Newsletter No. 465

8 465 • 19.10.2015 ’ 口談實錄 Viva Voce 本刊由香港中文大學資訊處出版，每月出版兩期。截稿日期及稿例載於 www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/chinese/newsletter/ 。   The CUHK Newsletter is published by the Information Services Office, CUHK, on a fortnightly basis. Submission guidelines and deadlines can be found at   www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/english/newsletter/ . 胡令芳教授 Prof. Jean Woo 內科及藥物治療學系系主任 香港中文大學賽馬會老年學研究所所長 Chairman, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics Director, CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing 何謂「老年」？ 如果把人生比喻成一座山，出生以後是在爬山，到了三十歲 左右就到了山頂，之後都是走下坡，腦功能和體力都在退化。 社會對老人有什麼誤解？ 許多人以為，老人就是在老人院、老人中心或病房那些行動 不便或者腦退化的人，老人是他們，不是我。這是我們要改變 的觀念。老年學很廣泛，是研究上述的整個下坡過程。 如何應付老化？ 那就要把你的山頂弄得高一點。比如健美運動員練出一身大 塊肌肉，那就算流失了一些，還有很多本錢。腦袋也一樣，腦 細胞之間很多聯繫，多做認知訓練，增加這些聯繫，就算流 失一些也還可以應付。所以生活方式很重要，多做運動，多 吃健康的食物，多訓練腦筋。年紀大了也還可以做很多事，所 謂老而不衰。我們說的衰老，不是講你多少歲，而是你究竟 做到些甚麼，能否控制你的環境、你的生活。 你為何會專攻老年學？ 我在英國畢業之後，在倫敦的大醫院嘗試過一兩個專科，例 如心臟科和肺科，覺得悶得不得了。比如心臟科，來來去去不 是心瓣問題就是心血管栓塞。我較喜歡全面從整個人的角度 來做醫療。 1985 年回到香港，那時候中大醫學院新成立，創院院長  蔡永業教授認為應集中力量在一些新領域，老人病學是其 中之一，所以我就朝這個方向發展。我記得那時候有位資深  同事跟我說：「你研究這個範疇就慘了，沒有甚麼研究機會 的。」但其實不然，我就覺得很有成果。 為甚麼大學要成立老年學研究所？ 我們的目標是把香港建立成方便和善待長者的城市。這也是 10月初本所開幕研討會的主題。研究所不是純粹從醫學角度 看老人問題，而是集合校內心理學、工程學、建築學等領域的 專家，利用學術研究成果，提出解決問題的跨學科答案，在 社會做一些有長遠影響的項目。 舉個例子，我們開始和未來城市研究所商討，如何從社區規 劃的角度探討人口老化問題。國外就有研究顯示，綠化空間對 老人健康有重要影響，或許和飲食、抽煙那些因素一樣重要。 不久前研究所發表「全球長者生活關注指數」，香港長者 生活質素在全球排名二十四，是否表示香港在照顧老人方 面算做得不錯？ 這個指數分為收入保障、健康狀況、能力和有利環境四個領 域，香港人長壽，所以健康狀況的領域拉高了很多，但有些 領域卻排得很低，比如收入保障、社會參與和就業，以及心理 健康。這是因為香港沒有退休金制度，大部分人退休後就沒  收入。 這有解決方法嗎？ 兼職工作。我們正在構思利用創新技術來推行長者兼職工作 計劃，就像Uber 那樣，你加入這個平台，如果水喉漏水，溝 渠塞了，那些有這種技術的退休人士，就可以接這些工作來 做，令他們有點收入，又覺得自己對社會還有貢獻。 Photo by ISO staff What is the definition of ‘old age’? You can compare life to a mountain. After you’re born, you move uphill. When you’re around 30 years of age, you reach the peak. After that, you head downhill. Your brain function declines and your physical strength deteriorates. What is a common misunderstanding in society about the elderly? Many people think that old people are those who live in nursing homes, go to centres for the elderly, or who are incapacitated or demented, lying in bed at geriatric wards. ‘They’re old people, not me.’ We have to change this mindset. Gerontology is about the process of decline I just mentioned. How should we prepare for old age? You have to make your peak higher. For example, bodybuilders with large chunks of muscle can afford to lose some. It’s the same for the brain. There are many connections between brain cells. Cognitive training can help you strengthen these connections. You’ll be still doing all right when you lose some of them. So, lifestyle is important. You have to constantly work out, eat healthily, and train you brain. Then you’ll be capable of doing many things when you grow old. Be old but not frail. Strength is not necessarily related to age. It’s about what you can do, and whether you’re still in control of your environment and your life. How did you get into geriatrics? Upon graduation in the UK, I tried my hand at one or two other specialties in some top hospitals in London, such as heart and lung. But they bored me to death. For example, in cardiology, most of the cases involved heart valve problems or clogged arteries. I like to treat patients from a whole-person approach. I returned to Hong Kong in 1985. At that time the CUHK Faculty of Medicine was newly established. The founding dean Prof. Gerald Choa believed that the Faculty should focus on certain new areas. Geriatrics was one of them. So I took this path. I remember that a senior colleague said to me, ‘It’s too bad that you choose to work in this field. You won’t have many research opportunities.’ But that’s not true. I find it very fruitful. Why did the University set up the Institute of Ageing? Our vision is to make Hong Kong an age-friendly city, which was the theme of the launch conference of our institute held in early October. The institute doesn’t just see ageing issues from a health care point of view. We’ve brought together experts on psychology, engineering, architecture, etc., to come up with cross-disciplinary solutions based on their research results. Then some programmes with long-term impact and benefits can be introduced to the community. For example, we’re working with the Institute of Future Cities to see how we can study ageing from the perspective of urban planning. Some studies show that open green space has an impact on elderly health, that may be as important as diet and smoking. In the Global AgeWatch Index released earlier by the institute, Hong Kong ranked 24th among 97 countries or territories. Does this mean that we are doing pretty well in caring for the elderly? The indicators of the index can be categorized into four key domains: income security, health status, capability and enabling environment. Hong Kong people’s longevity is the main factor of our high ranking in the domain of health status. We ranked quite low in some other domains, such as income security, social participation and employment, and psychological well - being. It’s because we don’t have a pension system. Most people don’t have any income after retirement. Are there any solutions for it? Part-time employment. We’re exploring the possibility of using innovative ways to offer part-time jobs for seniors. It’s like Uber. After you’ve joined this programme, you can find a retiree with the expertise to fix your leaky pipes or unblock a drain. Retirees on the programme can earn some money and they’ll feel good about being useful to society.