Media

Living a Legacy

26 Feb 2010

 

A New Take on Life and Death with the ENABLE Project

Death has long been a taboo topic in the Chinese culture leading to much fear, anxiety and avoidance. The lack of open communication and active preparation on death related-issues pose great emotional distress, familial discourses, conflicts and resentments to the dying and the bereaved when death actually occurs.

Recognizing the imperative need to educate the general public about the fundamentals of death as well as to enhance professional competence in end-of-life care, the Centre on Behavioral Health of the University of Hong Kong, with generous funding from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, had established the ENABLE Project (Empowerment Network for the Adjustment to Bereavement and Loss at the End-of-Life) in 2006 with the aim to promote and enhance local death education and practices.

Three years has passed since the launch of the ENABLE project. Over this period of time and through a "train-the-trainer" approach, more than 1,400 health care and allied health professionals have been trained to deliver death education workshops to over 73,600 members of the general public. 300 frontline professionals working in the fields of end-of-life care and elderly services have also received specialized comprehensive training in death and bereavement counseling. Moreover, the ENABLE Alliance has attracted the participation of about fifty hospital groups, community service agencies and NGOs, who have worked collaboratively and in harmony to promote death education in Hong Kong.

The shear numbers of service recipients as well as the level of social participation realized through the ENABLE project are unprecedented and speak volumes to the rigorous work involved. But does quantity equal quality? How effective was the ENABLE death education workshops in helping individuals to better understand and prepared for death? How successful was the ENABLE training programmes in preparing health care professional to better deal with death-related issues? In general, has the ENABLE project brought about a more positive change in the way death is perceived among the Chinese people of Hong Kong? And most importantly, how do we move forward in promoting life and death education as a society?

A series of efficacy studies with nearly 3,000 participants has been conducted to assess the overall effectiveness of the ENABLE project. A 3-year prospective cohort study with over 1,400 participants has also been carried out to identify possible attitudinal changes on death among three generations of Hong Kong Chinese before and after the inauguration of the ENABLE project. The findings generated from this volume of work has helped to inform the continual development of life and death education programmes locally, while at the same time, contributed to the knowledge base in death research on a global context.

Members of the media are cordially invited to attend the ENABLE Symposium "Living a Legacy" for announcing the results of this volume of work. 

A video memoir of the lived bereavement experience of Mr. Roy Tong and his two young daughters, a loving husband and an adoring family who has lost a wife and a mother due to cancer in 2007, will also be shown. Mr. Tong, who has received various support from the ENABLE project, will be present at the symposium and press conference to share his experience of "Being a good father, Being a good mother". Mr. Tong will also be available for interviews.

Date : March 2, 2010
Time : 9:30am - 11:30am 
Venue : Lecture Theatres 3-4, G/F, Cheung Kung Hai Conference Centre, William M.W. Mong Block, Li Ka Shing
Faculty of Medicine, HKU, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam
Language : Mainly Cantonese with some English
Rundown : http://www.cpao.hku.hk/media/100302App1.doc

For media enquiries, please contact Ms. Venus Wong, Public Relations Officer of the Centre on Behavioral Health, HKU (2589 0560 / 9235 4934 / Email: venuspyw@hku.hk ).