Tài liệu Promoting a ‘Healthy City’ for Elderly People in Tseung Kwan O pdf

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Promoting a ‘Healthy City’ for Elderly People in Tseung Kwan O

Dr Lam Ching Choi, Medical Director, Haven of Hope Christian Service

Introduction

Tseung Kwan O (TKO) is designated as one of the few strategic growth areas in Hong

Kong SAR. Around 300,000 people have now moved into this district. The population is

projected to be 520,000 upon full development. Of the 300,000 people residing in TKO, 9.9%

are 60 years and over, making TKO the fourth youngest district in Hong Kong.

Like other developing new towns in Hong Kong, TKO faces common urbanization

problems such as insufficient local employment opportunities and the consequent need to

travel to work sites outside the district, time lag in provision of various services and facilities,

nuclear families detached from support network, etc. All these, adding up, constitute threats

detrimental to the health of people residing in TKO. Thus, whilst the Government was actively

building the hard infrastructure of TKO, Haven of Hope Christian Service, with her 30

different service units started the ‘TKO - Healthy City’ project in 1998 to work on the soft

aspects of the budding district. Today, the ‘TKO - Healthy City’ project is adopted by the

Steering Committee of the project and is recognized as a regular committee under the Home

Affairs Department.

This paper aims to present the experience of Haven of Hope Christian Service and the

Steering Committee in promoting ‘Healthy City’ for elderly people in the local district. The

premise is that in promoting ‘Healthy City’, healthy aging is promoted.

Definition of Health

‘Health’ was once defined as ‘the absence of illness or infirmity’. The progressive

definition of health adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is ‘a state of physical,

social and psychological well-being, having harmonious family and inter-personal

relationships, and a stable social support network, besides being able to enjoy life and attain

one’s fullest potential’.

With such a definition, there are implications. The determinants of good health are not

just good personal health habits, but inter-relatedness to wider issues is implied. Everyone and

everything is inter-dependent for good health. The physical, economic and social

environments have their direct and inter-related impacts on personal health. HEALTH IS NOT

JUST THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HEALTH CARE SECTOR. For all of us who have

experience in services for our elderly people, we know for sure that this is so true.