The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), in collaboration with the School of Nursing of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), held a health talk under the Healthy Ageing in Public Rental Housing (PRH) Estates programme in Lai Chi Kok Community Hall last month. Under the guidance of a School of Nursing team's professional fitness trainer and AI robots, over 100 elderly tenants from five PRH estates in Kwai Chung exercised together.
The elderly people who participated in the talk worked out happily to strengthen their muscles with simple exercises under the guidance of two AI robots from the School of Nursing. In addition, a hand-grip test to measure the muscle strength of elderly persons was also conducted by the team. Sarcopenia is an age-related problem that leads to a decrease in muscle and affects the mobility of the elderly's limbs and their ability to balance, thereby increasing the risk of falls. AI robots can serve well as fitness coaches, especially for elderly people, because robots can stimulate the elderly's interest in exercise and help them remember the movements better.
Health talks are part of the Healthy Ageing in PRH Estates programme, which is aimed at showing the HA's care for its elderly tenants and promoting active ageing among them. The HA's Healthy Ageing in PRH Estates 2018/19 includes a number of health talks on sarcopenia and its prevention in collaboration with the School of Nursing of HKU for elderly tenants from different PRH estates throughout the territory. The current programme started in September last year and ends this month. Apart from the School of Nursing of HKU, the HA is also collaborating with the Oral Health Education Unit of the Department of Health. The two institutions have organised a total of six talks for the programme period on sarcopenia and oral health education for about a 1,000 elderly PRH tenants from different districts.
Other activities under the programme include providing free health assessment for elderly tenants through home visits and setting up 13 mobile health assessment stations in various PRH estates in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, and Domain, an HA shopping centre in Yau Tong. Exhibitions on sarcopenia have been held alongside the stations to educate the elderly about the problem and how to prevent falls. A total of about 6,000 elderly tenants have benefited from various activities under the 2018/19 Programme.
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