簡介
Listen to #Hashtag Hong Kong every Sunday morning at 8.15
Focussing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.
(Sundays 8.15am - 8.25am)
最新
Dr. May Lam, Founder and President of the Hong Kong Mental Wellness Association
Mental Health is a profoundly important global issue. Today, I want to shine a light on its critical impact in Hong Kong.
Recent local studies conducted by the Health Bureau from 2019 to 2023 have revealed that nearly 25% of over 6,000 youth have experienced various levels of mental distress and neurodiversity. The latest figures also showed a significant rise in suicidal rate among young individuals aged 10 to 29 since 2016. Alarmingly, the suicidal rate for female teenagers under 15-year-old reached an unprecedented level in 2023. Over aged 60 accounts for 40% of the overall suicide.
But I want you to know there is hope. Although we have faced the heartbreaking loss of some of our precious students since the start of this new academic year, it is important to remember that we can make a difference.
The risk factors contributing to this crisis are multifaceted and interrelated: the social isolation during the pandemic, global instability due to warfare and economic challenges. Natural disasters and global warming are also areas of deep concern for our youngsters, reinforcing their sense of hopelessness and helplessness.
However, international research over the decades had clearly shown that over 90% of those who died by suicide had underlying psychiatric disorders, two-thirds of which were related to anxiety and depression. Tragically, among the 30 students who passed away due to suicide in the first semester of 2023, only 30% had been receiving psychiatric services. This means that many were unfortunately not recognized by themselves, their families, friends or teachers and did not have the opportunity to receive appropriate and timely treatment.
But here’s the encouraging part: the vast majority of psychiatric disorders at any ages, if detected, if detected and intervened early, can lead to very good outcomes. Suicide is preventable.
Prevention strategies are vital and that’s where we all come in. Schools play a pivotal role in this effort. By raising awareness of the signs of stress among students and enhancing teachers’ and school social workers’ skills in risk detection, we can create a healthier school community and by extension a healthier wider community.
The government can also contribute by investing in preventive strategies within a Universal, Selective and Treatment framework, such as the 4Rs Mental Health Charter (Rest, Relaxation, Relationship, and Resilience) implemented by the Education Bureau as a universal prevention measure.
At the selective prevention level, further professional training using evidence-based approaches can be organized to empower schools as gatekeepers. By identifying students at risk, we enhance risk detection and enable early intervention.
At treatment level, we need to further enhance the accessibility of psychiatric services using a public-private partnership framework. Working collaboratively with community partners, including social welfare organizations and community psychiatrists, can make mental health services more accessible and available.
The Hong Kong Mental Wellness Association (HKMWA) has launched several programmes using treatment, selective and universal prevention framework to address the urgent mental health needs.
Firstly, at the treatment level, WeCare SOS Support Our Students programme was launched in December 2023 in collaboration with the Hong Kong Social Workers Association supported by various foundations, to address the escalating trend of students’ suicide. This initiative aims to facilitate early identification, appropriate and timely treatment of students showing signs of stress and suicidal risk. These students are cared for by community psychiatrists providing four sessions of free consultation and medication. Phase I has successfully run since December 2023 with over 200 students being identified and treated. Phase II supported by the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association (HKTCHDA) will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024, extending the age limit and increasing the number of free sessions, to address community needs identified in Phase I.
Secondly, at the selective prevention level, we provide professional training for school teaching and counselling staff, in collaboration with Hong Kong Heng Seng University and the Greater Bay Area Medical Professional Development Association, we will organize a free evidence-based training foundation course for teachers on October 29th 2024. The training aims to equip participants with essential skills for early risk detection and evidence-based intervention in handling students with mental health issues. Also, a scientific symposium on mental wellness will be held in collaboration with the Greater Bay Area Medical Professional Development Association and Hong Kong psychological professional bodies on October 18, 2024.
Thirdly, as for universal prevention level, we have been running a school wellness programme “De-stress Express (DSE)” since early 2023. This programme includes mental health talks and stress management workshops for high school students, teaching staff and students. The goal is to increase understanding of the importance of mental wellness and to equip participants with stress management skills for better physical and mental wellness. Up until now, over 36 schools have been covered with over 60,000 participants involved.
We will also collaborate with community partner, to conduct a free Mental Health First Aid course for students on November 2, 2024. The three-hour course aims to empower students to become mental wellness ambassadors who can detect their own signs of distress, and help their fellow classmates and friends, encouraging them to reach out to adults for help.
As we celebrate the World Mental Health Day on October 10, let’s remember that promoting mental well-being is a community effort. It involves parents, schools and mental health professionals, all working together.
Young people are our future. By raising awareness and equipping ourselves with self-help skills and the ability to help others, we can all face the challenges ahead and foster an inclusive, supportive environment for everyone in our community.
I’d like to dedicate a song by Carole King “You’ve got a friend”, because “it’s ok to be not okay”, and it is important to “always reach out when you’re troubled”. Just remember, “you’re not alone”. Let’s work together for a better mental health for all.
重溫
Dr. Chan Ngai Yin, the past president of Hong Kong College of Cardiology
Heart diseases and stroke ranked as the third and fourth killers in Hong Kong last year. They are under the umbrella of cardiovascular diseases and share similar risk factors. There has been an increasing trend in the death rates caused by heart disease in the past 10 years. It is likely due to an ageing population and increasing prevalence of risk factors. In 2013, 7,258 people died from heart disease in Hong Kong. In my clinical practice, the number of younger patients suffering from heart attacks and requiring emergency percutaneous coronary intervention has been increasing in recent years.
The risk factors of cardiovascular diseases include different chronic medical conditions, namely hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and diabetes. Lifestyle and behavioural risk factors include smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, obesity, inadequate sleep and stress. The Population Health Survey 2020-22 performed by the Centre for Health Protection revealed a high prevalence of different cardiovascular risk factors in Hong Kong citizens. More importantly, most of the risk factors had increased compared with the results from a similar report performed 6 years ago. For lifestyle or behavioural risk factors, 14% of our population had ever smoked; 98% had inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables, i.e. less than 5 servings per day; 25% had insufficient physical activity, i.e. less than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week or an equivalent combination and 55% were overweight or obese. As for chronic medical conditions, 30% of Hong Kong people had hypertension, 8.5% had diabetes and 52% had hypercholesterolaemia. A worrisome observation from the Population Health Survey lies in the fact that the increase in the prevalence of many cardiovascular risk factors remained in the younger age group which probably explains my clinical observation of an increasing number of younger patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
Despite a high prevalence of various cardiovascular risk factors, the age-standardized death rates from both heart diseases and stroke have been slowly declining in the past 10 years. I believe this encouraging observation results from the advancement in medical treatment. We have more effective injection drugs for both diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia. We can treat heart failure patients with much-improved outcomes with several new medications. We can prevent atrial fibrillation-related stroke by more effective, safer and more convenient oral anticoagulants. The territory-wide emergency percutaneous coronary intervention service for patients suffering from heart attacks has become available in Hong Kong in recent years and many lives can be saved.
Nevertheless, prevention always remains a better approach than cure. One of the core missions of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology is heart health promotion. Our College has been actively promoting a heart-healthy lifestyle since its establishment back in 1992. Every year, we organize the all-year-round World Heart Day program. We promote exercise with the “Run-for-Heart” running program. Notably, our College launched the Heart Health Channel, H2C in short, in 2020 to provide accurate and high-quality heart health information to the public, enhancing their knowledge of heart health protection and reducing their risk of suffering from heart diseases. Funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and supported by the Education Bureau and Department of Health, our College organized a 3-year project named “Heart-safe School” project to combat sudden cardiac arrest. We have successfully installed Automated External Defibrillators, commonly known as AED in short, in over 1,000 primary, secondary and special schools in Hong Kong. AED can be operated by a layperson to save the life of a person suffering from sudden cardiac arrest through the delivery of electric shocks.
We are happy to see the new strategic direction laid down by the Hong Kong government in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint. The healthcare focus is being shifted from curative treatment to the prevention of diseases in response to an ageing population and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. District Health Centres and Expresses have been established in different areas in Hong Kong which serve as anchors of the district-based healthcare model and leverage public-private partnership and medical-social collaboration.
To celebrate World Heart Day, the Hong Kong College of Cardiology will organize the Heart Health Carnival cum Run For Heart on 5th January 2025 at the Hong Kong Science Park. Please join us for interactive booths, stage performances and a fun run to raise our awareness about heart health. Don’t miss out on the chance! Visit the “HKCC Heart Health Channel (H2C)” to learn more.
