To celebrate World Physical Therapy Day 2018, the Macau Physical Therapists Association held a series of activities including seminars and exercise classes on "Active Aging – Add Life to Years" for the public on Sunday 2nd September 2018, as well as a professional sharing session on "Optimising Therapeutic Alliance” for our PT members on Sunday 9th September.
In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined “active aging” as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. How do we enable the elderly to live a healthy, happy and dignified life? As physiotherapists play an important role in improving physical function and health quality of individuals, this event was hosted to deliver this key message to the general public.
Over 50 participants took part in seminars and exercise classes on "Active Aging – Add Life to Years", with the majority of participants aged from 60 to 80. Under the guidance of our physiotherapists, participants chanted slogans as they exercised, in order to combine exercise and memory training, to reinforce the concept of “To Live is To Move”.
In the professional sharing session on "Optimizing Therapeutic Alliance” for our PT members, guest speaker Dr. Arran Leung stressed the importance of good communication between therapists and patients. A review of existing legislation and therapists’ professional rights and responsibilities was also presented to allow participants to understand that effective communication leads to increased patient satisfaction. The session was well-received by our members.
