Hong Kong conference report by Amanda Lee

Earlier this month, I attended the 6^th Pan- Pacific Nursing Conference and Colloquium on Chronic Illness Care at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. As one of the key nursing conferences in South-East Asia, it attracts academics from across the globe.

Prior to the conference I visited the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) – the largest nurse education provider in Hong Kong – to meet with Professor Alex Molasiotis, the Head of the School. Professor Molasiotis is one of the most cited cancer nursing researchers in the world. We discussed the potential for collaborations linked to my research on Gastro-oesophageal cancer. I also met with Professor Loke from HKPU and Professor Pat Davidson, a founder of the advanced practice nursing movement in America, Dean of Johns Hopkins University.

As my research involves mapping incidence of cancer against socioenvironmental factors, I visited the WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Sciences at HKPU to meet with Professor Chen (Director of Research at HKPU). This was organised to explore potential research collaborations around cancer care in Hong Kong.

MY visit to HKPU coincided with the HKPU 6 yearly academic review and I was delighted to be invited to a working lunch with Professor Molasiotis and the Deans of Nursing from Johns Hopkins University, University of Manchester, National University of Singapore and Professor Violette Lopez, Director of Research at the National University of Singapore.

At the conference I presented an oral paper ‘Using geographical research techniques to inform gastroesophageal cancer prevention: A study to predict areas of high incidence of advanced presentation’, which enabled me to make links and network with other researchers in related fields. I was also able to meet Professor Yuli Zang, Deputy Dean at the Shandong University, School of Nursing to discuss research synergies and a potential visit next year. Professor Chen from HKPU attended my presentation and we had some interesting discussions on the application of my PhD research methodology on cancer patterns in Hong Kong. Professor Chen is a renowned researcher and grant holder for a number of projects across Australasia.