During the 2022-23 school year, the Youth Health Program team visited 279 secondary schools to promote psychosocial well-being and equip students with life skills to better cope with stress. But it is clear that more needs to be done.
Findings regarding other health issues, such as overweight and poor eyesight, further emphasize the need for a comprehensive approach to student health. Addressing these concerns requires collaboration between schools, parents, health professionals, and policy makers.
In addition to existing initiatives, it is important to prioritize mental health education and awareness programs in schools. Providing students with the tools and resources they need to recognize and deal with stress, anxiety, and depression can make a big difference. Furthermore, ensuring access to quality health services, including mental health support, should be a priority for policy makers.
To further support students, it is important to implement artificial intelligence-powered programs that can educate parents about recognizing and addressing mental health issues in children. Leveraging technology can provide parents with accessible resources and guidance to foster positive parenting practices that support their child’s well-being.
Additionally, promoting peer support and interaction between students is essential. Schools can encourage the formation of support groups where students can openly discuss their challenges and provide mutual support. Peer mentoring programs can also be implemented to bring older and younger students together to create a sense of community and provide guidance and encouragement.
More time needs to be allocated to meaningful engagement between students and teachers. By reducing the administrative burden on teachers and increasing classroom support staff, educators have more time to focus on building strong relationships with students. This can be achieved by reducing class sizes, allowing teachers to give individual attention, identify students who are struggling, and provide timely support.
Successful experiences from other countries can also provide valuable insights. Ultimately, addressing these issues will require a multifaceted approach involving the collaboration of various stakeholders. Together, we can create a supportive and nurturing educational environment that promotes the well-being of all students.
Ilnur Minakhmetov Jordan
Optimize sharing of medical records via eHealth
The next budget speech will definitely allocate resources to health care. To strengthen the role of eHealth systems in strengthening public health services in Hong Kong, the government should update patient records in a timely manner and issue clear guidelines on the use of eHealth records.
Despite the significant increase in patient enrollment in eHealth systems from 653,717 in 2020 to 5,788,123 in 2023, utilization among healthcare workers remains low. On average, each private health professional uses his eHealth app only 15 times a month.
Front-line physicians noted that medical record sharing for eHealth participants requires further optimization. First, patients must individually authorize each private clinic to access and share their medical records through eHealth. To simplify matters, an eHealth administrator should allow a patient to share all medical records at once among all medical professionals enrolled in her eHealth.
Additionally, while healthcare professionals are expected to share medical records in a timely manner with eHealth, in reality it takes a long time for a physician to access a patient’s updated records from another healthcare provider via eHealth. You may have to wait a week. It would be helpful if eHealth administrators could set timelines for record updates to prevent such delays.
The government has published a code of practice for the use of electronic health records in healthcare, but this document primarily deals with technical, logistical, and security issues. We do not specifically recommend that you refer to shared eHealth records to make clinical decisions.
To encourage more healthcare workers to use eHealth platforms, the Department of Health is supporting research and training on how comprehensive and up-to-date eHealth records can create added value for healthcare workers. must be provided. Such efforts are essential to ensure that funding for the development and maintenance of eHealth systems is fully justified.
Holly Chick and Curly Chew, Kowloon Tong
