RISA People

Prof. Crystal KWAN is a Thetos Foundation Young Scholar in Social Services and Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). She is a registered social worker and obtains Master of Social Work, Doctor of Philosophy of Social Work at the University of Calgary. 

In her research, Prof. Kwan adopts a strengths-based, resilience and biopsychosocial-spiritual perspective on ageing, focusing on its challenges and opportunities. She employs qualitative methods such as participatory approaches to explore the complexity and diversity of the ageing experiences. Adopting this approach with policy, practice and research, she addresses issues such as poverty, homelessness, livelihoods, social participation and disaster resilience in older adults. As a Principal Investigator (PI), Prof. Kwan has led research projects on the above themes and received supports from funders such as the University Grants Committee and the Chief Executive's Policy Unit. 

• Bachelor of Arts, University of Calgary
• Master of Social Work, University of Calgary
• Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work, University of Calgary

• Registered Social Worker