SAHK 香港耀能協會

Press Release

2023-12-04

【Press Release】International Day of Persons with disability 2023 - the Association x HKPA ICF Conference

【4 December 2023】Glocalisation of WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in Clinical Practice: Worldwide Experience Sharing Conference (the Conference), the first local international conference on ICF, co-hosted by the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association (HKPA) and SAHK (the Association), was successfully held on 2 December 2023 at The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building, North Point, Hong Kong. This conference is the final celebration event of the 60th Anniversary of both organisations. It has attracted more than 650 health professional experts or interested in ICF Classification and its uses and implementation. Participants including 502 from Hong Kong and 155 from Mainland China attended plenary lectures by worldwide ICF experts, as well as oral presentations by local ICF practitioners together with pre- and post-conference workshops by overseas plenary speakers, allowing all participants to share their valuable experiences and exchange their views on ICF.

The Conference wanted also to celebrate 3 December the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2023 by reflecting on this year's theme "United in action to rescue and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for, with and by persons with disabilities”.

The Conference truly turned a new page for the sustainable development of ICF in local rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities. The ICF experts who joined the Conference came from all over the world, including Professor Gerold STUCKI, Professor of Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne; Dr. Matilde LEONARDI, Director of Neurology, Public Health, Disability Department and Coma Research Centre of Carlo Besta Neurological Institute; Professor Reuben ESCORPIZO, Professor and Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science of the University of Vermont; Professor Tiebin YAN, Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University; Professor Peter Tsan-hon LIOU, Professor of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University; Dr. Ivan SU, Head of Professional and Programme Development of the Association; and Ms Luca Sára ANTONI, Visiting Consultant and Lecturer of the Institute of Rehabilitation Practices of the Association. They shared their important insights on the implementation of ICF in local settings.

"The clinical application of ICF is certainly an important step in advancing our practice as healthcare professionals. Implementation of ICF may also promote the quality of rehabilitation services for people in need, thereby enhancing their health and functioning.” Professor Marco PANG, President of HKPA, said during his welcoming speech.

Mr. David YAU, Vice Chairperson of the Association, addressed in his speech that the implementation of ICF signifies a paradigm shift, from a professionally driven and highly specialised approach to a person-centered and holistic, inter-professional collaborative approach, in the design and delivery of rehabilitation services for community-dwelling individuals who live with lifelong, or long-term disabilities. In recent years, many NGOs in Hong Kong started to pioneer ICF applications in community rehabilitation services. The Association has been selected by the Hong Kong Social Welfare Department, and funded by the Lotteries Fund, as one of two operators of the Pilot Integrated Community Rehabilitation Centres (ICRC), with the adoption of ICF. This signifies a new milestone for local ICF development.

The officiating guest of the Conference, Ms Vega WONG, JP, Commissioner for Rehabilitation, Labour and Welfare Bureau, said at the Opening Ceremony that the Government implemented Persons with Disabilities and Rehabilitation Programme Plan in 2020 and since then already identified opportunities for applying the ICF in Hong Kong. In 2023, the Government launched the pilot scheme to set up two ICRCs, and the Association was selected to set up one of the ICRCs which was named SAHK New Territories West ICRC. The application of ICF in the ICRC hopefully will allow to provide more systematic rehabilitation training and evaluating outcomes, a standard language and conceptual basis for the definition and measurement of functioning and disability and holistic assessments of service users’ health condition, body functions and other personal factors, which cater service users’ unique needs.

The 3-days Conference with its stimulating programmes offered 30 presentations, plenary lectures, parallel symposia, panel discussions, as well as free paper sessions that covered current ICF-related research, education, and service provision carried out in hospitals, NGOs and academic institutes in Hong Kong and Mainland China as well as internationally. Together with the pre- and post-conference workshops, and the pre-conference visit of 3 ICF-based service units run by SAHK, the major pioneering NGOs advocating ICF in Hong Kong, the conference has been an historical moment to discuss about improving functioning of persons with disabilities by reducing barriers and promoting facilitators, in Hong Kong, Mainland China and all over the world.

"Nothing on us without us” was loud and clear in Hong Kong these days!

To learn more about the Conference, please visit:
https://icf-conf2023hk.com/

About Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association:
The Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association was officially founded in 1963 and was incorporated in 1998. Provisional membership of World Physiotherapy was gained in 1976 and full membership was subsequently earned in 1978. In 1994, the Association joined the Federation of Medical Societies of Hong Kong as an Associate Member.

About SAHK:
Founded in 1963, in upholding its belief in "Succeed and Advance”, SAHK is dedicated to provide a wide range of rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities at all ages in order to realise their full potential, enhance their independency, and assist them to integrate into the society. The Association’s four core services are "Children and Family Support Service”, "Special Education”, "Adult Service” and "Community Support Service”, render all-round support to our service users in the areas of education, residential and home care, therapeutic training, vocational training and employment, and carers support. At present, under the auspice of the Association, a total of 84 service units and Specialised Programmes currently provide services to over 25,000 families per annum.

Ms Vega WONG, JP, Commissioner for Rehabilitation, Labour and Welfare Bureau (middle), Mr. David YAU, Vice Chairperson of the Association (fourth left), Professor Marco PANG, President of HKPA (fourth right), Mr. Raymond TSANG, Vice President of HKPA (third right) and Mr. Eddie SUEN, Chief Executive Officer of the Association (third left) took a group photo with 4 speakers.



Ms Vega WONG, JP, Commissioner for Rehabilitation, Labour and Welfare Bureau, said the Government implemented Persons with Disabilities and Rehabilitation Programme Plan in 2020 and identified opportunities for applying the ICF in Hong Kong.



Mr. David YAU, Vice Chairperson of the Association, said SAHK, being one of the leading rehabilitation organisations in Hong Kong, has applied ICF in various service settings and also participated in the ICF core set development for adults with cerebral palsy which led by the ICF Research Branch of Switzerland from 2018 to 2021.



Professor Marco PANG, President of HKPA, said the theme of the Glocalisation of WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in Clinical Practice: Worldwide Experience Sharing Conference is very much aligned with the motto of HKPA "Uniting physiotherapists, advancing practice and enhancing health”.



The Conference has attracted over 650 ICF practitioners from Greater Bay Area, China.



Professor Gerold STUCKI, Professor of Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne.



Dr. Matilde LEONARDI ,Director of Neurology Carlo Besta Neurological Institute.



Professor Reuben ESCORPIZO, Professor and Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science of the University of Vermont.



Professor Tiebin YAN, Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University.



Professor Peter Tsan-hon LIOU, Professor of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University.

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