eHealth+ Intergeneration Pilot Programme:
Harnessing the Power of the Younger Generation to Help Elderly People Manage Their Health

In 2023, the Government launched the "eHealth+" five-year plan, aiming to upgrade eHealth from a health record sharing system into a comprehensive information healthcare infrastructure. To help eldery people learn how to use the eHealth App, enable them to smoothly integrate into a smart healthy lifestyle, better manage their personal health, and access more comprehensive health information, eHealth has launched the "eHealth+ Intergeneration Pilot Programme". The programme recruited secondary school and tertiary students and trained them to serve as "eHealth+ Youth Ambassadors". Earlier, the team also organised "Elderly Centre Service Days", allowing a group of enthusiastic Youth Ambassadors to go into the community and assist elderly people in learning how to independently manage their health information, embodying the spirit of intergenerational inclusion.

Collaborating with Four Schools: Learning the eHealth App through Intergenerational Inclusion

The programme recruited approximately 100 students from four secondary schools — Marymount Secondary School in Happy Valley, NLSI Lui Kwok Pat Fong College in Kwun Tong, HKSKH Bishop Hall Secondary School in Sau Mau Ping, and Tai Kwong Hilary College in Tai Po — together with 12 youth volunteers, to jointly serve as "eHealth+ Youth Ambassadors". Before providing services, they received professional training covering basic knowledge of eHealth, practical teaching methods to help elderly people become familiar with the functions of the eHealth App, communication skills for interacting with the elderly, as well as points to note and technical troubleshooting when assisting elderly people. The young people also completed designated tasks through role-playing, simulating real-life situations they might encounter when interacting with elderly people, thereby learning and enhancing their problem-solving abilities.

▲ The "eHealth+ Youth Ambassadors" help elderly people learn how to use the eHealth App.

The "eHealth+ Intergeneration Pilot Programme" collaborates with four organisations, including the Fong Shu Chuen District Elderly Community Centre, the Ma On Shan Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council, the ELCHK, Shatin District Community Centre for the Golden-Aged, and the Wan Chai District Elderly Community Centre. At each "Elderly Centre Service Day", around 10 students were arranged to serve more than 20 elderly people, providing focused one-to-two interaction to help the elderly people master the use of the eHealth App. During the activities, the "eHealth+ Youth Ambassadors" first got to know the elderly people and deepened interaction through games, then helped them download and log in to the eHealth App. Under the guidance of the ambassadors, the elderly people personally tried to complete various tasks such as "Inputting Blood Pressure / Blood Glucose and Weight Records", "Viewing Medication / Vaccination Records", "Booking", "Cross-Boundary Health Record", and "Checking Elderly Health Care Vouchers", so as to deepen their impression and become familiar with the operations.

Thanking Students for Helping Reset Login Details

At an earlier Service Day held at the Wan Chai District Elderly Community Centre, one of the participants, Grandma Ho, an elderly person living alone, had already downloaded the eHealth App on her mobile phone but had been unable to log in because no one was there to assist her. "I am very grateful for the students' assistance. They helped me reset my login details and activate facial recognition login, and also taught me how to use the various functions," Grandma Ho said. In the future, in addition to being able to use the App for medical appointments, she can also check the balance of her Elderly Health Care Vouchers and medical records, as well as browse health information on a daily basis, making it easier and more convenient for her to seek medical care and manage her personal health.

▲ Grandma Ho thanked the young volunteers for helping her reset her login information and teaching her how to use the eHealth App.

Teaching an Elderly People to Use the eHealth App to Support Independent Health Management

Wong Sze-hang, a student from Marymount Secondary School, said she decided to become an "eHealth+ Youth Ambassador" because she recognised that eHealth is of great help to an elderly people in managing their health. She hoped to help elderly people learn how to use the eHealth App so that they can easily check the usage of their Elderly Health Care Vouchers, make medical appointments and follow-ups, and remind themselves to measure and record their blood pressure every day. "Most an elderly people are not familiar with electronic products and applications and may not know the various functions of the eHealth App. Sometimes, right after teaching them a step, they forget it, so I need to teach them patiently and let them gradually master how to use these functions." Wong said that participating in this programme not only cultivated her patience but also made her understand that as long as someone is willing to accompany them, elderly people are equally willing to learn new things. She expressed that if there are similar activities in the future, she will continue to participate, hoping to help more elderly people learn to use this useful eHealth App.

Using Technology as a Bridge to Promote Intergenerational Inclusion

Ms Ngan Yuet, who led the Youth Ambassadors from Marymount Secondary School, said she hoped the programme would allow students to use technology as a bridge. In the process of teaching elderly people how to use the eHealth App, they could strengthen their own communication and adaptability skills while cultivating empathy and patience. The school also believes that the eHealth App brings significant benefits to elderly people, such as allowing them to store blood pressure or blood glucose records in the App every day for easy reference at any time; making medical appointments more convenient; enabling them to view past medication records in the App for doctors' reference; and helping elderly people join District Health Centre (DHC) and establish healthy lifestyle habits. Since elderly people often resist using mobile App when no one teaches them, having students provide personal guidance can both solve the operational difficulties of the elderly people and promote intergenerational inclusion, establishing sustainable teaching model in the community. Students can also gain a sense of fulfilment through their interactions with the elderly people.

Volunteering during the Summer Holiday to Give Back to Elderly People

Another community youth who participated in the activity, Miss Lau Yan-hei, said: "Many elderly people, due to a lack of assistance or guidance from their family members, often do not know how to use the eHealth App even downloaded it. Through this programme, with the help of young people and students, they can learn about the different functions of the eHealth App, such as how to view to-do lists, medication records, electronic vaccination cards and the balance of Elderly Health Care Vouchers. They can also browse health-related information on a daily basis and even manage their family members' health." She hopes to continue participating in such activities in the future to give back to the community and help more elderly people.

Recruiting More Young People to Continuously Contribute to Society

The partner of this Intergeneration Pilot Programme is the St. James' Settlement. Mr Cheung Yiu-kei, Senior Manager of Youth Services of the organisation, said he hoped that through this collaboration with eHealth, elderly people could learn how to use the eHealth App so that they could continue to manage their own health through the App after returning home and comprehensively organise their health records. He mentioned that the response of elderly people to the activities was very enthusiastic, with many actively asking questions. At the same time, he hoped that young people could practise intergenerational inclusion and contribute to the society through this, while honing their skills in communicating with the elderly people by assisting in the promotion of eHealth. Mr Cheung pointed out that since many elderly people have no idea where to start with digital technology, he hoped to recruit more young people to participate and help elderly people learn new knowledge.

Going into the Community to Celebrate with the Public – Celebrating eHealth's 10th Anniversary Together

eHealth has always been committed to establishing lifelong electronic health records for all citizens in Hong Kong. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, eHealth will hold a large-scale celebration event and exhibition on 22 August (Saturday) at the Atrium on Level 1, MCP Discovery, Tseung Kwan O. On the day of the event, a recognition ceremony for the "eHealth+ Youth Ambassadors" will be held to commend the enthusiastic young volunteers. In addition, there will be a number of fun booth games. Members of the public are welcome to actively participate and celebrate eHealth's 10th birthday together. Participants who play the games at the venue can also receive exquisite souvenirs (while stocks last).

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