SKH study on experiential healthy eating curriculum for schoolchildren

5/12/2018 11:10:00 AM | Lianhe Wanbao; Lianhe Zaobao

The article is contributed/written by National Heart Centre Singapore

It is my pleasure to be here this morning. I am heartened to see many familiar faces from the healthcare, social care, R&D and education sectors, gathered today.

1. I would like to commend the three healthcare clusters for coming together to co-organise today’s inaugural event. It provides a timely platform for health and social care providers and the research community to discuss population health trends, and propose solutions to improve the quality of care, cost effectiveness of treatment, and health outcomes. The aim of today’s event is to foster multi-disciplinary and cross-institution collaboration to address emerging and unmet healthcare needs of our population.

2. With an ageing population and rising incidence of chronic disease, healthcare needs in Singapore will increase in demand and complexity. These would require healthcare providers and the community to make decisive changes in our approach to health and healthcare.

3. In a paper in JAMA in 2016, Dr Eugene Washington, Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University, posited that academic health systems need to move their focus to a “third curve”. The first curve was directed at treating patients with disease. The second curve is population health management, that is, illness management and prevention in a defined population. He proposes a third curve which is population health improvement. The goal of population health improvement is to actively enhance the health of all individuals in a population in a defined geography. We need to move beyond just providing care for those with diseases, or those who seek care at health facilities, to improving the health of entire populations of Singaporeans. We need to focus on wellness, chronic disease prevention, and empowerment of individuals for better self-management.

4. This will require a significant paradigm shift in the way care is conceived and delivered. Compared with the status quo, investing in population health improvement will require us to move out of our institutions into the broader community, and building stronger links and partnerships with both citizens and non-health related organisations on the ground. It will require greater emphasis on factors and influences that are indirectly related to health care, for example exercise and diet, social and economic determinants of health, and social support services. There are various levels of planning and delivery required for effective population health, from systems to individuals. I am very heartened that our Clusters have already taken significant steps in this direction.