Supporting smokers to quit
We all know that smoking is harmful to our health, but quitting is easier said than done. Many smokers have trouble quitting for reasons such as heavy addiction or unable to receive counselling services during working hours. A team at HKU School of Nursing and Public Health developed community-based smoking cessation services to provide information on smoking hazards and cessation advice through telephone counselling and instant messages. The team is also developing an artificial intelligence chatbot to provide 24/7 smoking cessation support.
Join the “Quit to Win” Campaign: https://quittowin.hk/
Quantifying losses caused by air pollution
Hong Kong is notorious for its severe air pollution problem. Poor air quality poses a serious threat to the health of the public and our future generations.
In 2008, a research team launched the Hedley Environmental Index (HEI). Drawing on the local air pollution statistics and incidence of health conditions, the Index estimates and quantifies the costs of air pollution, such as economic losses, health expenditure and the loss of labour. The Index’s goal is to better communicate health risks and accurately report local air pollution levels to ensure the issue is addressed.
Check out HEI: http://hedleyindex.hku.hk/
戒煙大贏家
「吸煙危害健康」這道理無人不曉,可是戒煙知易行難,不少吸煙人士因心癮或難以抽空接受戒煙輔導等原因半途而廢。香港大學護理與公共衞生學院的研究團隊開發以社區為基礎的戒煙服務,通過電話諮詢和即時消息提供有關吸煙危害的信息和戒煙建議。 團隊現時更積極開發人工智能聊天機器人,希望全天候協助吸煙人士戒煙。
參加「戒煙大贏家」計劃:https://quittowin.hk/
量化空氣污染造成的損失
香港空氣污染問題嚴重,惡劣的空氣質素為公眾及下一代的健康帶來嚴重威脅。
港大醫學院公共衞生學院研究團隊於2008年設計出達理指數(Hedley Environmental Index,簡稱HEI),以香港空氣污染和公共衞生的統計數據為基礎,推算並量化因空氣污染而產生的經濟損失、醫療成本及勞動力損失等。
指數旨在加強傳達健康風險及準確匯報本地空氣污染水平,以提醒社會各界需要認真及盡快處理香港的空氣污染問題。
查閱達理指數: http://hedleyindex.hku.hk/