It brings nursing students together with seniors to boost emotional resilience.

 

In recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, seniors have had to stay mostly at home in Hong Kong. Confined to small living spaces for prolonged periods, many seniors have been prone to emotional challenges, affecting their mental well-being and health. Sino Group and the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation (NTFCF), in collaboration with the School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), and charitable organisations and NGOs, launched the two-year ‘Generations Connect’ Project to bring nursing students together with seniors in an initiative that will see over 1,000 nursing students providing community intervention and behavioural coaching.

Integrated with the concept of e-health literacy, the project aims to enhance the physical, psychosocial and mental well-being of the seniors amid the epidemic. With the target of serving 10,000 seniors, the project will commence in November this year with its first phase of pilot services.

Supported by a HK$10 million (around S$1,814,027) joint donation from the Sino Group and the NTFCF, the School of Nursing of HKUMed, and 11 charitable organisations and NGOs will be devising the scope of services in tandem to focus on the needs of the seniors aged 65 or above. Coupled with the domain knowledge of HKUMed’s nursing curricula, the project will also develop a senior-friendly e-platform and mobile app. Nursing students will build relationships with the seniors and engage them in dialogue to promote health and well-being through regular home visits, phone greetings and video conferencing.

Self-care tips for COVID-19, health assessments, and mental health education will also be offered to provide timely and appropriate support for those in need. In addition, the project will organise various activities to encourage them to cultivate healthy hobbies and expand their social circle for the holistic improvement of mental health, lifestyle and overall well-being.

With personalised support from the nursing students, seniors can learn to access pertinent information, training materials, games and videos, cultivating their eHealth literacy. With an emphasis on preventative care and self-help health resources, the project aims at encouraging seniors to keep abreast of developments in public e-health services moving forward. Those facing difficulties in using the Internet will also be assisted through support services.

The School of Nursing, HKUMed will leverage two years of clinical data and application cases to study the effectiveness of community interventions for improving the physical and mental health of seniors in Hong Kong. Training workshops facilitated by charitable organisations and NGOs will also help upgrade the skills of nursing students for better communication with the seniors, while giving them the opportunity to put what they have learnt into practise.

Participating charitable organisations and NGOs in this project include Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association Social Service, Christian Family Service Centre, Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service – Hong Kong, Haven of Hope Christian Service, The Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon, Methodist Centre, The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council, The Hong Kong Society for the Aged, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited, United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service, and Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association.