As Singapore records the highest median age, longest life expectancy rates and lowest fertility rates in the region, the population is faced with the challenges of adapting itself with a rapidly ageing population. As with the increase in the onset of chronic diseases like diabetes, the population would have to find ways to manage chronic diseases and the complications that arise from it for a longer period of time in their later years.
As this trend is set to continue well into the future, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) are jointly embarking on a first of its kind, nationwide S$4M study on the connection between the sense of well-being and physical health in the adult Singapore population. The “Singapore Wellness Study” aims to have a better understanding of the different aspects of “wellness” in the Singapore population and the factors which enhance “wellness”.
Most studies have only focused their research on understanding the biological risk factors for diseases and have excluded mental health and wellness. In an earlier joint pilot Singapore Health 2 Study, both IMH and SSHSPH explored the relationship between increased level of physical activity and positive mental health and the result of the study was anticipated that a very high level of physical activity increases positive mental health.
Prof Chia Kee Seng, Dean of NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, commented, “Positive mental health is a very interesting and important concept. It has a direct impact on the quality of life.”
The study’s principal investigator and SSHSPH’s Epidemiology Domain Leader, Assoc Prof Rob van Dam, added, “Previous collaborations between SSHSPH and IMH highlighted the importance of expertise from both institutions in conducting national level epidemiological studies of lifestyle, physical and mental health. In the future, we can also collaborate on intervention studies that use this holistic approach to improve the health of Singaporeans.”
Media Coverage:
- New study to better understand factors affecting wellness in Singapore, The Straits Times, 30 May 2017
- 适当体力活动 有益心理健康, Channel 8 News, 30 May 2017
- News 93.8 Live, 30 May 2017
- Capital 95.8, 30 May 2017
- IMH studying factors that boost wellness, The Straits Times, 31 May 2017
- S$4m study to help Singaporeans manage chronic conditions, TODAY, 31 May 2017
- 7月展开本地首个身心健康调查, LianHe ZaoBao, 31 May 2017
- 逾万人将参与 首个身心健康调查, Shin Min Daily News , 31 May 2017
- Body and Soul, 93.8 Live, 01 June 2017
- Vasantham News, 01 June 2017