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Palliative Social Work Symposium 2017 – “Next Page in Palliative Social: Research and Engagement in Neighborhood”

05 Dec 2017

The Future Directions of Palliative Healthcare Service
Generously sponsored by the Li Ka Shing Foundation “Heart of Gold” Hong Kong Hospice Service Program, the Palliative Social Work Symposium 2017 ‘Next Page in Palliative Social Work: Research and Engagement in Neighborhood’ has been successfully held at the Tsz Shan Monastery on December 2, 2017 (Saturday), with the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, as the organizer.  The aim of the symposium is to enhance public understanding and awareness of hospice care and life and death education. Venerable Tian Wen Shi, Master Lecturer of Tsz Shan Monastery officiated the opening ceremony.  The half day symposium featured knowledge exchange by the academia and frontline workers on the major themes of “Bettering Palliative Care with Research and Training” and “Inspiring from Current Practice to Future Palliative Care”.  This year, over 300 healthcare professionals, including social workers, medical officers, nurses, pastor and clinical psychologists working in the field of palliative healthcare.

The trend toward an aging society has raised attention of the public.  Local statistics indicated that 1 out of 8 citizens in Hong Kong aged 65 or above, and the proportion of people in this age range is expected to double in 20 years.  The World Health Organization further projected that by 2050, about 40% of citizens in Hong Kong will age 65 or above.  The prevalence of chronic illness aggravated further the pressing demands on the healthcare system.  Statistics of the Department of Health indicated that 1 out of 5 citizens in Hong Kong suffers from at least one form of chronic illness. To successfully deal with the changes brought by changing population demographics and an upsurge in chronic illness prominence, there is imminent need for workers who are serving in palliative healthcare settings to equip themselves with knowledge, empirical practice skills, and compassion to device human-centered healthcare services to address the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of individual service-users.  And such endeavor requires the synergy of knowledge, innovation, and compassion of those who are contributing to the field.

According to a study of quality of death across diverse cultures, initiated by The Economists (2010 Hong Kong’s palliative service was found lagging behind of other developed societies, especially in the domains of palliative and health environment and service accessibility.  With the generous support of the Li Ka Shing Foundation and its concerted efforts in developing the social capital instrumental such as professional trainings, mobile phone apps, and other supportive facilities, has an instrumental impact on the furtherance of palliative healthcare service in Hong Kong.

A follow-up study by The Economists (2015) indicated Hong Kong’s palliative healthcare environment and its accessibility had reported improvements since 2010; nevertheless, the level of community engagement has been outpaced by other developed economies in the East-Asia region, such as Japan and Taiwan, suggesting prompt actions to encourage community engagement in the provision of palliative healthcare service.  Researchers in the field suggested the key in the furtherance of palliative healthcare service in Hong Kong lies in the active participation of the policy-makers and the community.  Experiences from other societies demonstrated community-based palliative healthcare service delivery model has helped debunking the taboos related to talking about death and dying; so as to encourage individuals to involve in the open discussion about death and dying, as well as to play active part in policy-making.  Community engagement also helps to raise public awareness, and enhance mutual understanding which is the catalyst for the development of person-centered, user-friendly palliative service for all.

Improving Quality of Life at End-of-life through Community Participation
Sponsored by the Li Ka Shing Foundation, the Symposium serves a platform for knowledge exchange and synergy for experts and frontline workers from the field.  Based on the experiences in North America, Dr. Lam Tai Chung (Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Oncology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU) concluded that integrative palliative care by medical social worker helps improving quality of life of the patients and family caregivers, reducing risk of depression, and preventing over use of chemotherapy at end-of-life.  He furthered suggested the role of medical social workers play in providing early palliative healthcare service is promising, and this is an important clinical area that warrants further innovation and research.

Professor Christine Fang (Adjunct Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, HKU) emphasizes the importance of role of community-based, informal palliative healthcare in supporting the dying patients and their families and to restore dignity at end-of-life.  Public education allows the service users to better their emotional needs and to facilitate making decision at end-of-life.  Life and death in the community is essential to remove the prejudice of death brought by traditional cultural taboos.  On the other hand, linking up informal care in the community and continuous advocacy are important means in building a compassionate community which is instrumental in the provision of person-centered palliative healthcare.

During the symposium, frontline professionals have also shared their innovative ideas in palliative healthcare, such as the provision of home-based end-of-life care, the innovative volunteers-led community-based service, as well as the application of mindfulness-based techniques in hospice care, and spiritual healthcare based on Buddhist wisdom and philosophy.  To optimize the existing provision of hospice and palliative care, active participation of the community and authorities, field professionals in publishing research outputs are needed for a better end-of-life healthcare service in Hong Kong.

As organizer, the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong is one of the leaders in providing social work training in the field of hospice and palliative care.  Since 2010, under the sponsorship of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, the Department has actively introduced courses of "Life & Death Education", "Holistic Care" and "Bereavement Support" to equip students and practitioners with evidence-based intervention techniques through public education programs, and to serve as an active advocate in the furtherance of person-centered palliative healthcare service in Hong Kong.

As sponsor, the Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF) "Heart of Gold" Hong Kong Hospice Service Programme set up the nation's first free hospice at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Shantou University Medical College in 1998 as response to a growing need to serve terminally ill cancer patients in mainland China.  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 "Heart of Gold" Hospice Service Program has developed a nationwide network of 42 top-rated hospice homes across Mainland China and Hong Kong.  Accumulated donation is around HK dollar 800 million. Over 210,000 cancer patients have benefited. As part of the expanded program, the LKSF has also launched a website called Hospice Home (www.hospicehome.hk) in 2011, creating a one-stop platform for hospice service information and interaction.  There are already over 780,000 online visits.  In 2014, the LKSF introduced the Hospice Home App, further promoting public involvement in the discussion of Hong Kong hospice and palliative care development.

Upcoming event
The 10th Palliative Care Symposium for Healthcare Workers in Chinese Population
Theme: “Succession．Innovation”
Date: January 13, 2018 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30am to 1:00pm
Venue: Tsz Shan Monastery
Enquiry: 3943 9876/ medevent@cuhk.edu.hk

Media enquiries:
Miss. Amy Choi (Senior Executive Assistant, Centre on Behavioral Health, HKU; Tel: 2831 5163; email: amychoi@hku.hk)