Research Projects
Death of A Mother During Childhood: Population-Level Studies of Impact On Chronic Conditions And Health Care Use

Objective and significance:

Losing a mother is very distressing for a child and can affect their health in later childhood. This study will leverage the public healthcare database from the Health Authority (HA) to achieve a better understanding of how a mother's death impacts a child's long-term health in childhood. This is a Research Grant Council funded project headed by Dr. Peter Tanuseputro in the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

Our aims and objectives are:

1. To describe the burden of maternal death during childhood and describe the characteristics of mothers and children at the time of maternal death
2. To examine the impact of maternal death on mortality and childhood chronic diseases
3. To examine the impact of maternal death on children's healthcare utilizations
4. To identify risk factors for worse health outcomes in bereaved children.

This study will pinpoint which children are at the highest risk for negative health outcomes after exposure to maternal loss. This will enable healthcare providers and policy makers to develop targeted screening programs and effective interventions to help the most vulnerable children, thereby reducing the long-term public health burden of childhood bereavement.

Research Plan and Methodology:

1. To describe the population burden of losing a mother during childhood and describe the patterns of mothers and children before and by the time of maternal death.
2. To examine the impact of losing a mother on children's health outcomes, including motility, common chronic diseases (diabetes, ADHD, eczema, asthma, etc.), and mental health diseases
3. To examine the impact of losing a mother on children's health utilization outcomes, such as outpatient visits, hospitalization, length of stay during hospitalization, etc.
4. To explore how children's and mothers' characteristics make a difference to children's long-term outcomes and identify the risk/protective factors for negative health outcomes.

Students will have the opportunity to work on at least one of the objectives – aligning with their interests and the opportunities that arise.

Professor P Tanuseputro, Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care

Professor Peter Tanuseputro completed his training as a Public Health and Family Medicine specialist at the University of Toronto. He joined as a Clinical Professor at the University of Hong Kong's Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care in 2024. He focuses on using linked big data to develop population perspectives on health care use and outcomes for frail, aging, and end-of-life populations. He has published over 300 PubMed papers including in many in high impact journals (e.g., JAMA, BMJ, NEJM, and JAMA).

Biography
HKU Scholars Hub
ORCID
petertan@hku.hk

For more information or to express interest for this project, please email the supervisor or the specified contact point in the project description.  Interested candidates are advised to enclose with your email:

1. your CV,
2. a brief description of your research interest and experience, and
3. two reference letters (not required for HKUMed UG students seeking MRes[Med]/URIS projects).

Information on the research programme, funding support and admission documentations could be referenced online at the Research Postgraduate Admissions website. General admission enquiries should be directed to rpgmed@hku.hk.

HKUMed MBBS students interested in the Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) programme may visit the programme website for more information.  

HKUMed UG students interested in the Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme (URIS) may visit the scheme’s website for more information.