26% of 'left-behind elderly' develop moderate depression symptoms or above with their children's emigration

There has been an increase in the number of Hong Kong's senior citizens whose children have emigrated overseas in recent years. Many of the "left-behind elderly" have developed emotional disorders or even suicidal tendencies due to loneliness. According to a survey on the left-behind elderly, more than 20% of the respondents are suspected to be suffering from moderate depressive symptoms or above and have great needs for medical protection, life care, and community support. Nevertheless, only a few of them would take the initiative to seek help. Representatives from the social welfare sector call on the HKSAR government and the community to pay more attention to the left-behind elderly, proactively identify high-risk families, set up a case manager model, and provide one-stop community support to follow up with the recipients continuously.

From June to July this year, Junior Chamber International Queensway (JCI Queensway) interviewed 112 "left-behind elderly" in Hong Kong who have children who have emigrated, and released the results yesterday (Aug. 11).

According to the results, the respondents are aged between 60 and 96, with 46% of them having all their children emigrated. About 67% of the respondents' children notified their parents six months to one year before emigration; 17.9% notified their parents one month in advance; 2.68% notified their parents only one week in advance. 27% of the respondents' relationship with their children is average to poor; 21% of the respondents have contact with their children outside of Hong Kong less than once a month; 8% might not have contact with their children even once a year; 34% of the respondents have contact less than once a month with their children who are still in Hong Kong.

In terms of mental health, 53% of the respondents consider their mental health to be poor to average; 26% of them are even suspected to be suffering from moderate symptoms of depression or above, which may be caused by poor quality of sleep, poor diet, difficulty in concentration, etc. What's worse, 33.9% of the respondents are reluctant to seek external help. Only a very small proportion would seek help from their neighbors and government departments. The main barriers for them to seek help include reluctance to share with others (47.4%), inability to seek support from the community (18.4%), and perception of insufficient support from the government and the community (18.4%). The top three services needed by the "left-behind elderly" are medical protection (48.21%), daily care (20.5%) and community support (18.75%).

Mr. Yeung, one of the respondents, said that he is old and in poor health. He has difficulty going out and has little entertainment in his life. He said, "I can not even go to the movies".

It's hard for his son to help him solve all the problems in daily life as his son is far away from home. He said, "It would be nice if volunteers could come to talk with me regularly."

Almost all of the "left-behind elderly" who have received services such as household cleaning, escorting to clinics, and cultural and recreational activities provided by social welfare organizations agree that the services have helped to improve their moods.

Chan Suk-han, Senior Supervisor of Caritas Service for the Elderly, said that Chinese people are traditionally more reserved and reluctant to talk about their plight and that social care services and publicity have not been able to satisfy the needs of the elderly. She suggested that the government and the social welfare sector introduce targeted policies to provide appropriate support to the elderly according to their different conditions and needs.

Leung Chi-lam, chairwoman of JCI Queensway, suggested that social welfare agencies, Care Teams, and other local organizations should take the initiative in identifying hidden elderly and encourage them to go out and participate in social activities and interest classes, providing the elderly in need with life care services such as escorting them to medical consultations and even professional counseling for their emotional well-being.

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