HKU Launches “Language in Healthcare” Website to Enhance Healthcare Communications

A new website, "Language in Healthcare" or "LiH" aimed at facilitating and enhancing healthcare communication will be officially launched on June 25, 2015 (Thursday). The website is a joint initiative between the Faculty of Arts' School of English and the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine.

The website (http://hkulih.hku.hk/) aims to provide a one-stop, comprehensive online resource to researchers and medical professionals about the role of language and communication in achieving successful healthcare outcomes, as well as to communicate information about on-going healthcare communications initiatives and training possibilities. The site will also strive to make information available to the general public about a number of genetic conditions, as well as external links to further reliable information about genetic conditions and genetic counseling in Hong Kong.

Dr Olga Zayts from the School of English, who leads the Health Communication Research Cluster at the HKU Centre for the Humanities and Medicine, said: "We want people to have access to resources to help them better understand their health and how language affects their healthcare." Dr Zayts is working in close collaboration with Dr Brian HY Chung from the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine on a number of projects researching health communication in genetic counselling in Hong Kong. Dr Zayts received the Faculty of Arts Knowledge Exchange Award 2013 for her team's work on the project.

The launch is held as part of the13th International Conference on Communication, Medicine, and Ethics (COMET) which will run from June 25 to 27, 2015 at the University of Hong Kong.

Members of the media are cordially invited to attend the launch reception. Details are as follows:

Date: June 25, 2015 (Thursday)
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Venue: Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences, No. 2 Caine Lane, Mid-Levels

Directions:
http://www.hkmms.org.hk/English/general.htm
http://www.hkmms.org.hk/Chinese/c_general.htm

For media enquiries, please contact Mr Cyrus Chan, Events Coordinator, Faculty of Arts (tel: 3917 4984 email: cyrusc@hku.hk).