About the Event:
Ageing population is considered as one of the undebatable and impending social challenges in the coming decades in Hong Kong when around one-third and one-tenth of the population will be aged 65+ and 85+ in 2064 respectively. The Government has established “Ageing in Place” as the pivotal policy with the aim of curbing the premature institutionalization rate and promoting active ageing. More emphasis has been put on community and residential care support to older adults, including Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly. Nonetheless, relatively less attention is paid to family caregivers, the unsung heroes taking care of their aged family members, who represent a considerable size of the active labor force. When the ageing phenomenon is becoming more noticeable, apart from promoting active ageing, the dilemma faced by family caregivers and it is time to call for a responsive carer support ecology based on multi-dimensional risk stratification.
In this virtual lecture, Dr. Lou will share with us her research on family caregivers in Hong Kong, including the challenges and possible way forward to promote a more responsive and supportive environment for caregivers amidst the ageing trend. She will also bring with us some highlights of her ongoing projects, including a mobile application tailored for caregivers, volunteers as well as social work professionals in reframing a responsive carer support ecology.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Vivian Lou is an Associate Professor at the Department of Social Work & Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong. She is also the Director of Sau Po Centre on Ageing, an Honorary Clinical Associate in the Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong. Dr. Lou has studied widely family caregiving, active aging, and their health impacts. Examining Chinese family caregivers’ mental health and financial impacts were pioneer studies that generated high impact publications. Recently, Dr. Lou’s study extended to examining the positive and/or resilient capacity of the family caregiving in the Chinese context including studying secondary caregivers, social support, roles of domestic helper, and effective intervention strategies. Dr. Lou also pioneered three mobile applications targeting volunteers, social workers, and stroke families respectively. She is now teaching social gerontology, clinical gerontology, and human development for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. She had publications in journals such as Aging and Mental Health, Family Process, Research on Social Work Practice, Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, and Social Indicators Research. Dr. Lou is presently a member of the Society for Social Work Research, Hong Kong Social Workers Association, Hong Kong Association of Gerontology, and an international affiliate of the American Psychological Association.
This lecture is part of the 2020-2021 annual lecture series on "Chinese Social Policy from Comparative Perspectives" co-sponsored by the Columbia China Center for Social Policy and Weatherhead East Asian Institute and supported by the Columbia School of Social Work.
