Joining hands with the charitable organisation Food Angel, PolyU’s School of Nursing has launched a pilot programme aimed at monitoring the health of 100 elderly people living in Sham Shui Po. The two-year project has received a donation of over HK$11 million from the Li Ka Shing Foundation.

As part of the pilot programme, PolyU will train Food Angel's staff its staff to conduct basic health checks on elderly individuals – including measuring their blood pressure and blood oxygen levels, as well as pain index – while distributing lunch boxes to them. The health data collected by the delivery workers will be uploaded to the mHealth monitoring platform. Registered nurses (RNs) will have access to the platform to evaluate the health status of older adults. When needed, a registered nurse will give in-depth personal care and interventions via the mHealth app to the older adult.

This programme will provide a more effective way of managing the health of the elderly through remote monitoring. Referrals to allied health professionals or social workers can also be made by the RNs for early interventions. The team hopes that this firstof- its-kind grassroots community health model or health-social partnership will give the Government scientific evidence for adopting the mHealth app and the service model, as a way to strengthen primary health care.