Dr. Ada Mui of the Columbia University School of Social Work Receives a $1.46 Million Grant from The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Project CADENZA takes elderly care in Hong Kong to new apex

May 22, 2006

New York, NY - Dr. Ada Mui, a professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work, has received a $1.46 million dollar grant from The Hong Kong Jockey Club. The grant is part of a five-year, multi-million dollar community project initiated by the Club to help revolutionize the way Hong Kong views and cares for its elderly population. Dr. Mui will be the Principal Investigator in developing a new design and training program for social workers in the field of gerontology in Hong Kong.

Entitled "CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors," the project was officially launched on May 19th in Hong Kong by SAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang, Club Chairman Ronald Arculli, and three local Hong Kong celebrities who have been appointed as Ambassadors for the program: Do Do Cheng, Leo Ku and Woo Kai Sau (Woo Fung). "CADENZA" stands for "Celebrate their Accomplishments; Discover their Effervescence and Never-ending Zest as they Age." The name was chosen because the Italian word cadenza, a musical term referring to a virtuoso solo passage near the end of a movement in a concerto, is also used figuratively to describe the apex of one's life and the celebration of a lifetime's accomplishments.

The CADENZA project was developed in response to the changing demographic trends in Hong Kong that will see the proportion of senior citizens more than double over the next 20 years. "We realized that if no action were taken to change the attitude and mindset of the general public, elderly issues would present a growing problem and burden to our society," Mr. Arculli explained. "As a responsible member of the community, the Club is always keen to play its part in helping Hong Kong tackle these important issues."

"This is the first collaboration between The Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Columbia University School of Social Work. CADENZA could flourish into a new culture and create continual power to encourage the elderly," said Dr. Mui. "We need people who care for their elders and professional care workers to learn and work together, so that our senior citizens have a better future. The elderly should not be viewed as a social problem, but rather as part of a community's social growth."

The project comprises five components: a leadership programme to encourage more faculty members and post doctoral students to specialise in gerontology (the scientific study of the social and psychological aspects of aging); an education and training program for frontline care workers and professionals who work with the elderly; a public education program targeting the entire community; a demonstration unit to pilot new approaches to home and residential care taught in the education and training program; and an evaluation of all the components. Dr. Mui will also be collaborating with colleagues at Minnesota and the Chinese University of Hong-Kong on the project.

"We are very proud of Professor Ada Mui - a leading gerontologist, educator, and scholar - who has had a longstanding professional and personal commitment to the well-being of Asian elders internationally as well as in the United States," said Jeanette Takamura, Dean of the Columbia University School of Social Work. "The School is pleased to be a partner in this very important initiative, which we believe will ensure that Hong Kong elders will be well served and cared for in their later years."

For more information or to interview Dr. Ada Mui, please contact Jeannie Yip at 212-851-2327 or [email protected].

About CUSSW (www.socialwork.columbia.edu)

For more than 100 years, the Columbia University School of Social Work has been the leader in practice and policy. Located in New York City, the School offers Master's and Doctoral programs which are nationally and internationally recognized for their excellence. With a signature curriculum and far-reaching field education experience, CUSSW continues to be at the forefront of clinical practice, public policy, teaching, research and social work innovation in the 21st Century.

About Ada Mui

Professor Mui was one of the pioneers in social work with elders in Hong Kong. After she received her first social work degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the early '70s, she practiced medical social work in major government hospitals. In the late '70s, she served as geriatric social worker in the first geriatric demonstration unit at the Hong Kong Princess Margaret Hospital. She provided psychosocial care to in-patients, day patients, and outpatients and conducted support groups to assist family to cope with caregiver stress. Before leaving for the US to pursue her doctorate degree in social work at Washington University in St. Louis, she also provided training and lectures to students in other disciplines such as medicine, nursing, and others. Professor Mui has had direct clinical practice experience with older adults in a variety of settings, including community-based agencies, senior housing programmes, acute hospital settings, home care, nursing home, and hospice programmes. She has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed papers in international journals, book chapters, and books. Her research focuses on understanding long-term care, family caregiver stress, and quality of life issues among different cultural and ethnic elderly groups in the US and in Asia.