Media

HKU holds “Holistic Palliative Social Work - Innovative Research and Community Initiatives” symposium

13 Nov 2013

To promote a positive attitude towards death and dying and to increase public awareness of hospice and palliative care, the “20th Hong Kong International Cancer Congress Hospice & Palliative Social Work Satellite Symposium”, organized by the Department of Social Work and Social Administration of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and sponsored by the Li Ka Shing Foundation “Heart of Gold” Hong Kong Hospice Service Program, was held at the Auditorium in Hong Kong Council of Social Services Duke of Windsor Building today (November 13).

Under the theme of “Holistic Palliative Social Work - Innovative Research and Community Initiatives”, about 400 healthcare professionals in palliative care from the Mainland and Hong Kong attended the event. Officiating at the Opening Ceremony of the Symposium were Professor Cecilia Chan, Scientific Committee Member, 20th Hong Kong International Cancer Congress and HKU Si Yuan Professor in Health and Social Work, and the representative from Li Ka Shing Foundation.

The half-day program consisted of two sessions: "Evidence-based Holistic End-of-Life Care" and "Community-based Hospice Palliative Care Movement", with topics related to best-practice end-of-life care models, caring for bereaved children, end-of-life needs of persons suffering from dementia and their family caregivers, community-based palliative care movement in creating a compassionate society, innovation ways to deal with digital afterlife, and media strategy in reporting death.

As incidence of cancer and chronic illnesses is increasing due to the ageing population, the demand for hospice and palliative care will continue to grow. When resources are limited, clinicians hope to adopt the best and most efficient way to provide end-of-life care that can optimally meet the needs of patients. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to understand the special care needs of dementia persons especially when reaching to advanced stages of cognitive impairment. On the other hand, with the changes in family structure, community-based End-of-Life Care Pathway has emerged as the latest trend of holistic and dignified care for individuals facing terminal illness. In this regard, organizational structure, social discourse and shared meaning in the effective planning and provision are having important impact in the delivery of such community-based services. The issues related to end-of-life care were widely discussed at the symposium.

In the area of end-of-life planning, the transfer of "online assets" ownership after a person passed away has attracted much attention, especially in an era when social media and online tools are widely used in communication. Moreover, death-related news reportage by the Hong Kong media, from the use of pictorial and graphic presentation to vivid description of the affected individuals, has always been an controversial issue. The media’s social responsibility and how to promote life and death education making use of the media, were discussed in today’s symposium.

For more details about the symposium, please visit: http://www.cpao.hku.hk/media/app_e.doc

Department of Social Work and Social administration, University of Hong Kong
The Department of Social Work and Social administration of the University of Hong Kong is one of the leaders in providing social work training in the field of hospice and palliative care. With an ageing population, the Department also introduced courses of “Life & Death Education”, “Holistic Care” and “Bereavement Support” to equip students and practitioners with evidence-based intervention techniques.

Li Ka Shing Foundation “Heart of Gold” Hospice Service Programme
In 1998, responding to a growing need to serve terminally ill cancer patients in mainland China, the Li Ka Shing Foundation ("LKSF") set up the nation's first free hospice at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Shantou University Medical College. The "Heart of Gold" National Hospice Service Program provides free hospice care for impoverished cancer patients at home, offering pain alleviation, psychological counseling, and other terminal care. The Foundation has contributed a total of HK$500 million to develop the "Heart of Gold" Hospice Service Program into a network of 42 top-rated hospitals across Mainland China and Hong Kong. Over 140,000 patients have benefited.

As part of the expanded program, the LKSF has also launched a website called Hospice Home (www.hospicehome.hk ), creating a one-stop platform for hospice service information and interaction. There are already over 430,000 online visits.

To date, the “Heart of Gold” Hong Kong Hospice Service Programme:
 - Served more than 24,000 primary cancer patients
 - Over 500 volunteers trained as hospice care ambassadors
 - Provided more than 57,000 home care visits
 - Provided more than 45,000 sessions of psychological counseling for patients
 - Conducted more than 1,600 sessions of counseling for bereaved children

Li Ka Shing Foundation Official Website: www.lksf.org
Li Ka Shing Foundation “Heart of Gold” Hong Kong Hospice Service Programme”: http://www21.ha.org.hk/sub/lks/EN/service.html

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Amy Choi (Senior Executive Assistant, Centre on Behavioral Health, HKU), Tel: 2831 5163; email: amychoi@hku.hk or Ms. Michelle Tam (Research Coordinator, Centre on Behavioral Health, HKU), Tel: 2831 5215; email: myjtam@hku.hk .