Population Ageing and Health
One crucial area to look at as our society rapidly ages is public health. In this video interview, we talk to Associate Professor Angelique Chan about how our population is ageing, the impacts on our healthcare system, and some of the issues that need to be addressed for successful ageing.
Associate Professor Chan is currently Executive Director of the Centre for Ageing Research at Duke-NUS and also holds an appointment in the Department of Sociology at NUS. Her research areas including ageing and demography, and health of older persons. Her research portfolio contains multidisciplinary projects ageing, care, health and health services. She has led several projects on ageing in Singapore including large-scale longitudinal national surveys.
Gender Differences in Societal Ageing
Ageing affects all of us, but it does not affect everyone the same way. Women bear the bulk of unpaid caregiving work, and have longer life expectancy than men. This study looked at data from different countries and found that gender differences in key areas such as financial and physical security, and productivity and engagement favour men. The costs of women’s long-term care and their reduced savings for themselves -- and for the next generation -- also has implications for society. With data from several countries, this study presents interesting points to consider in policies on women, gender, and economic status.
Physical Activity for Good Health and Ageing
It is common wisdom that physical activity is important for health. However, it is challenging for some of us to incorporate physical activity into our routines although doing so has short-term and long-term benefits that are beneficial for healthy ageing. In this video, we ask Dr Andre Müller about some commonly held beliefs about exercise and physical activity, and how to make it part of our lifestyles.
Trained as a sports scientist, Dr Müller is a lecturer at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. His research areas include physical activity and health, behavioral health, e-health and m-health, and ageing.
Physical activity enhances overall health, increases quality of life, and helps prevent chronic diseases. More sedentary lifestyles, especially as we get older, means we tend to not be sufficiently active physically. This article looked at several studies which show how people were more engaged in physical activity in arrangements where there was no or reduced in-person interaction with a trainer. Such non-face-to-face arrangements included following advice in print materials, phone, and the internet. The increasing use of the internet and digital devices in this age can be harnessed to help us get moving towards greater vitality and health.
Nutrition for All Ages
Being healthy as we age helps to reduce our need for care, and the journey to good health should start as early as possible. Nutrition plays an important part to keeping us healthy in the longer term.
Dr Chong Foong-Fong Mary is Associate Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS, and a clinical dietitian. We sought her advice on nutrition for people of different ages.
.jpg?sfvrsn=db960aa9_1 "Nutrition Image (1)")
Joyfully Living and Thriving
“Learn like it is oxygen to the brain!” Alumna Carmee Lim (Science ’63) leads a busy and meaningful life full of music, dance and art. Discover her zeal for life, learning and sharing her talents with others as she shares what keeps her occupied. She also traces her life journey with music – from picking it up as a little girl to using it today as a gift to bring joy to others – and reminds us all to pursue things that we love.
Singapore's Caregiver Support Action Plan
Family sizes are shrinking even while our population is rapidly ageing. Recognising that care needs will thus continue to grow, the government developed a Caregiver Support Action Plan encompassing five different areas to support caregivers: care navigation, financial support, workplace support, caregiver respite services, and caregiving empowerment and training.
This was first launched in 2019 and expanded two years later with more services such as a greater range of respite care services, more community outreach teams, and a training grant for caregivers to tap on to gain skills and knowledge. Should care and caregiver needs continue to grow at a fast pace, what other services would be needed in the near future in 2030 when one quarter of our population is 65 years and older? What types of plans and policies could be made now to reduce care and caregiving needs for the future generation in 2050?
A Caregiver’s Journey
In the context of an ageing society, we typically think of caregivers as more mature persons. However, as the population including caregivers rapidly ages, people from the younger generation step up to take caregiving roles. A group of young medical students from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, many of whom were caregivers, formed Project Empower in 2022 to raise awareness of caregiver burnout. Mr Low Chen Ee, the founder and co-lead, was thirteen when he became the primary caregiver to his late mother.
In this interview that traces his journey from a caregiver to a medical student, he talks about his experience and how it affected his decision to study medicine. He also draws from his experience and medical knowledge to highlight the importance of medication advocacy in our fast ageing society.
Caregiving and Me
Caregivers play important roles in our ageing society, and lead lives beyond caregiving roles. How does caregiving shape the way caregivers think about their own lives and future?
Michelle Low (Arts and Social Sciences ’93) took care of her mother who suffered from dementia for many years. We ask her how this has affected how she lives her life.
The Changing Workforce
.jpg?sfvrsn=4b85c2e1_0 "Ageing Population (1)")
As our population ages, so does our workforce. This aptly-titled article by the Ministry of Manpower, ‘Growing Alongside Our Ageing Workforce’, explains that increased longevity and declining birth rates affects our labour supply and might cause it to shrink. The increasing proportion of older workers changes the employment landscape. This article emphasises the importance of older workers to the workforce, thus prompting us to think about how we as individuals and society can move towards a more inclusive workforce that takes care of and meets the needs of employees of across all ages.