HONG KONG (SAR) CHINA - Collaborating centres from two WHO regions are working on a large-scale study to investigate and compare the behaviours and psychosocial health conditions in adolescents in China, Hong Kong SAR (China), India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand.
The study, “Associations between lifestyle behaviours and psychosocial health conditions in Hong Kong adolescents: is a cross-sectional and cross-cultural study.” It aims to better understand risk factors and their impact on young people. The study will be able to contribute to the development and design of early identification and intervention programmes.
Dr Regina Lee, a leading researcher of this study from the School of Nursing of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services), says that “although adolescents in Asia and worldwide may have similar health issues, it is important to identify the predisposing and contributing factors to high-risk behaviours unique to each country. The results of this project will contribute to understanding the health-related behaviours of adolescents, thus providing a basis for informing WHO strategies as well as individual country’s strategy to improve adolescent health.”
The other WHO collaborating centres working with Hong Kong Polytechnic University, include: the University of Hyogo, Research Institute of Nursing Care for People and Community, the School of Nursing at Peking Union Medical College in China and the Research Institute for Hospice/Palliative Care, College of Nursing, the Catholic University of Korea. In the South-East Asia Region, the Faculty of Nursing at Mahidol University in Thailand and the Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore India. Also participating in the study are, the School of Nursing, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China and the Research Institute of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, Philippines.