Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1999

diseases among the Chinese. More than 40 papers written by teaching staff of the department have been accepted for publication or already published in international journals in the past year — about 10 times that of the Hong Kong yearly total six years ago. The department has been supportive o f t h e Hong Kong J o u r n a l of Ophthalmology w h i c h i t h e l p e d t h e C o l l e g e o f Ophthalmologists of Hong Kong found in 1997. Prof. Lam, who's editor-in-chief of the journal, hopes that it w i ll soon become an eye journal of international standard. Pioneer of Local Gerontology and Geriatrics As people grow old things start to go wrong in their bodies, a sign that years of wear and tear are taking their toll. The Department of Medicine and Therapeutics and the Department of Community and Family Medicine began following 2,000 elderly people aged 70 or above in 1991 to study the nutritional, physical, psychological, and social aspects of their lives. The three-year study revealed that 70 per cent of the local elderly population are on long-term medication. In Hong Kong the number of those belonging to the age cohort of 65 and above soared from 88,000 in 1961 to 610,000 in 1996, The number is expected to reach 790,000 in 2001. With a rapidly ageing population, the pressure on health service delivery is intense. Founding Hong Kong's Geriatric Research 'Unfortunately the medical needs of elderly people who are c h r o n i c a l ly i l l have not been f u l l y addressed by the government. Relevant information and data regarding their needs are lacking. Hong Ko ng also lags behind other advanced countries in the treatment of old age illnesses such as dementia,' said Prof. Jean Woo who participated in the research. She is professor of medicine in the University. Prof. Woo pointed out that local gerontology and geriatric research started in the mid-80s when the CUHK Departments of Medicine ， Community and Family Medicine, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Chemical Pathology, and Psychiatry began studying problems related to the elderly, including chronic diseases, disabilities, nutrition, and Alzheimer's Disease. The Departments of Sociology, Social Work, and Psychology also began introducing subjects such as elderly psychology and social service in their curricula at around the same time. The Faculties of Medicine and Social Science thus joined hands in collecting data on the physical, psychological, nutritional, and functional aspects of Hong Kong's ageing Chinese population for the reference of the government in setting medical and health policies and planning services. The findings of the University's research on gerontology and geriatrics have been widely recognized. Over the years they have repeatedly been published and cited in international journals; research projects have also received over HK$18 million worth of grants from different quarters. In 1997 the researchers were awarded a prize for Prof. Jean Woo Medical Teaching and Research at CUHK 15