From teaching and learning at schools, operations at workplaces, social interactions with family and friends, to the provision of daily necessities and entertainment, the pandemic has transformed every aspect of our lives. There is no exception in the health and social care sector. Reflections of different phenomena, strategies, challenges and practices on adopting new care models and technologies would provide insight into the response to health crises in the future. To facilitate relevant sharing and discussion between experts and practitioners worldwide, the One Health Cluster of CityU’s College of Liberal and Social Sciences (CLASS) held a virtual seminar themed “Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic through International Virtual Platform” on 7 May 2021.
In the first talk entitled “Social isolation among HK community elderly before and during COVID-19, and its implication for new community care model”, Professor Stephen SHUM and Hera LEUNG of CityU’s College of Business shared the results of an in-home comprehensive geriatric assessment carried out in 2017-18. The findings indicated that social isolation was associated with higher service utilisation. As the older adults were more socially isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be deduced that their demand for hospital service may be increased. On the other hand, public hospital non-emergency services and non-essential services were partially suspended. The speakers opined that an innovative community healthcare model would be needed to support the well-being of older adults.
Coming up next was the talk “Challenges and strategies to maintain fidelity when providing care to older adults amidst of COVID-19 pandemic” by Melanie PRINCE, a veteran clinical case manager and the current President of the Case Management Society of America. She described the application of a six-step process in the care of older adults while navigating challenges produced by the pandemic. Challenges and solutions to managing technology, anecdotal innovations for care transitions during the pandemic and benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration were brought to discussion.
After catching a glimpse of the situations in Hong Kong and the US, the audience then learnt what was going on in the UK from Sue FORD, an experienced nurse and case manager, in her talk “Being adaptable: Reflections on the challenge and successes of health and social care practice to families during the pandemic in the UK”. She revealed that a huge proportion of the available health and social care resources in the UK had to be channelled to patients with COVID-19, leaving many people felt isolated and scared as they were unsure of how their own healthcare needs would be met. She reflected how case managers working with clients going through rehabilitation from severe injury adapted to the uncertainty, using a family case study to illustrate the challenges and successes.
Finally, Niccola IRWIN, an experienced occupational therapist and case manager with professional practice in the UK and Australia, delivered the talk “Can technology be used to progress case management for catastrophically injured clients: A reflection of the COVID-19 crisis on effective rehabilitation advocacy and care support for our clients”. She found that many organisations had to rely heavily on technology to continue with their service delivery, as month-long lockdowns were imposed in different places. Yet, as the pandemic stretched on, it became apparent that the support offered was limited without a physical presence of the clients. The e-health technology was a valuable tool to use with some clients, but not for others. This reflection has considered two clients with significant care support needs and examined the possible indicators for whether or not technology could be used to progress their case management goals in the absence of face-to-face contact.
The seminar was concluded with a discussion session moderated by Dr Esther CHOW of CityU’s Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, during which the audience joined the experts for more inspiration and insights. The One Health research cluster regularly organises scholarly events to engage experts at CityU, in Hong Kong and across the globe for fruitful academic exchanges. Social sciences scholars, health and social care practitioners, and students, as well as those who are interested in examining health and social issues from multidisciplinary perspectives, are welcome to join.
Cover image: The speakers of the “Responsesto COVID-19 Pandemic through International Virtual Platform” seminar
