The emotional needs of the elderly in long-term care are often overlooked. For older adults with difficulties in speech and communication, including those affected by dementia, their voices may go unheard, and their needs may be misunderstood. Having trouble in finding the word to express intentions and needs is very frustrating. As a result, the elderly may become unconfident, anxious, depressed, or even withdrawn.
In a ten-week intervention study, Prof. Shum’s team compared the efficacy of a plush toy and PARO for reducing agitation and medication use among older adults diagnosed with dementia in long-term care. PARO is a cute-looking, soft, interactive robotic seal for therapeutic use. The results have provided new insights into the power of soft toys and social robots.
Caring for people
In May 2022, a study by Prof. Shum and his team was published on the BMC Psychiatry journal and came under the spotlight of Hong Kong’s press media. The team had performed a large-scale telephone survey of over 3,000 local residents. They found that more than 10% of the respondents had exhibited post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure, according to the researchers, could reach 30–40% in the fifth wave.
After these findings were shared with the public, Prof. Shum appeared on various radio and television programmes, calling for the general public to pay closer attention to changes in their own bodies, feelings, behaviour and socialising activities, as well as to seek help from professionals if such symptoms began to affect daily functioning.
Prof. Shum’s numerous research publications and other public and research engagements, on matters of concern to everyone, underscore his determination to improve lives and to give back to Hong Kong, his hometown.
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Going home and giving back
Over the years, Prof. Shum has been awarded over 25 national and international competitive grants by funding bodies in Australia and Hong Kong. He has published 4 books, 1 edited book, 8 book chapters, over 310 refereed journal articles, and 6 encyclopaedia entries. He also serves on the editorial board of international journals including Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Brain Impairment, and PsyCh Journal.
The year 2018 marked an important turning point in Prof. Shum’s scholarly path. After 30 years of overseas sojourn in Australia, Prof. Shum decided to return to Hong Kong and join PolyU as Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. Before that, he had served for five years as Dean (Research) of the Health Group at Griffith University.
Currently, in addition to multiple roles at PolyU, Prof. Shum represents PolyU on the board of the Hospital Authority, contributing to the development of Hong Kong’s healthcare system. In steering PolyU’s strategic developments, he is determined to utilise his knowledge of and experience gained in promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in Australia, and to contribute to the optimisation of the healthcare system and the management of university education, research and services in Hong Kong.
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