November 2016

A study conducted by NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine students in February 2015 revealed that 78% of patients who consulted their GPs were not aware that antibiotics do not work against viruses such as those which cause the common cold. More than two-thirds also mistakenly believed that antibiotics could cure coughs, sore throats and runny nose, symptoms usually caused by viruses. In addition, the study also found that a third of patients expected antibiotics to be prescribed for common ailments, and half of those would visit another doctorRead more

The World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2016, led by the World Health Organisation from 14 – 20 November, aims to increase the awareness of global antibiotic resistance and encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance, which results when antibiotics lose their efficacy against bacteria that cause infections in humans and animals, is a major global public health concern which threatens to cause severe social and economic implications on a global scale.  At the United Nations

Following the Ministry of Health’s declaration on a “war on diabetes” earlier this year, a strategic framework encompassing the domains of primary prevention, early detection and disease management was developed. The proposed action plans and implications of this framework were discussed during the School’s Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue Driving Singapore’s War on Diabetes on 14 November 2016. The discussion chaired by Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean, included panelists Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, Deputy Director Medical Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr Sue-Anne Toh, Clinical Director of the NUHS Regional Health System Planning