Child psychiatry in Hong Kong: an overview

Hong Kong has a population of 5.5 million with 1.3 million below the age of 15. Child psychiatry has been very under-developed until recently. The brief history and development of child psychiatry in Hong Kong, and specifically that of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit at the Prince of Wales Hospital, the teaching hospital of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, are described. Traditionally psychiatric services for children in Hong Kong were heavily skewed towards neuropsychiatric and developmental conditions but in this Unit a full spectrum of child psychiatric conditions are seen. Relevant clinical statistics are used to illustrate these differences as well as to further highlight the philosophy and practice of the Unit. Other aspects, such as undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and research are also mentioned. The magnitude of child psychiatric morbidity in Hong Kong is briefly illustrated with a three-stage epidemiological study done in a primary school in a lower middle social class area. It was found that 16.3% of the children were psychiatrically disturbed. Emotional disorder, with a prevalence of 8.8%, was the commonest condition. Finally, the future development of child psychiatry in Hong Kong is discussed, addressing the disconcerting facts of a huge population and very limited resources.