News

The Ministry of Health (MOH) recently announced the shelving of plans for Jade Circle, a pioneering model of care for dementia patients that proposes to house them in single or twin rooms. All subsidised beds and nursing homes in Singapore currently have six- to eight-bed dormitories for patients, and the only instance for a subsidised patient to be housed in a single room would be for infection-control purposes. However, the need for personal space such as the need for individual rooms and a conducive environment is beneficial for dementia patients,Read more

A commemorative book on Singapore’s experiences in overcoming infectious diseases over the past 50 years was launched on 28 December 2015 at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The book, titled “Overcoming Infectious Diseases in Singapore: Past, Present and Future” is authored by Dr Vincent Pang and Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and covers Singapore’s tackling past major infectious diseases like malaria, cholera and typhoid. The book also chronicles Singapore’s journey and experience in handling vaccine-preventable diseases like hepatitis B and pneumococcus, modern epidemics like SARS,Read more

Responding to a Q&A feature on how to avoid carcinogens and reduce the risk of getting cancer, Associate Professor Rob van Dam advised readers staying away from cigarettes and alcohol, and that it is important to cultivate healthy eating habits. In the case of french fries, many consider them a common source of acrylamides, a carcinogen that is linked to higher risk of cancer in animals. However, as most carbohydrate-containing foods are a source of acrylamide, intake cannot be completely avoided. Instead, one can limit the amount of french friesRead more

Women who have given birth once have 44% lower risk of lung cancer, regardless of their smoking habits, according to a study conducted by researchers from the National University of Singapore and National Cancer Centre Singapore. The teams looked at records of more than 28,000 women who participated in the Singapore Breast Cancer Screening Project (SBCSP), of which at least 90% had at least one child or more. The study also found that other factors relating to childbirth, such as age at menopause, reproductive period, age at first delivery, breastfeeding,Read more

Singaporeans are not just living longer, but also remaining healthy for more years. Between 2004 and 2010, the life expectancy for men rose 2.1 years to 79.2, while their healthy years increased by 2.7 years. In females, the life expectancy and healthy years rose by two and four respectively. Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health explains that the increase in the number of healthy years is “probably due to a delay in the onset of chronic diseases among the current older generations.Read more

A new smartwatch, the FitSight, may help prevent myopia in children. The gadget, aimed at children aged six to 12, tracks light intensity of the wearer’s surroundings, which is then translated into hours and minutes. Prof Saw Seang Mei from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and head of myopia research at the Singapore Eye Research Institute, has embarked on a study involving 100 primary school-going children to test the first prototype of the FitSight. Prof Saw hopes that usage of the device will encourage children to spendRead more

Outbreaks and epidemics are often recognised by an explosion of sudden infections and high mortality rates, as seen in the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa or the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. The recent outbreak of Hepatitis C at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is different, from its mode of transmission to the lack of symptoms present, which has led Hepatitis C epidemics to be termed “shadow epidemics” by epidemiologists. Prof Chia Kee Seng and Prof David Heymann shed light on the preventive measures and challenges in detecting aRead more

Having a couch potato lifestyle increases the risk of heart disease among men aged 50 and above, a study of about 400 people has found. The participants who were Chinese men aged 50 and above, and had never had heart failure or a heart attack, were found to a higher body fat percentage, an indicator of coronary heart disease. Interestingly, the findings suggested that it was not due to sitting for long periods, as other sedentary activities such as playing computer games or having a desk-bound job did not resultRead more

Ageing is an inevitable process, but by adopting various lifestyle habits, we can ensure we age gracefully and healthily, said Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, speaking to Nee Soon South residents at a talk on ‘Overcoming Ageing’. Prof Chia highlighted that to manage the ageing process, we should accept the process of ageing as an inevitable one. With 60% of Singaporeans consuming more than their daily required intake, he also cautioned that we should ensure that we eat less, but eat right – reducingRead more

In a recent article in The Straits Times ‘Bring back house calls’, Dr Sandeep Jauhar called for the return of house calls in the United States, owing to lack of continuity of care for patients post-discharge and resulting in costly unplanned hospital readmissions. However, according to Associate Professor Gerald Koh from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, in Singapore, hospitals and intermediate and long-term care providers have been working closely to tackle on care for patients after discharge. Aged Care Transition (Action) teams of care coordinators, set up by theRead more

The School has received a generous contribution of $872,500 from The Courage Fund Ltd to establish The Courage Fund PhD (Infectious Disease) Scholarship. The Scholarship will be available for both full-time and part-time PhD candidates in AY2016/2017, and will also allow full-time PhD candidates an attachment in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Established in 2003 at the height of the SARS epidemic, The Courage Fund was jointly organised by the National Healthcare Group (NHG), Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), Singapore Medical Association (SMA), Singapore Nurses’ Association (SNA) andRead more

The MoU was signed by Dean Prof Prasit Watanapa from the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital and Vice Dean (Research) A/Prof Teo Yik Ying from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. The MoU will see the two institutions collaborating on research projects centred around tuberculosis and dengue, in the areas of genomic surveillance, vaccine efficacy, modelling of vector and disease burden, and economics of dengue epidemics. The Schools will also collaborate on joint capacity building workshops in pathogen genomics and biostatistics, and will be committed to future staff andRead more