KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

HKU 'Youth Quitline' helps a quarter of participants quit smoking

Since its establishment in 2005, “Youth Quitline” has helped nearly a quarter of the participants quit smoking at the six-month follow-up and helped 11.5% of those who did not quit smoking reduce cigarette consumption.

Disaster-Prone Academic Helps Others to Heal

By both fate and design, Dr Christian Chan of the Department of Psychology has found himself in the wake of natural disasters, observing and helping communities cope with the psychological after-effects.

It Takes a Village

A team that encompasses local residents, academia and the private sector has joined forces to embark on a long-term programme to develop a blueprint for the revitalisation of villages and rural communities in Hong Kong in ways that are both innovative and sustainable.

Knowledge Exchange Awards 2016

The annual Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards 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. The KE Award (Non-Faculty Unit) was introduced with the same objective for the independent centres, institutes and units of the University. Results of the 2016 KE Awards are now available.

HKU "Lung Cancer Fighter Programme" for lung cancer patients and caregivers launches second phase recruitment

HKU Department of Social Work and Social Administration and the Hong Kong Cancer Fund launched the first phase "Lung Cancer Fighter Programme" in April. Ninety-seven pairs of lung cancer patients and family caregivers were recruited to participate in an eight-session psychosocial intervention course. Before taking the course, about 50% of both the patients and family caregivers were at-risk of developing anxiety and depression problems. After the course, over 80% of the patients reported improvement in general vitality and daily functioning, and nearly 80% of the caregivers and 70% of the patients experienced improvements in their overall quality of life. One-third of patients and more than a quarter of caregivers who were at-risk have fallen below the clinical cut off in mental health functioning. The organisers are recruiting participants for the second phase.

JC A-Connect study reveals over 90% of autism students in primary and secondary schools have adjustment problems

Supported by the JC A-Connect: Jockey Club Autism Support Network, the HKU Department of Psychology partnered with six non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to investigate how well 2,783 primary and secondary school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) adapted in schools. The students surveyed accounted for approximately 40% of the students identified with ASD studying in public sector mainstream schools, and this has been the largest ever study in Hong Kong on the support needs of students with ASD in mainstream schools. The research findings revealed over 90% of the students had obvious adjustment problems in social-emotional areas, and more than 80% of the students also had difficulty participating in learning. ASD students showed significant delay in their development of adaptive behaviours at all stages of schooling when compared to same-age peers. In light of the findings, the researchers have suggested that related professional support should be strengthened.

Joint effort by HKU Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, Facebook and social service organisations to prevent suicides

The HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP) of HKU, Facebook, Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Save the Children Hong Kong and the Samaritans jointly released a "Help a Friend" booklet to provide guidance and support to those emotionally distressed. CSRP Director Professor Paul Yip said it would require the whole community’s support to encourage those suffering from distressed to disclose their pain and seek help. According to the latest findings by the Centre on student suicide cases between September 2013 and April 2016, about 30 per cent of the deceased had been diagnosed with psychiatric problems and about 26 per cent had made suicide-related posts online or such searches, but less than 9 per cent of them were known to social services for their problems. A total of 5,000 pamphlets will be distributed in selected schools and street events. An online version is also available at all the partner organisations' websites.