HKU Bulletin May 2005 (Vol. 6 No. 3)

13 12 TEACHING AND LEARNING PEOPLE The Importance of Family T he need to consider the whole family, and not just the patient, is being emphasised in the training of family physicians at the HKU Family Institute. As par t of thei r whole- fami l y approach to t reatment academics at the Institute are equipping general practitioners with the skills to recognize another perspective in understanding their individual patients. The Institute, set up in 2002 with a Lotteries Fund grant, has also been training psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, paediatricians and other medical practitioners in taking a more family-oriented approach to treating individual health issues. “In our teaching we emphasise how these fami ly relationships affect a person’s physical and psychological symptoms. The two are often related,” said Di rector of the Institute and Associate Professor with the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, Dr Lee Wai Ying. She argued that this organic approach to physical and mental health was typical in Europe and the United States and had been promoted in Hong Kong for many years but many clinicians still tended to practise on an individual basi “ s B . ut there’s a strong need to see the family together. With the Chinese many problems, l ike depression, psycho-somat ic problems and eating disorders, are relational-based.” She said that although the popular conception of disorders like anorexia was that they result from the social value placed on being slim, the truth was often more complex. “Young people here are very attached to their families to the point where living at home can become a problem. If the family is in trouble the kids will be the first to be sensitive to it and they sacrifice their own health in the process. “We also need to consider the cultural perspective and the trans-generational problems of having three generations living in a small space.” A lack of space, she said, means that many children sleep with their mother while the father sleeps on the living room sofa. “The emot ional bonds between mother and chi ld then become so strong that it becomes very difficult for children to look after themselves. And if there’s tension in the parents’ relationship the child absorbs that pain every day. “So in working wi th kids and adolescents, the fami ly background is particularly important.” Although the Institute sees around 200 cases a year it is essent ial l y a research and t raining ground for medical practitioners. “We see cases mainly for training purposes. Our primary goal is focused on master programmes and doctoral programmes because we think it’s more important to have trainers in the field,” said Lee. Law Scholar in Top Ten A HKU scholar has become the only woman to be elected one of ‘Ten Outstanding Young Jurists in China’ in 2004, by the China Law Society. Dr Xue Hong, aged 35, was also the youngest to receive this prestigious award and the only one engaged in private law research. Xue, a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Law, joined the University two and a half years ago from the Foreign Affairs Col lege in Bei j ing where she was Associate Professor. She special izes in intel lectual property and information technology law and has been a member of the Expert Panel of the Ministry of Commerce for the Doha Round of Negotiation for the Multilateral Registration System of Geographical Indications since 2002 G . eographical indications include the protection of traditional products such as Chinese rice wine or Chinese tea. Xue established the first internet user organization in Mainland China with the support of the Internet Society of China and she also represents the internet users of the Asia-Pacific region in the internationally non-profit corporation, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The organization is responsible for allocating internet addresses and domain names. “I am very honoured to have received this award and would like to express my thanks to my teachers and colleagues in the Faculty of Law,” she said. “This award has given me tremendous encouragement to do further research in my chosen field.” Professor Johannes Chan, Dean of the Faculty, said he was delighted to see Xue receive such a prestigious award. “It is duly deserved for Dr Xue’s distinguished scholarship. We are proud to have staff of such calibre and expertise.” The award, jointly organized by the China Law Society, Legal Daily and the China Youth Daily , is given out only once every three years.