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National index to track health of S’poreans in the works

SINGAPORE — An index to better understand and track the general health of Singaporeans is being developed, for the first time, by the National Healthcare Group (NHG) to improve health intervention programmes.

SINGAPORE — An index to better understand and track the general health of Singaporeans is being developed, for the first time, by the National Healthcare Group (NHG) to improve health intervention programmes.

The Population Health Index will create a snapshot of the physical, mental and social health status of the population, based on a three-year study which is under way. The study will involve over 7,200 randomly selected Singaporeans or permanent residents, aged 21 and above, living in the central region such as Geylang, Hougang, Toa Payoh, Novena, Serangoon and Ang Mo Kio.

The data to be collected includes that related to physical health, social isolation and loneliness, depression and cognition for mental health, and the ability to conduct daily activities such as taking a shower and taking public transport.

NHG, which is the regional health system for the central region, runs nine polyclinics across the island. The data and results of the study will be shared with the other five regional health systems as well as at suitable avenues such as conferences, said Mr Li Ruijie, senior research analyst at NHG’s Health Services and Outcomes Research.

Mr Li, the principal investigator of the study, said the index would form a baseline that can be used to compare with, and evaluate, current health initiatives in the community. It will also help to quickly identify areas of poor health and assess suitable interventions.

“The central region has residents who are older, therefore, a snapshot of the health status of residents in the central region would be indicative of an ‘aged’ Singapore,” said Mr Li. “After three years, we would review to see if the instrument can be further improved. If we find it useful to continue monitoring the population, we will look into efficient ways to do it then.”

The study will be conducted in two phases. The first phase, which started this month, will collect data from 3,200 participants to establish and validate the index. Participants in this phase will be assessed three times — at the start of the study, six months later, and a year after the first data collection — to track any changes in their health. The second phase in 2017 will involve another 4,000 participants to establish normative scores or key indicators which determine the health of an individual at a given age. “These scores will form the baseline which healthcare providers can use to understand the health of the population,” said Mr Li.

Over 30 trained interviewers will conduct face-to-face interviews with willing participants, and a questionnaire with 138 questions will take about an hour to complete.

Health practitioners TODAY spoke to welcomed the move to have a general health index. Dr Lily Neo, Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC, said the index can help to direct resources to health intervention strategies that are proven to be more effective.

“(The study) will (firstly) tell us whether what we’re doing is correct, especially when you need a lot of resources ,” said Dr Neo, a General Practitioner (GP) at Tanglin Halt Clinic.

Noting that socio-economic factors can influence one’s health, another GP, Dr Clarence Yeo, said: “This survey, if it can identify certain areas or certain groups that perhaps need more intervention, can help target certain health strategies for intervention.”

Dr Yeo, who practises at Killiney Family and Wellness Clinic, added the study will also provide an “objective picture” of areas that require more attention and intervention.

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