World Association for Chinese Quality of Life (WACQOL)
World Association for Chinese Quality of Life (WACQOL)
世界華人生活質素學會
An International Organization Dedicated to the Education and Research of Quality of Life in the Chinese Population


Our History

The World Association for Chinese Quality of Life (WACQOL) succeeded the Hong Kong Society for Quality of Life (HKSoQoL) after a decade development in the promotion and research of quality of life (QoL) in the Chinese population, since 2004.

The development of QoL in Hong Kong dates back to two decades ago. In 1995, a distinct milestone of the QoL movement was marked by the active promotion of QoL within health care by an active working group of health professionals under the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA). In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the first one-day QoL symposium for health professionals was held in September 1995. Since then, the HA had continued to conduct QoL symposiums, in approximately every 2 years. In addition, These have evolved to include workshops, joint collaborations with health authorities from Mainland China, and increasingly contributions from local and overseas speakers and participants who are not members of the Hospital Authority. These events have also witnessed an increasing number of paper presentations on QoL and participants. In the QOL symposium held in January 2003, more than 300 participants attended this four-day event.

In response to the growing interest in QoL development, as evidenced in increasing multi-disciplinary QoL research and activities, the HKSoQoL was formed and inaugurated in 2004. Our First Chairman, Mr Kwok-fai Leung, Vice-Chairman, Prof Cindy LK Lam, and various Council members have compassionately made tremendous efforts in setting a platform for QoL reearch and practice in not only the medical field, but also in social and behavioral sciences, political science, statistics and economics.

Along with the development of HKSoQoL, the proliferation of QoL activities have laid important milestones in Hong Kong, such as the establishment of culturally-sensitive knowledge on QoL, and the development of culturally-appropriate QoL measures. Particularly from the health and social service sectors, these have also comprised the application of QoL as an outcome indicator of interventions and services, and the promotion of QoL in service delivery.

Now, with the increased interest of Chinese QoL worldwide, we are moving to the new page of WACQOL. We hope to gather intternational expertise and efforts to promote education and research of QoL in the Chinese population.