Lam T.H., Yip P.S.F., Ngan H.Y.S., Lo L., Ho K.Y., Jao M., Lai F.C.Y., Lee A.M., Mok J.H.F., Ng M.L., Siu Y.M., Yau K. and Yip K.Y., The report of youth sexuality study 2006. Hong Kong, Family Planning Association of Hong Kong, 2009, 208pp.
Yip P.S.F., Cheung K.S.L., Law C.K. and Tsang S.K.M., Babies Born In Hong Kong To Mainland Women And Its Policy Implications For The Government, Central Policy Unit. 2009.
Yip P.S.F., Cheung K.S.L. and Law C.K., Estimating the Number of Hong Kong Permanent Residents Worldwide and Its Distribution, Central Policy Unit. 2009.


Researcher : Yu RWM

List of Research Outputs

Law C.K., Wong Y.C., Ho L.S., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V.W.P., Case study report: Regeneration of the South Bank, London. Report submitted to Urban Renewal Authority. , 2009.
Law C.K., Chua H...W..., Yeung K.C., Wong Y.C., Chan M..., Wong P..., Yu R.W.M. and Lee V..., Final Report of the Consultancy Work for the Development of an "Enhanced Placement Services Model", Report submitted to Employment Retraining Board. Hong Kong, Department of Social Work and Socail Administration, HKU, 2010.
Law C.K., Yu R.W.M. and Ho L.S., What has gone wrong in the planning and development of the City of Misery: the case of Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong, East Asian Social Policy international conference "Global economic crisis and welfare restructuring in East and West. 2009, 14.


Researcher : Zhong X

List of Research Outputs

Zhong X., 5-month Eurasia-Pacific Uninet Scholarship for the academic year 2010/2011. The Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Educati, 2010.
Zhong X., Outstanding Poster Presentation at the Research Postgraduate Conference. Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU, 2010.
Zhong X., Research Postgraduate Conference 2010. Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU.
Zhong X., Research Postgraduate Conference 2010, the Faculty of Social Science , Current Research And Future Outlook on Dementia Care: A Literature Review. Hong Kong, 2010.
Zhong X., Sharing the sparkling moments : To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Social Work Education in HKU , Reflection article. Hong Kong, 2010.


Researcher : Zhong X

List of Research Outputs

Zhong X., 5-month Eurasia-Pacific Uninet Scholarship for the academic year 2010/2011. The Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Educati, 2010.
Zhong X., Outstanding Poster Presentation at the Research Postgraduate Conference. Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU, 2010.
Zhong X., Research Postgraduate Conference 2010. Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU.
Zhong X., Research Postgraduate Conference 2010, the Faculty of Social Science , Current Research And Future Outlook on Dementia Care: A Literature Review. Hong Kong, 2010.
Zhong X., Sharing the sparkling moments : To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Social Work Education in HKU , Reflection article. Hong Kong, 2010.


Researcher : Zhu Y

List of Research Outputs

Chan E.K.L., Liu T., Choi W.M. and Zhu Y., In-law conflict and intimate partner violence, Collection of Women's studies. 2010, 98(2): 29-34.


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