Professor Rick Kwan is the Associate Dean (Programmes) and Professor of the School of Nursing, Tung Wah College. His research area focuses on gerontology nursing, specialising in applying e-health technology (e.g., virtual reality and wearable devices) to promote the health of older people with cognitive impairment and frailty.

 

In education, he specialises in using information and communication technology (e.g., virtual reality) to promote teaching and learning experiences and efficacy. He is active in advocating professional development in nursing and gerontology. He is the founding president of the Pi Iota At-large Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, council member of the Hong Kong Association of Gerontology, co-opted member of the Nursing Council of Hong Kong, editors international journals in gerontology (e.g., editorial board member of BMC Geriatrics, associate editor of European Review of Aging and Physical Activity) and nursing (associate editor of Journal of International Nursing Research), and specialist of Hong Kong Council of Accreditation of Academic & Vocational Qualifications.

 

He published more than 80 articles in international SCI journals. He led or participated in more than 40 funded research projects at a value of over 60 million Hong Kong Dollars. He led the development of the Virtual Reality Motor-Cognitive Training system for older people with cognitive frailty leading to more than 5 awards (e.g., ICT award), one patent, and many interviews by media.

 

His academic achievements were also recognized by the Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing, National Hartford Centre for Gerontological Nursing Excellence in 2018, the Emerging Research/Scholarly Award by Sigma in 2020, the Outstanding Alumni Award, School of Nursing, PolyU in 2022; Research Excellence Award, Tung Wah College in 2023.