Jik-Joen Lee

Beliefs about elderly people among social workers and the general public in Hong Kong

Social learning theory expects the social worker to hold more favorable beliefs about elderly people and scapegoat theory expects one having higher self-esteem to be so. The role of social work and self-esteem may be factors explaining ageism at the individual level. Because ageism seems to emerge in Hong Kong as well as other industrialized societies, the study surveyed the general public, social workers, students, elderly center members to (1) determine the relative extent of ageism in terms of beliefs about physical, social, and psychological dimensions of elderly people, and (2) test hypotheses deriving from social learning and scapegoat theories. Analysis of data from 902 respondents showed that people younger than 60 years were more favorable regarding the social dimension and less favorable regarding the psychological dimension of beliefs about elderly people. One with higher self-esteem tended to be more favorable in beliefs about social and psychological dimensions of elderly people but less favorable in the belief about the physical dimension. Although the gerontological social worker was more favorable in the belief regarding the social dimension of elderly people than others, this difference might be attributable to his or her higher self-esteem. Hence the role of social work did not necessarily improve ones image of elderly people in Hong Kong.

Residential Care Policy for Elderly People in Hong Kong

This article examines the policy on residential care for the elderly in Hong Kong. The argument is founded on an empirical study which involved a review of relevant policy documents, a survey research, and personal interviews. The study shows that the provision of residential home places in Hong Kong is grossly inadequate. This is illustrated by the long list of applicants awaiting residential places. The relatively poor psychological state of those elderly people who could not secure proper placement is another indicator to reflect the inadequacy of elderly home places. The main problem of elderly care rests with the system of provision, to which improvements should and could be made. However, in the final analysis, it is the lack of government commitment to this area of service that has presented the most important obstacle to the development of a well thought out and well implemented policy for the elderly in the territory.

The relationship between gender and the psychological impact of urinary incontinence on older people in Hong Kong: an exploratory analysis

Adult incontinence violates social norms and values and undermines the personal expectation of being independent, dry and clean. Urinary incontinence is widely known to have a psychological impact on elderly people. This paper reports the findings of a study of the impact of incontinence on a convenience sample of older people in Hong Kong. Several of the results concur with those of studies in western countries. It was found that the prevalence of urinary incontinence increased with adult age, and that the condition affected women more than men. Over half of both men and women respondents had suffered for less than three years. It appeared that the period of suffering was not strongly associated with the level of incontinence. There were no significant differences between the duration and the level of incontinence, or between health status and years of suffering. About 80 per cent of the incontinent respondents had negative psychological impacts. There were significant differences between the sexes in the impact of urinary incontinence as indicated by the following items: elderly men found incontinence more stressful than their women counterparts; and elderly men more often strove to hide their incontinence from their friends. In summary, older men reported more negative psychological effects than older women. This study is not able to conclude that the psychological suffering of those who reported more negative effects is greater than that of those who reported fewer.

Differences between Older Chinese Men and Women from Hong Kong in the Impact of Urinary Incontinence on their Lives

This study reports the epidemiology of urinary incontinence (UI) and its impact on the social lives of older Chinese people in Hong Kong, a modern city in China. It also examines the relationship between sex and this impact, as well as the extent of UI in a convenience sample of 101 sufferers aged 60 or older. This study was cross-sectional and used face-to-face interviews with a structured questionnaire. A number of findings concur with studies conducted in Western countries. Prevalence of UI increased with adult age, and it affected women more than men. UI had a negative impact on 86.1% of the incontinent respondents. There were no significant differences between men and women in the duration of UI, the level of UI, or health status. Out of the nine impacts on social lives, only one showed a significant difference between older men and women: “restriction on opportunities to participate in social activities.” Statistically, men tended to report more negative impacts than women. More than 80% of the respondents were affected by their UI. The impact of UI on social lives was basically the same for men and women, though men reported significantly more social impacts than did women. However, this study does not support the claim that the social life of those who reported more social impacts was worse than that of those who reported fewer.