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“My blood sugar level shot up to an unusually high level, which was alarming. Then I realised that I had just eaten a fish burger. The nurse had told me that the sauce in fish burgers would trigger high blood sugar,” said 79-year-old Yu Sau-wun who has been learning to better manage her health since joining the Jockey Club Community eHealth Care Project. She is now more aware of her diet.
Proactively managing health
For elderly people like Ms Yu, proactive and preventive health management can be a life-changer and a life-saver. Identifying and managing health risks at an early stage increases the chances of effective treatment. And with physical health comes mental wellbeing, enabling the elderly to live active, more fulfilling lives.
It was to address this need that the Jockey Club Community eHealth Care Project was established. Elderly care centres equipped with eHealth technology enable the elderly to monitor key parameters, such as blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and manage health risks with the help of a multi-disciplinary team of nurses, health workers and social workers.
This is just one of several Hong Kong Jockey Club initiatives to help the city’s growing population of elderly. Together with Government agencies, academic experts and community partners, the Club is working to improve elderly quality of life through promoting active and positive ageing.
Building an age-friendly city
With a healthier body and a greater sense of wellbeing, the elderly are more able to take an active role in the community. But to fully participate they need an inclusive, welcoming and accessible environment.
This is the objective of the Jockey Club Age-friendly City project. A collaboration with the Government, District Councils, academia and non-government organisations, the project aims to help all 18 districts improve their age-friendliness with respect to the World Health Organization’s eight domains, namely the built environment, transport, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication, and community support and health services.
The business community and public sector are also encouraged to participate through the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme. Organisations adopting age-friendly practices, services or products are recognised, in seven different categories, with certificates and signage on their premises.
A bridge across generations
Being age-friendly requires respect between generations and a focus on the strengths and skills of each generation, rather than their differences.
Mak Long-ching, a 20-year-old university student, helped 102-year-old Chui Cheung write his life story under a Club-supported intergenerational programme. Recalling her first interview, Ms Mak said it didn’t go well. Not knowing Mr Chui suffered from a hearing impairment in his right ear, she had picked a busy location. Nonetheless, she learned valuable life lessons, not just about the needs of the elderly, but about being more resilient in life.
“Mr Chui taught me that if you zoom in on a coin, it looks big. But if you step back and look at it from a distance, it becomes much smaller. There are a lot of challenges in life which you think are a big deal. But after overcoming them, you grow stronger and find that they are nothing more than experiences in life,” Ms Mak said.
Supporting mental wellness
Old age brings many mental health challenges. Chronic illness, lack of purpose, or increasing loneliness following the loss of one’s spouse or friends can lead to depression.
To tackle such mental health issues effectively needs specialist training. The JC JoyAge: Jockey Club Holistic Support Project for Elderly Mental Wellness programme enables staff at District Elderly Community Centres to benefit from the expertise of Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness.
The programme also includes a Peer Supporters initiative, which provides training to seniors who, in turn, identify and support other vulnerable elderly people in the community. An added benefit is to further strengthen neighbourhood cohesiveness.
End-of-life care
To enhance the quality of care provided to the elderly as they enter the final stages of their lives, the Jockey Club End-of-Life Community Care Project was launched in collaboration with community organisations.
The project provides support to home-based and residential care services for the elderly with terminal illnesses and training for social and healthcare professionals. It also allows the elderly end-of-life patients to be aware that they have the option to decide on whether they want to receive invasive treatment to prolong their lives.
In the first phase of the project, over 10,000 health and social care professionals and frontline practitioners were trained, 36 elderly homes served, and more than 770 terminally-ill patients living in their own homes benefited. More importantly, patients reported an improved quality of life, while family members reported facing less emotional distress as they prepared for the death of their loved ones.
The project also works to support the public health system. On average, residents living in elderly homes in the three months prior to their decease spent 13 fewer days in hospital, while patients choosing to stay in their homes in their last six months spent five fewer days in hospital.
Looking forward
The demographics of Hong Kong’s ageing population will continue to evolve in the years to come. The elderly will grow as a proportion of the community, be more highly educated, have a longer life expectancy, and their behaviours and expectations will be different.
Mindful of these evolving needs, the Club will continue to work with its partners across the community to support the active, positive and healthy ageing of Hong Kong’s next generation of elderly.
One of the world’s top ten charity donors, the Club’s Charities Trust is committed to the betterment of Hong Kong and encourages collaboration and innovative thinking to address different social needs. In recent years, the Club has focused on four strategic areas, namely “Youth”, “the Elderly”, “Sports” and “Arts, Culture & Heritage”.