With the longest life expectancy for men and the second longest for women, Hong Kong typifies our planet’s aging population. The daily lives of its older adults closely match the advantages and disadvantages experienced by urban elders in other developed countries. For these reasons, Hong Kong’s elderly serve as a salient guide to older people’s social, psychological, and healthcare needs—concerns of increasing importance as the world grows older. Aging in Hong Kong examines this emblematic population as a case study specifically in comparison with their counterparts in the West, shedding light on diverse, interrelated currents in the aging experience. Referencing numerous international studies, the book contrasts different health service arrangements and social factors and relates them to a variety of health outcomes. Its wide-ranging coverage documents health and illness trends, reviews age-friendly policy initiatives, relates health literacy to patients’ active role in their own care, and discusses elders as an underserved group in the division of limited health funding and resources. This multiple focus draws readers’ attention to policies that need revisiting or retooling as chapters analyze major life areas including: Living environment. Retirement and post-retirement employment issues. Financial asset management. Health literacy regarding aging issues. Elder-positive service delivery models. Ageism in the prioritization of healthcare. End-of-life issues. By assembling such a wealth of data on its subject, Aging in Hong Kong puts ongoing challenges into clear focus for gerontologists, sociologists, health and cross-cultural psychologists, public health policymakers, and others involved in improving the quality of elders’ lives.

The dramatically increasing aging population of Hong Kong has elicited new risks and opportunities to facilitate a positive life for older adults. This book offers a holistic review of gerontological theories and literature, and constructs a conceptual framework of social support networks, coping and positive aging. In light of the implications of the convoy model of social support to depict an indigenous landscape of positive aging in Hong Kong, this is one of the very few empirical studies that adopts both quantitative research and qualitative research. The research consisted of a pilot study of in-depth interviews with 16 older Hong Kong Chinese and a main study surveying 393 older members of District Elderly Community Center. The results of the study indicate that family and peer support constitute the mainstay of support networks of the elderly, and that family and peer support are associated with positive aging. Moreover, the study shows that it is the depth of emotional closeness, namely, close interaction and intimacy with social partners that makes the greatest contribution to positive aging. Additionally, problem coping and emotion coping are found to mediate the relationship between social support networks and positive aging. There is potential in bringing more domestic helpers into elderly care and improving the service quality such that the goal of Aging in Place can be promoted in Hong Kong. Intended for researchers in social work, gerontology and positive psychology, it is also essential reading for graduates and social work professionals interested in this area. This book makes a valuable contribution to social gerontological research among Hong Kong older adults and the promotion of wellbeing in the elderly via the construct of positive aging in the culture of Chinese society.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to develop a better and sustainable future for the world, and the goals are part of an action plan to address poverty, hunger, health, gender equity and various pressing world issues. One of these goals looks at health and wellness. Ageing populations have become a crucial issue worldwide, and this short monograph explores ageing and how the consequences of an ageing population may affect our healthcare system through a case study on Hong Kong’s population. The book looks at several critical health issues related to ageing. The elderly, particularly those with low socio-economic status, rely more on acute-centric care rather than primary care. The book suggests that secondary care service may only be effective to a limited extent as a healthcare measure and an optimum healthcare system should be one that focuses on primary care. The authors put forth a compelling argument for disease prevention and screening schemes and explain how they are more cost-effective and beneficial to society and the system. This thoughtful book will provide beneficial insights into the relationship of ageing and Sustainable Development Goals in the context of health and wellness for policymakers and healthcare professionals. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The population of Asia is growing both larger and older. Demographically the most important continent on the world, Asia's population, currently estimated to be 4.2 billion, is expected to increase to about 5.9 billion by 2050. Rapid declines in fertility, together with rising life expectancy, are altering the age structure of the population so that in 2050, for the first time in history, there will be roughly as many people in Asia over the age of 65 as under the age of 15. It is against this backdrop that the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Research Council (NRC), through the Committee on Population, to undertake a project on advancing behavioral and social research on aging in Asia. Aging in Asia: Findings from New and Emerging Data Initiatives is a peer-reviewed collection of papers from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand that were presented at two conferences organized in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indonesian Academy of Sciences, and Science Council of Japan; the first conference was hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, and the second conference was hosted by the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi. The papers in the volume highlight the contributions from new and emerging data initiatives in the region and cover subject areas such as economic growth, labor markets, and consumption; family roles and responsibilities; and labor markets and consumption.

Health is not just the absence of disease. In an era when living to 100 is becoming more common, our concept of ageing must evolve. While Hong Kong people enjoy the world's longest life expectancy, an important question arises: Are we truly achieving healthy ageing? In this book, Professor Jean Woo addresses a diverse array of challenges associated with the elderly population in Hong Kong society, including issues like elderly poverty, unfriendly community designs, unfair stigmatization faced by seniors, and late-life loneliness. Drawing on extensive research and clinical experience, she advocates for self-care, education, and empowerment, encouraging us to move beyond dependence on doctors and medications. Ageing is inevitable, yet we can control how we age. -------------------------------------------------------------- By 2046, 36% of Hong Kongers will be ‘older adults’. Take Charge of Your Own Ageing is a timely publication to remind our society about the significance of co-creating a city that is environmentally and socially friendly towards the physical, mental and social well-being of an ageing population with a 100-year lifespan. This book is a must-read for policymakers, businessmen, NGOs, older adults and caregivers. Collaborative and intersectoral efforts are needed to foster age-friendly policies, measures and places, empowering older adults to take charge of their own lives instead of being passive care recipients. —Professor Ng Mee Kam Director, Urban Studies Programme, CUHK Even in her seventies, Professor Jean Woo has kept the fire in her heart burning. With her unwavering commitment to health, she herself is a demonstration of living a life to the fullest against a ticking clock. Not only is she outspoken, but she also takes seriously her commitment to improving the health of Hong Kong people through community services, gerontechnology, and countless studies on well-being. This book records what Prof. Woo, as an authority of on gerontology, has observed in the hospitals and communities in Hong Kong over the past half century. She is frank enough to point out the various problems behind the façade of Hong Kong people’s longevity: How can the health indicators of the elderly be the same as those of the general population? Apart from the general differences in health problems and treatments between men and women, the elderly also suffer from deleterious effects of loneliness and social isolation after the pandemic as the outcome of health inequalities. — Chan Hiu Lui Chief Editor of Big Silver Over the past two to three decades, the WHO has endeavoured to promote universal health and develop primary healthcare, emphasising that collective efforts from various sectors of society are necessary to achieve good health for all, and maintain the quality of life in old age by improving areas ranging from urban design, public services, private market operations, education, employment, housing, food safety, to social inclusion, community participation, and poverty eradication. In other words, we need to plan for a ‘healthy city’. Both Prof. Woo and I have happened to promote interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral collaboration within communities, to encourage everyone to take their awareness of health to the next level— taking appropriate health actions with improved health literacy. I hope for a complete change in Hong Kong society, whether it is a change in our vision of life or our social culture and socio-economic operations that prompt us to think only the healthcare system is responsible for handling wellbeing issues. Just as Prof. Woo said we cannot simply ‘relying on doctors, investigations and drugs, accompanied by unrealistic expectations that bad health outcomes can be avoided if you do what the doctors tell you’. After all, why do we strive to maintain good health? Isn’t it because there is nothing more important than living well and dying well? —Dr Fan Ning Founder of Health In Action & Chairman of Forget Thee Not