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As China ages, millions of parents who raised only one child are entering later life. Compared with older adults who have multiple children, they may face greater concerns about future care, financial security, and social support. In response, China introduced the Elderly Family Planning Subsidy (EFPS), a program that provides financial assistance to eligible older adults from one-child families. In our new study published in the Journal of Aging & Social Policy, we examined whether this policy was associated with better health outcomes among older Chinese adults. Using nationally representative longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we followed 1,981 subsidy-eligible older adults and compared recipients with similar non-recipients. Measuring Policy Impact The findings suggest that the EFPS has not yet translated into measurable improvements in health outcomes. We found no significant differences between subsidy recipients and comparable non-recipients in self-rated health, cognitive function, daily functioning, chronic disease burden, depressive symptoms, or overall mortality. These findings are important because the EFPS was introduced to help address the unique challenges faced by older adults from one-child families, a population that may have fewer sources of family support as they age. Why Might the Policy Be Falling Short?…

As a researcher at the Sau Po Centre on Ageing, I have experienced genuine excitement about what AI can bring to my daily work. Tasks that once kept me at the table for hours, such as organising literature, cleaning data, and developing preliminary codes, can now be completed at a speed I had never imagined. I value this efficiency, and I am more inspired by the new possibilities AI creates for research. However, it is important to recognise that AI is not a panacea. Using AI responsibly requires me to remain attentive to the accuracy of its outputs, the privacy of research data, and the biases it may reproduce. AI can support my judgement, but it cannot replace my responsibility as a researcher. More importantly, in my work at the Sau Po Centre on Ageing, the time saved through AI has allowed me to spend more time with the people at the heart of our research: older adults, carers, community partners, and frontline practitioners. It creates more opportunities for me to listening to and learning from them, discuss challenges arising on the front line, and understand the contexts that an algorithm cannot fully capture. Through visits to different research sites,…

Having worked at the Centre, I have gained valuable insights into the complex nature of aging. When I am stepping into this field, I understand the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach that considers not only physical health but also mental well-being, social engagement, and environmental influences on older adults’ quality of life. Through my experience, I have learned how dedicated research and evidence-based policies can make a difference, helping better live with dignity, comfort and purpose. This journey has also shown me the importance of collaboration with different stakeholders, working together to address real-world challenges.  Personally, I understand and recognize resilience and dignity of the elderly, learning to see them not just as recipients of care, but as individuals with stories, wisdom, and dignity.  This experience has strengthened my interest in promoting healthy aging, social inclusion, and a more supportive society for our aging population. I am happy for the opportunities to learn and grow in this impactful field. By: Rachel LAUNG, Executive Officer Email: laungks@hku.hk…

One of the greatest privileges of working with caregivers in CoA is being invited into stories that people rarely share openly. Behind every conversation is a unique journey, filled with moments of love, uncertainty, loss, hope, and growth. As I listened to these stories, I realised that what stayed with me most was not the adversity itself, but how people chose to respond to it. These experiences have changed not only how I understand caregiving, but also how I understand strength. One caregiver, in particular, left a lasting impression on me. She was caring for her husband, who was living with early-stage dementia. Every day brought new misunderstandings, repeated conversations, and emotional conflicts. As his condition changed, so did the demands of caregiving. She often felt trapped, with little personal space and almost no time to care for herself. The emotional burden became so overwhelming that she sought psychiatric support. Despite everything, she never stopped trying. Rather than accepting that nothing could improve, she continued searching for ways to better care for both her husband and herself. She turned to social workers and psychiatrists for guidance, learning new ways to communicate with her husband. With the support of social workers…

When I joined the Sau Po Centre on Ageing, I stepped into completely unfamiliar territory — no social science training, no prior experience in community care, and a mindset built entirely in the commercial IT world. Moving into ageing research required a profound shift in how I approach technology and design. (Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Pro) Here are three mindset shifts I experienced while building the IT platform for the JC Stand-by U project. Shift 1: From “Users” to “Families”In commercial IT, “users” are metrics on a dashboard. But here, I quickly learned that behind every database record is a caregiver, an older adult, and a family navigating stress. Designing our case management system meant realizing we aren’t just storing data—we are mapping out the real-life support journey of vulnerable people. Shift 2: From “Single Client” to “Ecosystem Design”In a typical commercial project, you design a system for one company with one set of rules. Here, our team do not provide the respite services directly—our partnering NGOs do. That means a rigid, one-size-fits-all system wouldn’t work. I had to shift from designing for a “single client” to designing an ecosystem that respects the unique workflows of different NGOs, while…

My Research Mandate As a researcher at CoA, I was tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of an Intergenerational Co-Learning program organized by the local NGO Mighty Oaks. My mandate was straightforward: to examine quality-of-life outcomes for older adults, academic and developmental benefits for students, and organizational gains. I came to measure outcomes. What I found, however, could not be fully captured by numbers alone. What the Shared Space Revealed The real learning came from simply sitting in the spaces where the program happened—tables at the perfect height for both child and elder, the hum of genuine attention, no expectations, no rush. Learning Flows Both Ways What struck me most was reciprocity. When activities started, children initiated conversation and made suggestions. Elders leaned in, genuinely interested. No one corrected or took over. But more than that, I watched the shift. When a child spoke, the elder’s whole body would settle into listening. When an elder shared something, the child’s eyes would widen with real interest. There was a quality of attention I rarely see in any context—one generation genuinely paying attention to the other. In one conversation, a child asked an elder a direct question about something they noticed. The elder…

I used to feel comfortable with numbers. Large datasets, statistical models, structured variables. They felt like a stable way to hold complexity, as long as I could find the right lens. At CoA, the work feels closer to people. I still work with surveys and data collection, but much of it now happens in shared space, in real time, with informal caregivers who bring their own pace, their own weight of experience. In focus groups, I notice how much is already happening before anything is asked. How people enter the room. Where they sit. Whether they speak or stay still. The way a space settles changes the way people settle into it. And then there are moments that do not quite become “data” in the usual sense. In one discussion, a caregiver becomes emotional while speaking. Another participant quietly offers tissues and leans in slightly. The conversation continues, but the room feels different after that. Not louder, just… held. Facilitation, for me, is often about noticing these small shifts. When to speak, when to pause, when to let silence stay a little longer than feels comfortable. Sometimes the most important part of a session is not in the questions at…

Housing is more than four walls. For older adults, it shapes daily functioning, health, and independence. Yet when it comes to measuring housing insecurity in this population, the field is still catching up. Our recently published systematic review in The Gerontologist examined how housing insecurity has been measured among older adults across existing literature. Screening over 1,300 articles and including 13 studies, we mapped six core dimensions captured by existing tools: housing unaffordability, instability, poor physical quality, inadequacy, lack or disrepair of housing durables, and poor neighborhood quality. Two findings stood out. First, age-friendly housing features, such as grab bars and accessible pathways, were almost entirely absent from the reviewed tools. As physical capacity changes with age, these features carry direct implications for older adults’ safety and independent living. Second, psychometric reporting was sparse: no study reported test-retest reliability, and validity evidence was largely informal. This review is the first of its kind focused specifically on older adult populations. We hope it lays the groundwork for developing purpose-built, validated instruments that reflect the realities of aging, across diverse cultural and policy contexts. Read the full paper (Open Access): https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag130 By: Peiyi LU & Tianxin CAI Department of Social Work and…

My research interest in caregiving has grown from both academic engagement and lived experience. During my time working for JC Carer Space Project, I examined the challenges faced by carers, their unmet needs, and their interactions with community services. Yet this research became profoundly meaningful to me when I also became a carer myself. This transition allowed me to understand caregiving not only as a research topic, but as an embodied experience shaped by responsibility, uncertainty, emotional labor, and institutional constraints. It deepened my awareness that caregiving is never merely a private family matter; rather, it is a critical social issue that reflects how societies recognize and support invisible labor. My primary research interest lies in carers’ needs and in how these needs shape their willingness and capacity to use social services. Carers often encounter complex and evolving difficulties, including psychological stress, financial pressure, time conflicts, and limited access to reliable information. However, the existence of need does not automatically lead to help-seeking behavior. Many carers remain outside formal support systems. I am particularly interested in this gap between “having needs” and “using services,” as it reveals the broader social, cultural, and institutional barriers that influence carers’ decisions. By integrating…

Reflecting on my year-long journey with the Jockey Club Multicultural Carer Support project under the Sau Po Centre on Ageing, the most profound lessons I have learned are about how we position ourselves in the field and how we initiate natural conversations. 1. Prioritize Human Connection Over Project Promotion. It is natural for potential participants to feel hesitant or concerned when approached by a stranger. Initially, during outreach with our NGO partners, we used a direct opening line: “Hello, do you care for an elderly relative? We can help you.” While this straightforward approach might work for mainstream social work and research, it often raises suspicion among ethnic minority communities. We pivoted to simple, warm greetings like, “Hello, have a good day,” or “Enjoy your gathering.” This low-pressure approach broke the ice and naturally opened the door for genuine engagement. 2. Practice Sincere and Active Listening. Building deep trust is essential for uncovering caregivers’ authentic needs. One of my familiar strategies is asking participants about the meaning of their names. Through these conversations, I learned that one participant’s Arabic name meant “Lord of the Full Moon,” while a Punjabi name translated to “Peacefulness.” Sharing the meaning of my own name…