Ernest Chui

Ageing in Hong Kong

Abstract. Hong Kong has experienced a steady and significant growth in its elderly population. Being essentially a Chinese community, the traditional virtue of filial piety has been upheld and the family is expected to be the prime source of care for its members. However, there has been a gradual increase in the number of nuclear families and a gradual dwindling of the positive image of the elderly person, which threatens the basis for community care for the elderly. About half of the elderly population are living in government rental housing and are receiving public primary medical care. Community support services are not in‐home support in nature and are of low levels of care. The professional and social organisations unanimously urge the government to take a more proactive stance in providing services to the elderly and encourage the community to revitalise its traditional Chinese cultural heritage in caring for the elderly.

Association between cultural factors and the caregiving burden for Chinese spousal caregivers of frail elderly in Hong Kong

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between cultural factors and the caregiving burden of Chinese spousal caregivers who provided care to their frail partners. Method: A sample consisting of 102 Chinese caregivers for frail elderly spouses was recruited from home care services across various districts in Hong Kong. Structured interviews were conducted with the participants in their homes, measuring demographics, the functional status of the spouse, the degree of assistance required in daily care, perceived health, the caregivers orientation to traditional Chinese family values, social support, coping, and caregiver burden. Results: Findings of regression analysis indicated that gender, activities of daily living (ADL) status, orientation to traditional Chinese family values, passive coping, and marital satisfaction associated with caregiver burden. Being female, having lower functioning in ADL or a strong orientation toward traditional Chinese family values, employing the strategies of passive coping more frequent, or experiencing a low degree of marital satisfaction were associated with high levels of caregiver burden. Conclusion: These findings provided a basis for developing appropriate interventions to minimize the caregiver burden of spousal family caregivers.

Housing and Welfare Services in Hong Kong for New Immigrants from China: Inclusion or Exclusion?

Hong Kong presents a peculiar case of the strains involved in assimilating immigrants from Mainland China due to (1) its reunification with China in 1997 after 150 years of British colonial rule, and (2) the uneasy relationship between Chinese immigrants and the local host community, despite sharing the same ethnic background. A host of historical, socio-economic and political factors contribute to the exclusion of Mainlanders by the Chinese locals. There appears to be a convergence between local citizens and the state in labeling, stigmatizing and scapegoating the Mainland immigrants. Exclusionary social policies in housing, social security, employment and personal welfare have rendered Chinese immigrants to live in poverty and with little access to opportunity structures.

Ageing and learning: What do they mean to elders themselves?

ABSTRACT This paper is about a quantitative study which has examined and elucidated the conceptualizations of ageing and learning by a group of elders in Hong Kong. In more specific terms, the study has investigated how this group of older people understood the meaning of successful ageing and elder learning in the context of their later lives. Based on the ‘Learning and Ageing Survey 2013’ with a sample of 519 older adults in Hong Kong, the study aimed, first, to describe and conceptualize the meaning of ageing and learning as elders experienced it in later life; second, to investigate why and how elders engaged or did not engage, in organized learning, by comparing the differences between the ‘learning’ and ‘non-learning’ groups in terms of their personal characteristics, conceptualizations of learning, and the barriers to participation; third, to identify important learning issues for older learners, including their interests, needs, motivations, and learning preferences; and finally, to investigate the relationship between learning and successful ageing, and between learning and the overall well-being and satisfaction of elders in their later lives. The research findings and outcomes of the study provide insights into the experience and views of elders concerning ageing and learning, which contribute to the global understanding and knowledge base for elder learning and successful ageing; and which serve to inform the development of policy and practice geared to the planning and provision of programmes for learning in older age.

Hong Kong and Australian seniors: Views of aging and learning

ABSTRACT This article reports on the findings of qualitative, semistructured interviews conducted with 40 older Australian participants and 39 participants in Hong Kong who either did or did not engage in organized learning in the last 6 months. Phenomenology was used to guide the interviews and analysis to explore the experiences and perspectives of these older people. The meaning older people attribute to aging and learning and their possible relationship in their lives in both societies is described and compared.

After the Handover in 1997: Development and Challenges for Social Welfare and Social Work in Hong Kong

This paper analyzes the development of social welfare, social work education, and the social work profession against the background of Hong Kongs socio-economic and political development before and after the historic 1997 transfer of sovereignty. The change from a British colonial regime to Chinas Special Administrative Region has not changed Hong Kongs welfare regime, which provides the context in which the social work profession and education developed. The welfare sector has been increasingly subject to managerialist control by the government. Marketization in higher education in general has resulted in the proliferation of social work education programs. On the other hand, social work education has ventured new directions of development to face up with the challenges of increasing globalization.

Elderly Learning in Chinese Communities: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore

Chinese communities in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong put emphasis on education and learning. This also finds relevance to the elderly people. Specifically, engaging in lifelong learning by the seniors can be a viable means to promoting active and healthy ageing. Promotion of elderly learning can be one of the strategies to tackle the challenges posed by an ageing population. This chapter firstly analyzes the motivations underlying elderly learning and the possible modes adopted by seniors in learning. Then, it provides a summary account of the evolution of activities and efforts in these countries and regions in promoting elderly learning. Furthermore, problems and prospects would be highlighted. It is hoped that by analyzing the various experiences in these countries/regions, lessons could be learned in promoting elder learning.

Caring for our seniors: private issue or public? The Asian scene

The author put forward a framework in which the five domains of care needs of older people, that is, financial security, health and personal care, housing, psychosocial emotional care and seniors as ‘resources’, should be provided with a shared responsibility between public and private domains. The public domain denotes the States indispensable role in developing viable legislations and policies, whereas the private domain refers to the market, the community, as well as the family and the individual. The five actors play their respective roles in attending to the specific needs of older people when they enter a different life stage that incurs physical, psychological and socio-economic changes. Relevant examples and issues arising from the various Asian countries/regions, including China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, would be cited.

Long-Term Care Policy in Hong Kong: Challenges and Future Directions

In comparison to residential care services, home and community care services in Hong Kong remain underfunded and underdeveloped. The governments long-term care policies have resulted in an overreliance on subsidized long-term care services in the form of institutional care services. The quality of services offered by private residential care facilities is a cause for concern. Population aging, evolving family structures, and changes in residential living patterns are expected to continue to put a strain on resources for services for the elderly in the near future. This article provides an overview of the many issues surrounding long-term care in Hong Kong and offers potential directions for the future development of long-term care services.

Development and Validation of the Perceived Social Work Competence Scale in China

Objective: This article reports a study that developed and validated the Perceived Social Work Competence Scale (PSWCS) for assessing social work students’ competence in Mainland China. Method: The indicators were generated by a broad empirical review of recent literature, confirmed by experts, and indigenized by means of two focus groups of students. Two separate studies were conducted, using samples of social work students. Exploratory factor analyses and reliability tests were conducted on a cross-validation sample (n1 = 291) of social work students. Confirmatory factor analyses and tests of predictive validity were conducted on the second sample (n2 = 300). Results: The 48-indicator PSWCS (including nine subscales) demonstrated excellent internal consistency, acceptable test–retest reliability, satisfactory factorial validity, and positive correlation with the students’ grade point average and their satisfaction with their field experience. Conclusions: The PSWCS is important for enabling students to assess their competence and for enabling educators to improve field education.