Authors (including presenting author) :
Chau LLA(1), Au KYS(2), Wong MYM(3), Leung YYJ(4), Lau YFE(5), Hui PSG(6), Hung SY(7), Cheung SMC(5), Chan WSM(4), Wong YSF(6), Lo YM(7), Lam YH(5), Wong YYR(3), Yim KYE(8), Wong YHA(9), Fung WHH(3)
Affiliation :
(1)Patient Resource Center Service, HKEC, (2) Department of Medicine, HKEC , (3) Community Services, HKEC, (4)Department of Medicine and Geriatrics,RTSKH ,(5) Department of Medicine, PYNEH, (6) Department of Medicine and Rehabilitation, TWEH, (7) Department of Family Medicine and Primary Healthcare, HKEC (8)Health Patient Resource Center, RTSKH, (9) Patient Resource Center, TWEH
Keyword 1: :
Multidisciplinary Collaborative
Introduction :
Effective diabetes management requires continuous support beyond episodic consultations. However, many patients struggle to access health information in their daily lives. Individual departments often find it challenging to maintain sustained engagement with them. To bridge this gap, the Diabetes Clinical Team and Patient Resource Centres (PRC) in Hong Kong East Cluster launched a WhatsApp broadcast service. This initiative leverages mobile technology to foster medical-social collaboration, ensuring updated information reaches even hard-to-reach patients.
Objectives :
To establish a cross-disciplinary model integrating clinical expertise with community resources, thereby enhancing patients' awareness of available resources and disease management. To evaluate the efficacy in delivering quality information and fostering a sense of care.
Methodology :
The PRC acted as the service coordinator, liaising with community partners and managing the broadcast list and drafting broadcast messages. The Clinical Team verified patient eligibility, stratified groups, and vetted medical content. Physiotherapists and Clinical Psychologist provide valuable d insights on exercise and mental health. Community partners provided updates on diabetes-related activities and co-organized psychosocial programs with PRCs Content included exercise videos, festival health tips, and activity updates. Since 2021, over 2,300 patients have joined. Evaluation involved two surveys in 2025 (n=137) using Likert-scales and qualitative feedback.
Result & Outcome :
The collaborative model demonstrated high efficacy. 94.1% agreed the service kept them informed about hospital and community activities. 92.7% of respondents reported improved awareness of diet and exercise, while 94.1% gained confidence in managing their condition. 91.2% felt "cared for by the medical team," highlighting strong psycho-social support. Qualitative feedback praised the detailed, diverse content, with many identifying WhatsApp as a convenient channel for busy patients to receive information. Overall, 90.6% expressed satisfaction, and 96.3% would recommend the service. Conclusions: This project exemplifies successful synergy among clinical teams, HKEC PRCs, and community partners. With the PRC serving as a coordination hub, the initiative utilizes a low-cost, widely adopted platform to bridge the information gap. It effectively extends holistic care beyond hospital walls, enhancing patient engagement.
