KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

HKU Youth Quitline marks its tenth anniversary in helping young smokers

The youth-oriented smoking cessation hotline "Youth Quitline", jointly established by the Smoking Cessation Research Team at the HKU Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, and the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health has since 2005 received over 7,000 telephone inquiries, provided smoking cessation counselling for 1,591 youth smokers. As of January 31, 2015, the smoking cessation rate after joining the programme for six months was 23.6%.

HKU Medical Faculty develops new atrial fibrillation management app and launches AF screening programme

The HKU Department of Medicine has initiated two new measures for management of stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), namely the AF management app and private doctors AF screening programme. HKU AF CAL is a free new mobile app designed to help doctors managing their patients with atrial fibrillation. By using the five clinical calculators, doctors can assess the ischemic stroke risk and major bleeding risk of patients with AF, and assessing the quality control of anticoagulation for those patients on warfarin. The research team will in phase road-show 18 regions in Hong Kong providing certificate course for up-to-date AF management to private doctors. The team will recruit 1,000 private doctors to perform AF screening and the ultimate goal is to reach 100-150 thousands of high-risk patients and provide them with proper treatments.

Knowledge Exchange Awards 2014

The Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards were introduced in 2011 in order to recognize each Faculty's outstanding KE accomplishment that has made demonstrable economic, social or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organizations. Following the successful launch of the Faculty KE Awards, the KE Award (Non-Faculty Unit) was introduced in 2012 with the same objective for the independent centres, institutes and units of the University. Results of the 2014 KE Awards are now available.

HKU develops Asia's first liver cancer staging system with treatment guidelines to improve survival rate of liver cancer patients

HKU Surgery Department and Queen Mary Hospital have developed a five-stage liver cancer staging system with treatment guidelines - the Hong Kong Liver Cancer (HKLC) staging system. By introducing better prognostic classification and newer, more aggressive treatment strategies than the existing four-stage Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system, the HKLC staging system yields a better survival outcome and cure rate for liver cancer patients. The launch of the HKLC staging system also represents a major new direction in the field of liver cancer, offering clinicians a more valid and reliable approach to determine treatment for liver cancer patients in different stages. The HKLC staging system has already received widespread international recognition and is expected to replace the BCLC as the new standard guideline for treatment of liver cancer worldwide.

HKU partners with HK Public Libraries to organise "Explore the World of Medicine" public lecture series

HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine has partnered with the HK Public Libraries to co-organize the "Explore the World of Medicine" public lecture series. HKU Head of Nursing Professor Agnes Tiwari and Psychiatry Clinical Assistant Professor Dr Sherry Chan Kit-wa will speak on stress-related topics on June 14 to increase public awareness on the prevention of and latest treatments for diseases. Another lecture on genomic medicine will be held on June 8. Drs. Jenny Ho and Vivian Lui from the University will speak on cancer-related topics to enhance people's understanding and interest on genomic medicine in Hong Kong.

HKU partners with the University of Toronto and Queen Elizabeth Hospital to develop new test for detecting early nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC)

Researchers of HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine have partnered with the University of Toronto and Queen Elizabeth Hospital to develop a simple brush test which allows early detection of NPC. This test is simple and non-invasive. It can be performed in even remote regions reached by few specialists with high accuracy rate of 99%. Hopefully this test can be applied on a large scale global screening of NPC to help patients before the cancer develops further.

Let's Yoga! FITMIND IS ATTITUDE

Targeting at psychosis patients' problems of weak physical and learning abilities, the Department of Psychiatry of HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and the Early Psychosis Foundation (EPISO) jointly developed a simple 23-step yoga sequence named "FITMIND Yoga 23-postures" to enable patients to keep the momentum of practising yoga. Research by the Department of Psychiatry found that yoga could help improve the patients' movement and senses, as well as their abilities to receive and process information. In the next few months, the Department of Psychiatry and EPISO will organise a series of charity activities to promote "FITMIND Yoga", including free yoga classes, distribution of promotional pamphlets and instructional yoga videos to patients for self-learning. A 3D photo exhibition named "FITMIND IS ATTITUDE" was held at Times Square, Causeway Bay from March 11 to 16, and a "FITMIND Yoga Mega Fund-raising Event" at Diocesan Boys' School will be held on April 6.