Reflections on a Research-Practice Partnership at CoA
Since I entered CoA, I witnessed how it has built a rewarding collaboration with the Aberdeen Kai-Fong Welfare Association (AKA), supporting their frontline teams in using big data to improve elderly care services. I am glad to be engaged in collecting data in their community, and be contributing to the next phase of this partnership, which continues to grow from strong foundations laid by earlier joint work.
The standardised big data assessment protocol for AKA’s Elderly Centre Service Management System (ECS), alongside training workshops can strengthen staff members’ confidence in handling data and conducting interviews. I also had deeper understanding of the structure and scales of NGO and learnt how to translate numbers into practical data insight for service planning.
The field visiting to different centers from AKA let me exchange interviewing techniques and refine intervention strategies together with social workers. What I find most meaningful about this project is how it bridges research and practice in real life. It is not only about building technical skills in data systems, but about empowering frontline colleagues to turn everyday service data into better support for older adults. I look forward to seeing how this continued partnership with AKA further strengthens community-based elderly care in the southern district of Hong Kong.
By: Xinye ZHU, Research Assistant
Email: xinyezhu@hku.hk