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Ensuring well-being and zero fatalities at the workplace requires more than just the Safety component — Workplace Safety and Health has three: Work, Safety and Health. We have safety measures set up, says Associate Professor Chia Sin Eng, Vice Dean (Academic Affairs), although sometimes people may not follow precautions and put themselves and others in danger’s way. “But how about the health part of it? Are we moving into that and looking at it?” he asked. Citing the 2012 London Olympics as a good example, he says in addition to theRead more

What role does Artificial Intelligence (AI) play in healthcare and public health? Assistant Prof ‘Morning’ Feng Mengling and Dr Ngiam Kee Yuan, Deputy CIO of the National University Health System, share how AI can help doctors and nurses take better care of their patients. By managing big data and information flows, AI can help improve diagnoses, predict complications, assist in preventive medicine and bring multidisciplinary teams together to solve healthcare challenges. Read on here: How AI can aid healthcare, TODAY, 8 September 2017

Half of Malays and 60 per cent of Indians over the age of 60 have diabetes, as compared to 25 per cent of Chinese in the same group. Does this mean that culturally specific programmes may be the key to tackling the disease? For certain groups of Singaporeans, such as the elderly, this may indeed be a useful approach to the topic, says Professor Tai E Shyong, senior consultant at the National University Hospital’s Endocrinology Division and Professor at SSHSPH. But in terms of prevention, Dean, Professor Chia Kee Seng, says thatRead more

Diabetes is a “wicked problem” and there is no single factor that increases one’s risk of developing it. We have many enemies in this War: behaviour, genetics, socio-cultural and psycho-emotional factors… But the worst? Apathy and Complacency. The most worrying age group is those under 40 years old, says Dean, Prof Chia Kee Seng, adding that “at this age, they are more concerned with pursuing wealth, very often at the expense of their health”. This reiterates the need for a mind-set shift to place equal focus on both wealth and health, whichRead more

Joining the conversation on the war on diabetes, Assoc Prof Rob M van Dam comments on the use of warning labels on beverages with high sugar content. Warning labels were recently mentioned in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech, but the concept is not new – in places like Chile and the UK, warning labels have been placed on products with high sugar content. Hear Assoc Prof van Dam’s thoughts on the subject: ‘Singapore Tonight’, Channel NewsAsia, 23 August 2017

Singapore needs a multi-prong, whole-of-society approach to tackle diabetes. In addition to government and individual efforts, the workplace is critical if we want to win this long-drawn war, says Dean, Professor Chia Kee Seng. Unfortunately for many of us, especially in our early years of work, we tend to neglect our health in the pursuit of wealth. We need a collective shift in mind-set to not just focus on chasing ‘wealth’, but to form good habits for ‘health’ as well. Prof Chia says that we ought to “cultivate good habits forRead more

One in nine Singaporeans has diabetes. Among those aged over 60 years old, three in 10 are diabetic. However, this disease does not just affect the old, and more young Singaporeans are being diagnosed with it as well. In his National Day Rally speech on 20 August 2017, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed Singapore’s War on Diabetes. “It is precisely because you are not worried that I am worried,” PM Lee said, “It has become a serious problem.” He suggested four ways for individuals to play their part inRead more

Singapore has the second highest proportion of diabetics among developed nations, with more than 10 per cent of Singaporeans affected by the disease. Latest projections say the figure could balloon if nothing is done to address its causes, including consuming too much sugar. Currently, Singaporeans consume an average of 12 teaspoons of sugar daily, more than twice the international recommendation of 5 teaspoons a day. Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to tax sugary drinks, which could lower consumption and reduce obesity and Type 2 diabetes, andRead more

Following Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Message on 8 August 2017, in which he highlighted Singapore’s war on diabetes, Dr Mary Chong and Assoc Prof Rob M van Dam share why Singaporeans are more vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes and what can be done to reduce the risk of developing this insidious disease. They emphasise the importance of eating a balanced diet—which involves more than just eating less carbohydrates—and adopting a more physically active lifestyle, e.g. taking the stairs instead of the lift each day. Media Coverage: Commentary: Love of food, lackRead more

Singapore has one of the world’s highest rates for childhood myopia, with the average age of onset at 8.5 years. The myopia rate has increased dramatically over the past few decades, especially among those who started primary school in the 1980s — after Singapore’s independence post-1965 and with the introduction of the new education system in 1979. These changes, together with increasing intensive schooling, may have contributed to the increase in myopia prevalence, says Professor Saw Seang Mei from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, in her recent published studyRead more

The whole-of-society strategy for Zika control may have helped reduce the number of dengue cases in Singapore since the beginning of this year. But this is no reason for us to let up in our continuing community efforts battling dengue and its primary vector, the Aedes mosquito, say Dr Vincent Pang, Assistant Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, and Director, Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research (NUS) and Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, Senior Consultant in Department of Infectious Diseases in Institute of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology, andRead more

Congratulations to Prof Teo Yik Ying for being appointed new Dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore! Prof Teo, who has been the School’s Vice Dean (Research) since 2013, has been appointed the next SSHSPH Dean. Professor Teo Yik Ying (left) will succeed Professor Chia Kee Seng (right) as the next Dean of NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health from 1 January 2018. Media Coverage:  Stats expert to head NUS School of Public Health, The Straits Times, 11 August 2017 NUS appoints Professor TeoRead more