Family‐oriented practice in disability Services in Hong Kong: A cross‐sectoral social work perspectives in the fields of intellectual disability and mental illness

Abstract

In Hong Kong, providing support for family carers has been frequently underscored as one of the core agendas in planning disability services during the past decade (Rehabilitation Advisory Committee [RAC], 2020[RAC], , 2016[RAC], , 2007. This study aims to explore disability practitioners' everyday practical experience with clients' families, which is conceptualised as family-oriented practice, in disability services.We situated the analysis in the exploration of practitioner accounts in Hong Kong, a Chinese society (Kapai, 2015), to offer an example of how socio-cultural contexts may influence family-oriented practice. Chinese Confucian culture emphasises interdependence and relatedness of family members (Fan, 2007; Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2008). Family members generally internalise the obligation of providing care for vulnerable relatives (Holroyd, 2003). People with disabilities are culturally represented as the typically vulnerable