Abstract as per original application
(English/Chinese): |
In Hong Kong, the ordinary citizens’ approach to managing their health through community engagement has been a salient social fact, long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Arising from the crisis, health information and discourses have indeed exploded in everyday life and across social media, reshaping the cultural meanings of “good health,” physical and mental vigour and resilience, health competency, and community wellbeing. The vibrant discussions about health issues on- and offline, in the workplace, and among family/friends/social media acquaintances, have created a unique de facto public health culture that, while functioning alongside the medical establishments, often turning on word-of-mouth information and knowledge. Meanwhile, in the 2023 Primary Healthcare Blueprint promulgated by the HK government’s Health Bureau, a strong emphasis was put on “changing people’s mindset from treatment-oriented to prevention-oriented.” In this project, we adopt a critical health-humanities theoretical approach to echo the government’s approach to examine this sphere of “citizen self-health” that is shaping HK residents’ need for a pragmatic, preventative, and self-competent approach to wellbeing (physical, mental, community-oriented). “Citizen self-health” refers to the discourse of community-based deliberation and sharing of practical information and experiences for “good health,” with the power to raise their health literacy. However, this communicative sphere is known to contain speculative/anecdotal claims and even misinformation. Here, we ask: (1) What are the prevalent community discourses on and off the digital platforms and how have they influenced HK residents’ search for a pragmatic, preventative, and self-competent approach to wellness?; (2) How is citizen self-health practised among six socioculturally and economically diverse groups (young adults, the elderly, working-class women/housewives, middle-class women/housewives, ethnic minority residents, and higher-income individuals) and how do they scrutinize the value, risks, and sustainability of the “health discourses from below”?; and (3) How do these groups compare with one another regarding potential inequality in developing health literacy and other self-health aspects? A multidisciplinary team using quantitative, qualitative, and computational methods will be deployed to conduct this study in three work packages. By analyzing the complexity of the citizen self-health discourses, we seek to leverage its positive contributions, address the risks, and align it with government public health strategies. Ultimately, this research aims to enhance HK’s preparedness for future public health crises from a critical humanistic and multicultural perspective.
在香港，普通市民透過社區參與來管理健康，這一直是顯著的社會現象，早於新冠疫情爆發之前便已存在。疫情期間，健康資訊與相關討論在日常生活及社交媒體上大量湧現，重塑了「良好健康」、身心活力與韌性、健康能力以及社區福祉的文化意義。無論在線上或線下、工作場所，抑或家人、朋友及社交媒體認識的人間，熱烈的健康討論形成了獨特的事實性公共健康文化。這種文化與醫療機構並行，並常依賴口耳相傳的資訊與知識。
同時，香港政府衛生署於2023年公布的《基層醫療健康藍圖》中，強調「改變市民由治療為本轉向預防為本的思維」。本研究採用批判性健康人文理論，響應政府方針，探究這個塑造香港居民對務實、預防和自我能力健康方法需求的「市民自我健康」領域。「市民自我健康」指的是以社區為基礎，通過討論與分享實用資訊及經驗，提升健康素養的話語空間。然而，這一溝通領域中亦存在推測性、軼事性甚至錯誤信息。
因此，本研究主要探討：（1）數碼平台上下流行的社區健康話語為何，及它們如何影響香港居民尋求務實、預防、自我能力健康的途徑？（2）市民自我健康如何在六個不同社會文化及經濟群體（年輕人、長者、工人階級女性／家庭主婦、中產階級女性／家庭主婦、少數族裔和高收入人士）中實踐，且他們如何評估「來自基層的健康話語」的價值、風險及可持續性？（3）這些群體在健康素養及其他自我健康層面發展上存在的潛在不平等如何比較？
本研究將由跨學科團隊以量化、質化及計算方法分三階段進行。通過分析市民自我健康話語的複雜性，旨在發揮其正面貢獻，處理風險，並與政府公共衛生策略協調。最終，該研究目標是從批判性人文及多元文化視角增強香港應對未來公共衛生危機的準備。
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