Opinion | Concerned about Hong Kong’s ageing society? Start with improving quality of life for the young
Early prevention of chronic illnesses and boosting the birth rate require policies that tackle larger problems, such as sedentary lifestyles, long working hours, the lack of family-friendly workplaces and cramped housing
Henry Fan Hung-ling, chairman of the Hospital Authority, recently wrote about the public health care challenges Hong Kong faces because of the impending silver tsunami. We will be seeing an explosive number of people with chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Analysing public hospital patient data, the Hospital Authority forecasts a 50 per cent increase in chronically ill patients in 20 years.
That is 3 million chronically ill who will be needing long-term medical attention and monitoring. Measure that number against the Census Bureau’s 2036 population forecast, which predicts a population of 8.06 million and we are talking about nearly a third of our population. If that’s the bad news, there’s worse: the number of people with chronic diseases and conditions are not only on the rise, they are getting younger.
Early diagnosis and better patient care would go a long way, but they remain costly. We can expect chronic care to exert incredible pressure on our public health care system for a long time. None of this, particularly the prognosis of a rapidly ageing population, is news to us; we also know that preventive care is much more effective.
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People are getting sick at a younger age because we have adopted a more sedentary lifestyle, sitting at our desks for long stretches of time. For years, our policymakers have just not been pushing for changes that are impactful enough. Our policies simply do not go far enough for early intervention.
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'Is this love?' asks Hong Kong husband caring for wife with Alzheimer's disease
'Is this love?' asks Hong Kong husband caring for wife with Alzheimer's disease
The annual “Sport for all day”, held in the dead heat of summer by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, is not enough to raise public awareness on the need to get moving. We know one reason that’s keeping us from leading healthier lifestyles: the long and stressful working hours. The general population isn’t lazy; we simply do not have the luxury of exercising for our health when we are juggling work and family.
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The mention of family brings us to the vortex of this vicious cycle. Quality of life affects people’s family planning decisions. The other side of the ageing population coin is the low fertility rate, which Hong Kong has long struggled with.
