HK Care Food Adoption Index Q1 2026: Baseline Report

HK Care Food Adoption Index Q1 2026: Baseline Report

SeniorDeli publishes the inaugural HK Care Food Adoption Index (HKCFAI) — Hong Kong's first systematic benchmark measuring the real-world adoption of texture-modified care food across the elderly care ecosystem.

This Q1 2026 report establishes the baseline against which SeniorDeli's HKEX Impact Funding programme will measure progress over 24 months.

What the Index Measures

The HK Care Food Adoption Index tracks three primary metrics across Hong Kong's care ecosystem:

1. RCHE Adoption Rate: The proportion of residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) that have a documented texture-modified care food protocol aligned with IDDSI or an equivalent clinical framework.

2. Carer Certification Rate: The proportion of front-line care workers (including registered nurses, care workers, and personal care workers in RCHEs and community care settings) who hold a recognised qualification in dysphagia care food preparation.

3. FDH Awareness Rate: The proportion of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) providing elderly care who can correctly identify at least two warning signs of dysphagia.

Q1 2026 Baseline Results

RCHE Adoption Rate: 23% Of Hong Kong's approximately 720 licensed RCHEs, 23% have a documented texture-modified care food protocol that aligns with IDDSI or a comparable clinical framework. This means 77% of care homes — serving tens of thousands of elderly residents — lack a standardised approach to care food.

Carer Certification Rate: 31% Approximately 31% of front-line care workers in surveyed settings hold a qualification that includes dysphagia care food preparation. The majority of certifications are informal or internally delivered and do not align with a recognised framework such as IDDSI.

FDH Awareness Rate: 8% Only 8% of foreign domestic helpers providing elderly care can correctly identify two or more dysphagia warning signs. This figure reflects a critical gap given that FDHs are the primary caregivers for a large proportion of Hong Kong's elderly population living at home.

Why These Numbers Matter

The baseline figures reveal the scale of the structural gap in Hong Kong's care food system. A 23% RCHE adoption rate means that the majority of care home residents with dysphagia are not receiving care food prepared to a documented clinical standard. An 8% FDH awareness rate means that most home-based elderly care — which is delivered by people without formal training — is operating without any dysphagia-awareness foundation.

HKEX Grant Targets (24 Months)

SeniorDeli's HKEX Impact Funding application commits to the following targets by Q1 2028:

- RCHE Adoption Rate: 23% → 40%+ - Carer Certification Rate: 31% → 50%+ - FDH Awareness Rate: 8% → 25%+

The Index will be updated quarterly. Methodology notes are published at softmeal.org.

For more information, contact info@seniordeli.com.