Jockey Club helps bring art appreciation to Alzheimera£á?s patients

06/03/2014

With the rapidly growing proportion of elders, there is an upward trend in the number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. At present, over 70,000 people in the community suffer from such disease, while the number is expected to have reached around 330,000 by 2039.

To enhance their quality of life through art and culture, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust donated HK$3.5 million to launch the city’s first pilot programme, Journey for Active Minds: Jockey Club Museum Programme for the Elderly which provides elderly and Alzheimer patients with art-appreciation opportunities through specially-designed guided sessions and workshops.

Today (3 June), the Club’s Executive Director, Charities, Douglas So joined Elderly Commission Chairman Professor Alfred Chan, Hong Kong Museum of History Director Susanna Siu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) S H Ho Centre for Gerontology and Geriatrics Deputy Director and Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing (JCCPA) Director Professor Timothy Kwok and Art in Hospital Director Grace Cheng to officiate at the launch ceremony for the programme at the Hong Kong Museum of History.

Mr So said the Club joined a delegation led by the Elderly Commission to New York last year and was delighted to learn from overseas experiences and introduce this meaningful programme to Hong Kong. “According to the study conducted by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, participants gain positive impacts on both relief of symptoms and communication between patients and caregivers through art appreciation and mental stimulation. We would like to support piloting similar programme in Hong Kong, complemented by a study to evaluate its effectiveness. ” 

The 18-month programme at the History Museum initially involves 10 training workshops for docents, volunteers and caregivers. Health care professionals and experts will be invited to share their experiences to improve participants’ techniques in communicating with the elderly, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease, to help them stimulate the patients’ cognitive ability and memory.

200 special guided viewing sessions and workshops will be conducted on exhibitions like The Hong Kong Story and Major Archaeological Discoveries in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao on museum closed days.  For those elderly who have difficulty travelling to the museum, 36 tailor-made outreach workshops will be organised which allow them to appreciate history and art at their care centres through exhibition contents uploaded to iPads for their enjoyment. 

Upon completion of the programme, a research team led by CUHK S H Ho Centre for Gerontology and Geriatrics Deputy Director and JCCPA Director Professor Timothy Kwok will collect feedback from participating organisations to assess its effectiveness. And an exhibition will be staged at the History Museum, complemented by a catalogue featuring the artworks of the elderly created in the workshops and an evaluation of the 18-month programme. More than 4,000 elderly and Alzheimer’s patients are expected to benefit from the programme, with some 1,000 caregiver participants.

The Jockey Club has put a lot of emphasis on caring for dementia patients, including donation of the city’s first mobile vehicle for dementia checks which provides outreach support for elderly across all 18 districts through preliminary checks on memory problems; the establishment of the JCCPA in 2000, Hong Kong’s first dementia care centre integrating research, training and service; as well as the Jockey Club CADENZA Hub, a one-stop integrated health and social care centre set up in 2011. The CADENZA project also launched a public education initiative, Brain Health Public Education Campaign, in collaboration with JCCPA, to offer school-based health talks and a community carnival to promote brain health.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is not only one of the world’s leading horse racing organisations, but also Hong Kong’s largest community contributor, donating HK$1.95 billion in 2012/13. In addition, the Club is a major taxpayer, Hong Kong’s single largest by far, generating over HK$17.64 billion in 2012/13 for public funds. The Club pioneers technology applications for sporting and betting entertainment, striving for the highest levels of customer service. As a membership club, it is recognised as one of Asia’s most prestigious. These multifaceted roles make it a well-respected and remarkable organisation, dedicated to its mission of enhancing the quality of life for all Hong Kong people.