ABCD – Fu Shin Community Asset Networks for Ageing in Place Website

Mission

This is a Medical-Social-Community-Business collaborative project to pilot an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model in Tai Po Fu Shin Estate, organized by the Nethersole School of Nursing at CUHK in close collaboration with the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital (AHNH) and Alice Ho Miu Ling Charity Foundation together with District Councilor, NGOs, Housing Authority and resident organizations in Fu Shin Estate in Tai Po.

The missions are to:

1. develop a sustainable model in supporting older people to achieve ageing in place
2. strengthen the carers’ capabilities to become self-sufficient and then support others
3. create bonding among older people and the neighbourhoods
4. facilitate cross-generation exchange between nursing students and older people
5. sustain on-going and cross-sectoral collaboration between community, hospital, university and other institutions

Received ‘Our City’s Story Award’ from Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project

Received ‘Our City’s Story Award’ from Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project

Project Brief 

The Nethersole School of Nursing at CUHK launched a three-year community project in 2017. It is funded by the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund. It aims to mobilize the public to enhance community care for older people and their carers in Fu Shin Estate, Tai Po.

The Programmes include:

1. Establishing a steering committee and working groups to implement the project
2. Organizing health promotion programmes to recruit volunteers and identify carers
3. Conducting training workshops for carers and volunteers to strengthen their capability
4. Establishing carer support groups and volunteer networks in supporting older people
5. Following up the AED attendants who are aged over 60, by pairing nursing students to conduct asset trail of older people and their carers
6. Establishing a Nursing Station within the estate to provide health counselling, drug advice and post-discharge supports from AED of AHNH
7. Creating a website to share the asset locations in Tai Po and ensure effective mobilization of assets within the estate. The website is developed for the public to acquire information on community resources via asset map and up-to-date health promotion programmes organized by the project.

Project Sharing Session

Major Benefits

The project has made significant achievements in the past two years:

60 volunteers were recruited and trained to conduct simple health checks and daily support for older people. A Total of 300 nursing students were paired with 100 older people for home visits, to conduct electrocardiogram tests and provide healthy eating and exercise tips. Over 300 older people followed up in the Nursing Station and reported their need for accident and emergency services has decreased by 30% in the past 9 months. To strengthen carer support, a series of workshops were conducted to empower 230 carers with the knowledge and skills required to take care of older people. Over 80% of the carers said the workshops enhanced their caring abilities and confidence.

All these interventions have strengthened community care for older people and their carers, and consequently reduced their dependence on the health care system. Through this project, the strengths and efforts of community stakeholders have been synergized to support ageing in place. We expect its implementation to be extended to help to build Hong Kong into an age-friendly city.

Community Nursing Station

Home visit of elderly by Gerontology students