Evidence in practice provides policy makers, practitioners and service users with confidence in the quality of care to be received by the service users. As a social work department with a strong team of practice-focused academics and teachers, this cluster aims to promote evidence-based research and practice by creating a platform for academics, policy makers, practitioners, students and service users to:
(1) Exchange ideas about developing and researching evidence-based models of clinical practice that will provide the best model of care for the people concerned,
(2) Facilitate human service agencies to learn and implement evidence-based models of practice through staff training and supervision,
(3) Develop innovative practice teaching pedagogy
(4) Develop state-of-the-art methods and strategies for conducting practice research
(5) Impart evidenced-informed knowledge to improve the health and mental health statuses of the general public.
Our team attracts funding from academic and non-academic sources such as General Research Fund, Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange Fund, Jockey Club Charities Trust, Beat Drugs Fund, Social Welfare Development Fund and UBS Optimus Foundation for evidence-based practice research on innovative projects concerning children, adolescents and adults with health-related issues such as cancer, eczema, dementia; and end-of life care; and with mental health-related issues such as drug addiction, depression, anxiety and special education needs. We have been experimenting indigenous and culturally adapted models of intervention including Body-Mind-Spirit Approach, Cognitive-Behaviour Approach, Intervention Approaches in End-Of-Life-Care, Mindfulness Approach and Affirmative Cognitive-Behaviour Approach and etc. Our team of colleagues have built strong and solid collaborative relationships with international and local academics; and with colleagues of local health and social service organizations in fostering the development of evidence-based practices. The outcome evaluation of these and previous projects has been published in top-tier academic journals such as Psycho-oncology, Cancer, Australian New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, Death Studies, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Palliative Medicine, Human Reproduction etc. Over a hundred knowledge exchange workshops and talks have been organized in the past three years for health and mental health professionals and service users in Hong Kong and worldwide (e.g. Australia, China, Singapore, Taiwan, USA). Some projects involve renowned overseas and local collaborators and with research data collected in multiple sites, locally and internationally.
Under the governance of this research cluster, we have also established an Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Centre @SWSA HKU. This centre aims at providing a clinical practice platform for colleagues to develop and experiment their innovative social work intervention approaches in improving the wellbeing of the general public. Through the interventions, we also hope to collect evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches. Specifically, the centre has the following objectives:
| Topic / Activity | Speaker/Moderator |
|---|---|
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Plenary Session 2 |
Prof. Paul W.C. Wong |
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Plenary Session 3 |
Dr. Nancy X.N. Yu Ms. Iris K.F. Liu |
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Keynote Speech 2 |
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Plenary Session 4 |
Prof. Celia H.Y. Chan |
|
Plenary Session 5 |
Dr. Sylvia Y.C. Kwok Lai Associate Professor City University of Hong Kong |
|
Plenary Session 6 |
Dr. Siu-Ming To |
To celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Social Work Education in HKU by 2020, the Evidence-Based Clinical Social Work Practice Research Cluster of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration is organizing a series of webinars entitled “Implementation Science: Evidence-Based Clinical Social Work Practice Research in Hong Kong”. More Information, please click here.
| Date | Topic | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 December 2020 |
Emotionally-focused Group Therapy for Parents with Children at Preadolescence: Impact and Challenges
Speaker: Dr. CHEUNG C.S. Johnson Ms. LAM Y.M. |
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| 14 December 2020 |
Evaluation on Interdisciplinary Complex Intervention: Effectiveness, Efficiency and Continuous Improvement Prof. CHOW Y.M. Amy Ms. CHAN K.N. Iris |
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| 12 January 2021 |
Breaking the barriers – Intervention for families of children with incarcerated parent(Blue Bus Jockey Club Together We Grow Project) Speaker: |
| Name | Area of Practice in Social Work |
|---|---|
| Prof. Chan L.W. Ceci Professor |
Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit Social Work (IBMS), empowerment interventions, self-help groups, advocacy and macro practice |
| Prof. Chow Y.M. Amy Professor |
Bereavement Care (Individual and Group; natural and traumatic death, including suicide), End-of-Life Care, Psychosocial Intervention for persons with Dementia, Life and death education for persons with intellectual disabilities, Health Social Work, Emotional competence of social workers |
| Dr. Chung L.P. Catherine Lecturer |
Satir Model, Family reconstruction, Cognitive behavioural therapy, Emotion focused therapy, Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) |
| Dr. Huang Yu-te Associate Professor |
Youth and adolescent mental health, well-being among sexual minorities, cultural diversity, epistemological competence |
| Dr. Law Y.W. Frances Associate Professor |
Service utilization and pathway to care, Suicide and deliberate self-harm patients, Community-based mental health |
| Prof. Ng S.M. Professor |
Culture and mental health, mindfulness and spirituality, impacts of psychosocial factors on course of schizophrenia. |
| Name | Institution | Expertise | Collaborated Projects/Activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Jerry Floersch | Rutgers University School of Social Work | Polyvagal theory, psychotherapy | Research on college student psychiatric medication narratives (U.S.) |
| Dr. Chien-Chung Huang | Rutgers University School of Social Work, Human Research Center | Child well-being, cross-cultural research | Mindfulness-based intervention with migrant children (China) |
| Prof. Louise Harms | University of Melbourne | Traumatology and medical social work | |
| Prof. Alun Jackson and Dr. Vicki Dowling |
University of Melbourne and Deakin University | Evidence-based practice in CBT on problem gamblers | GRF project on CBT for Chinese problem gamblers |
| Prof. Phillip Kendall | Temple University | Evidence-based practice in CBT on children and youth mental health problems | GRF project on CBT for Chinese youth with anxieties (Adapted Coping Cat Model) |
| Dr. Mo Yee Lee | The Ohio State University | Child mental health, Intervention research, Integrative Family and Systems Treatment (I-FAST), Solution-focused brief treatment, Integrative body-mind-spirit social work practice | Co-editor of the book “Integrated Body-Mind-Spirit Social Work – An empirically based approach to assessment and treatment”. |
| Prof. Robert Neimeyer | University of Memphis | Bereavement | |
| Prof. Brennan Peterson | Chapman University, USA | Marriage and Family Therapy, Assisted Reproductive Technology, Infertility |
Past collaborations: Cross-cultural survey on childbearing intentions in 2015. Ongoing collaborations: An online survey on knowledge and attitudes about fertility awareness and preservation among Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OB/GYN) trainees in the Asia Pacific region Upcoming collaborations: Effects of couple-based integrative body-mind- spirit (IBMS) interventions and yoga training for reducing anxiety and fostering dyadic adjustment in couples undergoing their first IVF treatment. |
| Dr. Juan Rios | Seton Hall University | CBT, mindfulness practice | Mindfulness intervention with immigrant Latino students (U.S.) |
| Prof. Bruce Thyer | University of Florida | Evidence-based social work practice |
| PI/Co-Investigator | Project Title | Funding Source | Amount(HKD) | Practice Innovations | Awarded Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Co-I: Prof. Chan L.W. Ceci | Lung Cancer Project | Research grants council-GRF | $900,000 | Patient and family caregiver intervention of CBT and IBMS | 2015 |
| PI: Prof. Chan L.W. Ceci | Insomnia and Depression | Innovative research | $2M | Serving persons with insomnia and depression with IBMS and qigong | |
| PI: Prof. Chow Y.M. Amy | Multi-center Randomized Controlled Trial of Psychosocial Bereavement Intervention for Widowed Older Adults in Hong Kong | Research grants council-GRF | $691,210 | Developed and tested with RCT of a bereavement intervention model | 2013 |
| PI: Prof. Chow Y.M. Amy | Evaluative Research on the Practice of Physical and Mental Revitalization Model on Elderly with Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia | Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (Social Work Development Fund) | $376,500 | Developed and tested with RCT of a model of working with persons with dementia | 2014 |
| PI: Prof. Chow Y.M. Amy | Reweaving Grief: Innovative Bereavement Care | Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange Fund | $100,000 | Integrated community-care for self-harm people | 2016 |
| PI: Prof. Law Y.W. Frances | Effects of Community-based Caring Contact on Post-discharge Young Adults with Self-harm: A Multi-center Randomized Controlled Trial | Research grants council- ECS | $466,710 | Integrated community-care for self-harm people | 2016 |
| PI: Prof. Law Y.W. Frances | An Evaluation Study on Project Respect: Anti-bullying Programs for Primary School Children in Hong Kong | Boys and Girls Clubs Association | $400,000 | Whole-school approach of anti-bullying | 2015 |
| PI: Prof. Law Y.W. Frances | Capacity Building for Social Workers on Working with Cyber Youth: Leading to Evidence-based Group Work Practice | Knowledge Exchange Impact Project Funding | $40,000 | Group-based intervention for youth with social withdrawal behaviors | 2015 |
| PI: Prof. Ng S.M. | Group Therapy for Chinese medicine Stagnation Syndrome: A randomized controlled trial | Research grants council-GRF | $632,156 | Developed a brief body-mind-spirt group therapy for people suffering Chinese medicine stagnation syndrome | 2014 |
| PI: Prof. Ng S.M. | A survey of ‘Stagnation’ among Hong Kong Chinese Adults in the Community | Research grants council-GRF | $446,662 | Operationalized the Chinese medicine stagnation syndrome for mental health practitioners | 2009 |
| PI: Prof. Ng S.M. | Developing Active Interests before Retirement for Better Well-being after Retirement: A Senior Mentorship Scheme | HK Jockey Club Charities Trust | $1,120,000 | Developed a cost-effective, self-sustainable retirement preparation program | 2011 |
Ji, X., Chan, C. H. Y., Lau, B. H. P., Chan, J. S. M., Chan, C. L. W., & Chung K. F. (2017). The interrelationship between sleep and depression: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial on Integrative Mind-Body-Spirit intervention. Sleep Medicine, 29:41-46.
Chan, C.H.Y., Ji, X., Chan, J.S.M., Lau, B.H.P., So, K.F., Li, A., Chung, K.F., Ng, S.M. & Chan, C. L. W. (2017). Effects of the integrative mind-body intervention on depression, sleep disturbances and plasma IL-6. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 86(1):54-56. doi: 10.1159/000447541.
Chan, J.S.M., Li, A., Ng, S.M., Ho, R.T.H., Xu, A., Yao, T.J., . . . Chan, C. L. W. (2016). Adiponectin potentially contributes to the anti-depressive effects of Baduanjin Qigong exercise in women with chronic fatigue syndrome-like illness. Cell Transplantation. 26:493-501. doi: 10.3727/096368916X096694238.
Chow, A. Y. M., McEvoy, J., Chan, I.K.N., Borschel, M., Yuen, J. H.L, Lo, J.Y.M. (2017). Do men and women with intellectual disabilities understand death? Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 61(12), 1130-1139.
Wang, C.W., Chow, A. Y. M.*. & Chan, C.L.W. (2017). The effects of life review interventions on spiritual well-being, psychological distress, and quality of life in patients with terminal or advanced cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Palliative Medicine, 31(10), 883-894.
Tang, S. & Chow, A. Y. M.* (2017). How do risk factors affect bereavement outcomes in later life? An exploration of the mediating role of dual process coping. Psychiatry Research, 255, 297-303.
Chan, M., Li, T.M.H., Law, Y.W., Wong, P.W.C., Chau, M., Cheng, C., Fu, K.W., Bacon-Shone, J., Yip, P.S.F. (2017) Engagement of vulnerable youths using internet platforms. PLoS ONE, 12(12): e0189023. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189023
Law, Y.W., Yip, P. S. F., Lai, C. C. S., Kwok, C. L., Wong, P. W. C., Liu, K.S., Ng, P. W. L., Liao, C. W. M., & Wong, T.W. (2016). A pilot study on the efficacy of volunteer mentorship for young adults with self-harm behaviors using a quasi-experimental design. Crisis, 37(6), 415-426. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000393.
Law, Y.W., Wong, P.W.C., & Yip, P.S.F. (2015). Health and psychosocial service use among suicides without psychiatric illness. Social Work, 60, 65–74. doi: 10.1093/sw/swu054
Ng, S.M., & Leng, L.L. (in press). Major depression in Chinese medicine outpatients with stagnation syndrome – Prevalence and the impairments in well-being. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Ng, S.M., Chow, K. W., Lau, H. P., & Wang, Q. (2017). Awareness versus un-clingig: Which matters in mindfulness? Contemporary Buddhism, 18(2), 263-276. doi:10.1080/14639947.2017.1374326.
Ng, S.M., Leng, L. L., & Wang, Q. (January 8, 2017). Active interest mentorship for soon-to-retire people: A self-sustaining retirement preparation program. Applied Gerontology, Online first. doi:10.1177/0733464816687448.
| Date | Title of the Activity | Type (e.g. workshop, talk, forum) | Organizer(s) | Target(s) and Expected numbers (i.e. Academics, Professionals, General public) | Fee Charging (Yes/No), Amount | Learning opportunities for students (Yes/No) and the numbers that can be involved | Person-in-charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2018 | Conference presentation | Oral Presentation | JCECC, HKU | 600 professional | No | Yes | Prof. Chow Y.M. Amy |
| Mid 2018 | Seeing the Invisible, Parent-child IBMS group | Intervention group | Department of Social Work and Social Administration, HKU | Children with eczema and their family caregivers from the General Public | No | Yes, each intervention arm can accommodate 2 student helpers | Prof. Chan H.Y. Celia |
| 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Jun 22, 2018 | Chinese medicine perspective on depression – a strategic integrative approach | Research seminar | Department of Social Work and Social Administration | Local professionals | No | Yes, no fixed quota | Prof. Gloria Wong |
| 9:00 am – 5:00 pm July 9 | Brief body-mind-spirit group therapy for Chinese medicine stagnation syndrome | Workshop | Department of Social Work and Social Administration | Local professionals | No | No | Prof. Gloria Wong |
| 9:00 am – 4:30 pm, July 20, 2018 | Transforming Body-Mind-Spirit in Social Work : Emerging Practice and Development | Symposium | Department of Social Work and Social Administration | Local professionals, 200 | Yes, $700/$1000 | Yes | Prof. Ceci Chan |
| Type of Activity | Target Audience | Time | Any other information | Person-in-charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-house supervision for St. James Settlement | Social workers in end of life care | Twice a month | Prof. Chow Y.M. Amy | |
| In-house supervision for TWGHs | Social workers in intergenerational art and dementia | Once every quarter | Prof. Chow Y.M. Amy | |
| Private consultation for Singaporean social workers | Fellow of NYU end of life care Programme | Once every two months (as guest mentor for the NYU program) | Prof. Chow Y.M. Amy | |
| Live case demonstration | BSW Year 4 students | Every Fridays 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm | During term time only |