LETTER FROM HONG KONG

✍ Scribed by HELEN F. K. CHIU; ALFRED H. T. PANG; LINDA C. W. LAM; S. W. LI

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 265 KB
• Volume: 11
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199608)11:8<711::aid-gps368>3.0.co;2-r

✦ Synopsis

Old age psychiatry is a relatively neglected area in Southeast Asia. However, with the rapid increase of the elderly population in this part of the world, development of these services has become a pressing need. This article describes the development of psychogeriatric services, epidemiological issues and training aspects in this subspecialty in Hong Kong.

KEY WORDS-psychiatric services; old age; Chinese

Old age psychiatry is well developed in many western countries and has been officially recognized as a subspecialty within psychiatry in the United Kingdom since 1989 (Jolley and Arie, 1992). Until recently, it has been a relatively neglected area in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong has a population of 5.7 million, with 8.7% above age 65 (Census and Statistics Department, 1991) compared with a figure of less than 5% 10 years ago. Life expectancy at birth is 75.1 years for males and 80.6 years for females and is one of the highest in the world. With an ageing population and increased life expectancy, the demand for psychiatric services for the elderly has become a pressing issue.