The Gen XY Lifestyle
Duke-NUS to roll out nationwide study on wellbeing of older persons
Duke-NUS’s comprehensive study seeks to understand the health, social, and psychological wellbeing of older individuals with the aim to provide insights for effective policies and programmes that can support Singapore’s ageing population.
Beginning in August, Duke-NUS Medical School’s Centre for Ageing Research & Education (CARE) is running a nationwide study to gauge the impact of policies and programmes aimed at supporting older persons and their caregivers and families.
The study has a goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of older persons in Singapore.
The study aims to collect data from 10,000 older persons across Singapore. A nationally representative sample of households with at least one older Singaporean aged 60 years and older will receive an official letter jointly issued by CARE and MOH, inviting them to participate in the study.
The study will be the third wave of the “Transitions in Health, Employment, Social Engagement, and Inter-generational Transfers in Singapore Study” (THE SIGNS) Study.
THE SIGNS Study, funded by the Ministry of Health (MOH), will collect data to support evidence-based policymaking on productive and active ageing, with a focus on the three ‘C’s outlined in the 2023 Action Plan for Successful Ageing: Care, Contribution, and Connectedness.
THE SIGNS Study III will collect data for about a year starting from August 2023, with face-to-face surveys and a short set of physical measurements conducted at participants’ residences. Study participants will receive supermarket vouchers as a token of appreciation.
The first two waves were conducted in 2016 and 2019, making this one of Singapore’s most comprehensive and representative studies on ageing.
As Singapore’s population ages rapidly, it is crucial to study how the health and social circumstances of older persons change over time. This will help the Government design and implement policies and programmes that address the needs and aspirations of older Singaporeans in the domains of care, contribution, and connectedness—the three Cs outlined in the 2023 Action Plan for Successful Ageing, which aims to enable older persons to live well and age confidently.
Dr Abhijit Visaria, Senior Research Fellow at CARE, and THE SIGNS Study’s Co-Investigator
Picure credit to Duke-NUS Medical School’s Centre for Ageing Research & Education (CARE)
