The Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), and The Hong Kong Society for the Blind (HKSB) Residential Services signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a Partnership for Excellence in Communication & Swallowing Research on 25 August 2015, covering the period from 2015 to 2020. The partnership aims to conduct research studies in advancing assessment and treatment for acquired communication and swallowing disorders in elderly with visual impairment, and to promote multidisciplinary evidence-based assessment and treatment protocols for acquired communication and swallowing disorders in elderly with visual impairment to local and regional settings. Since signing the MOU, the University’s research team has begun to investigate swallowing difficulties in the nursing homes run by HKSB.
Current and upcoming projects under the Partnership
1. Cognitive Test for Elderly with Visual Impairment
The current Partnership also conducted a study to validate a visually impaired (VI) version of a cognitive screening test (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA). 70 elderly residents with visual impairment were invited to complete the VI version of Hong Kong MoCA. Initial results suggest that the Hong Kong MoCA-VI version was a valid and reliable screening test to identify cognitive impairments in elderly with visual impairment.
2. Whole Body Vibration Therapy
In the coming year, the Partnership will investigate an innovative treatment method for improving elderly’s cognitive, physical and swallowing functions. This method will involve training on a whole body vibration platform, which aims to improve the cognitive functions, muscle strength for fall prevention and sitting posture during mealtimes.
3. Clinical training for student speech therapists
In the coming year, the HKSB nursing homes will be one of the clinical training sites for the undergraduate speech therapy training programme - Bachelor of Science in Speech & Hearing Sciences which is offered by the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Faculty of Education, HKU.
