Sounding the alarm on a youth mental health crisis
The study conducted by CUHK in collaboration with the University College London reveals the health inequalities in Hong Kong.
A study of health inequalities by the CUHK Institute of Health Equity (CUHK IHE) and the University College London Institute of Health Equity (UCL IHE) has laid bare a severe mental health crisis faced by Hong Kong’s young people, as well as ill health among the working population caused by long hours of work.
The report found that 45.6% of young people report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Meanwhile, 17.6% of workers in low-paying sectors are working 60 hours or more a week. The authors call on business and government leaders to take concrete steps to tackle the city’s serious health inequalities.
Ambitious in scope and benchmarked against international standards, the report draws on an array of government statistics and previous academic studies. Taking a wide-ranging life course approach, it outlines how the social conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age—as well as the wider systematic inequalities that shape those everyday conditions—affect a person’s health from early childhood through their adolescence and working life to old age.
Young people’s wellbeing linked to family income differences
The report revealed that mental health problems among adolescents and young adults are widespread and worsening in the context of social unrest and the pandemic. For example, while a 2019 study showed that 12.8% of over-18s have suspected PTSD, a 2020 study found that close to half (45.6%) of those aged 24 or younger reported symptoms.
Mental health among schoolchildren in Hong Kong was also poor, with children from lower family’s socioeconomic status faring worse. Comparative studies found that primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong trailed global peers in terms of life satisfaction. Within this, systematic inequalities were evident: the higher the family’s socioeconomic status, the higher the student’s life satisfaction and self-rated health. In addition, a separate study of the pandemic’s impact on secondary school students showed that socially disadvantaged students experienced greater deterioration in their psychosocial wellbeing, possibly due to differences in family support, learning difficulties and loneliness.
The report recommends regular government surveys to better understand the youth mental health situation. This can support action to improve the social determinants that drive mental health outcomes and reduce socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of mental health problems.
Workers’ health put at risk by low wages and long hours
Using government data and research, the report also showed that workers with lower incomes or educational attainment often experience worse working conditions. Workers in low-paying sectors, such as retail, food and beverage, estate management, security and cleaning, suffer from low wages and long hours, worsening their physical and mental health and increasing health inequalities. Low-skilled workers are also more vulnerable to unemployment, especially during times of economic turmoil.
To this end, the report recommends that businesses consider providing a working environment that is more conducive to physical, mental and social health, fostering a more family-friendly culture, and avoiding excessively long hours and occupational injuries. The government should also consider putting in place stronger regulations regarding working hours.
Partnership with UCL
Since 2020, CUHK IHE has been collaborating with UCL IHE to promote health equity studies in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong, with a view to informing government policies and intervention programmes. In November 2022, Prof. Sir Michael Marmot, Co-director of CUHK IHE and Director of UCL IHE, and CUHK Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rocky S. Tuan spoke in the Asia Summit on Global Health and outlined how organisations can improve the health of employees, using CUHK as an example. Other ongoing research projects aim to examine the COVID-19 health inequity situation in Hong Kong, and factors contributing to the long life expectancy and health disparities in Hong Kong.
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