Successful Ageing and Wellbeing

Urban design and planning and other social, economic, demographic and physical characteristics of the built environment have a significant impact on resident's physical and mental health status. For older people, they are particularly vulnerable to home and neighbourhood conditions as they spend more time in their immediate surrounds due to age-related declines. Our research examines the ways in which older persons interact with the built environment and their neighbourhoods, and how environments can be shaped to support active ageing in place.

• Research by Lee Kong Chian Professor of Computer Science Tan, Ah Hwee and his team, in collaboration with Sengkang General Hospital and the National University of Singapore, aim to utilise in-home multimodal sensor networks for early detection of cognitive decline of the elderly through the project "Sensors In-Home for Elder Wellbeing".

Equitable healthy ageing occurs when every person, regardless of their circumstance, has the opportunity to attain optimise health and wellbeing at all life stages and fulfill their health potential to age well. Achieving this requires a life-course approach of reducing or eliminating the social and structural disparities people experience throughout their lifetime. Our research aims to identify vulnerable groups where policy initiatives can be directed to reduce inequities in health and health services in Singapore.

• Professor of Sociology Paulin Tay Straughan is conducting a study on the working preferences of older Singaporeans and understand their perceptions towards upskilling, reskilling and the types of employment that may be meaningful for them so as to shed insights and inform the design of a jobs-skills-learning recommender, the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme (SCTP) and other services and facilities catered to older adults’ needs.

Scientific understanding of the complex and dynamic ageing process has not developed at the same rate as the rapid growth of ageing populations and their special health needs. Longitudinal studies are critical to providing fundamental evidence of multi-factor changes over time, offering diverse and comprehensive insights into ageing across the life course.

Researchers at the Centre for Research on Successful Ageing have been collecting longditudinal data through the Singapore Life Panel to yield an unprecedented knowledge base and help to improve our understanding of (and thereby ability to improve) overall well-being of the older population in Singapore.

The health workforce in countries are usually trained to respond to pressing health needs associated with acute illness and communicable diseases, rather than to proactively anticipate and counter changes in people's intrinsic capacity. The demand for services for older people will also rise as populations age, putting pressure on long-term care services.

• Professor of Sociology Paulin Tay Straughan is leading the research project 'Understanding Emerging Trends of Care Communities for Singapore Residents Aged 50-76' to study how better care options can be provided and developed for elderly Singapore residents, including their awareness and preferences for assisted living.
• Professor of Computer Science Lau, Hoong Chuin and his team are exploring AI-driven, short-input-to-output cycle HR systems to address the manpower allocation and development challenge in the healthcare sector where there is a complex relationship among various manpower types (doctors, nurses) and with the patient lifecycle leadtimes, geo-location, medical equipment and facility needed to perform surgeries and patient care, through the project "Acute workforce response to “Demand pulled” patient lifecycle data via Generative Flow Networks and Graph Neural Networks".

The study of intrinsic capacity contributes to the understanding of the physical and mental abilities that enable individuals, particularly older adults, to live independently and lead fulfilling lives. Intrinsic capacity encompasses cognitive, sensory, locomotor, psychological, and vitality functions. By studying these areas, researchers can identify factors that influence healthy aging, and develop interventions to preserve or enhance these capacities, including the creation of personalised healthcare strategies. This research is crucial for guiding policies and practices that support healthy aging and better health outcomes and in reducing the burden on healthcare systems by delaying or preventing the onset of disabilities.

Researchers at the Centre for Research on Successful Ageing are working with the Geriatric Education and Research Institute to develop measures of intrinsic capacity and to study how it changes over time for different segments of older adults in Singapore, and how this impacts their functional ability.