A review of the rate of occurrence of cleft lip and palate in Chinese people

Published data were used to determine the rate of occurrence of cleft lip and /or palate in the Chinese population. The rate of occurrence ranged from 1.33 to 2.23 per 1000 live and stillbirths. Most studies were performed in communities with mixed racial groups, and only three obtained data from multiple sources. Half of the studies included live and still births. The majority of the studies reported pooled figures for subjects with and without other malformations. Furthermore, three different classifications of clefts were used by the authors. Clefts involving the lip and palate had the highest occurrence rate in most studies. Unfortunately, the differences in the rate of occurrence may reflect differences in the technique used for data collection rather than real differences.published_or_final_versio

Job satisfaction of outreach youth workers in Hong Kong

The promotion of job satisfaction that may lead to staff retention has always been a popular concern for human resources research. The job satisfaction and staff retention of workers in District Youth Outreaching Social Work Teams (YOTs) in Hong Kong are the themes of the present study. Through a literature review, eight facets of job satisfaction, namely Coworker Relationships, Job Complexity and Nature, Promotional Opportunity, Pay and Benefits, Work Environment, Supervision and Leadership, Role and Responsibility, and Recognition, are identified and measured among the frontline staff of the YOTs through pre-set self-administered mailed questionnaires. In relation to these facets, their intention to leave the service is also explored. The findings reveal that these workers are generally satisfied with their job (the service). At the end, some recommendations are made to promote job satisfaction and facilitate staff retention in YOTs in Hong Kong.postprin

Preparing social workers to be lifelong learners: Use of problem-based learning as a training component in the social work curriculum

A constant concern for educators is how best to train the students. With the knowledge explosion and increasing complexity of the social problems, we have to look for ways to strengthen social work students' ability for continual development. Enhancing their lifelong learning competence would help them to face the future demands. To achieve this, the University of Hong Kong Department of Social Work and Social Administration ventured to use the problem-based learning (PBL) approach in some Year two practice courses of the Bachelor of Social Work program. This paper reports on the findings and shares some reflection on the experience. Copyright © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex