USJ Co-Organizes Public Health Forum Focusing on Youth and Senior Health
USJ Co-Organizes Public Health Forum Focusing on Youth and Senior Health
23
Sep
23/09/2026
Dean of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Prof. Jacky Ho, delivered a keynote address at the “Macao Public Health and Wellness: Policy, Research, Community Practice” Forum.
Prof. Jacky Ho, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at the University of Saint Joseph, delivered a keynote address at the “Macao Public Health and Wellness: Policy, Research, Community Practice” Forum organised by the Association of International Affairs Exchange and Training of Macao on September 12, 2026.
Jacky Ho highlighted Macao’s dual challenge of the world’s lowest fertility rate and rapid population ageing. In the digital era, poor lifestyle habits, sleep deprivation and circadian disruption among youth and middle-aged groups are eroding physical and mental health through neuroinflammation, prefrontal decline and accumulated stress – planting hidden risks for future elderly care systems.
He proposed leveraging youth-led intergenerational shared experiences, integrated with cross-generational public health and disease prevention strategies, to translate such experiences into measurable health risk indices and social costs. This would assess and respond to the demographic reality of “fewer people, greater needs,” building a more resilient health and care support system for future seniors through prevention-oriented medical-social service planning. Over 270 participants attended, with Health Bureau Director Lo Iek Long and UM Professor Xiang Yutao also speaking.
