The personal recovery movement in Singapore - past, present and future

The personal recovery movement is beginning to gain traction within Singapore's mental healthcare systems. We believe it is timely to give a broad overview of how it developed and provide suggestions on how it can evolve further. From the early custodial care in the 1800s to the community-centric programmes of the 1900s and early 2000s, we now find ourselves at the forefront of yet another paradigm shift towards a more consumer-centric model of care. The following decades will allow personal recovery practitioners and researchers to innovate and identify unique but culturally appropriate care frameworks. We also discuss how the movement can continue to complement existing mental healthcare systems and efforts.

Narrative synthesis of psychological and coping responses towards emerging infectious disease outbreaks in the general population: practical considerations for the COVID-19 pandemic

INTRODUCTION@#Emerging infectious disease outbreaks, such as the present coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, often have a psychological impact on the well-being of the general population, including survivors and caregivers. Our study aimed to synthesise extant literature regarding the combined psychological responses and coping methods used by the general population in past outbreaks.@*METHODS@#We conducted a narrative synthesis of the published literature over the last two decades with a quality appraisal of included articles that reported both psychological responses and coping strategies within infectious disease outbreaks.@*RESULTS@#A total of 144 papers were identified from the search, 24 of which were included in the review. Overall, 18 studies examined the psychosocial responses of the general population towards the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic, four studies focused on the Ebola epidemic and two studies covered the H1N1 outbreak. Common themes in psychological responses included anxiety/fears, depression, anger, guilt, grief and loss, post-traumatic stress and stigmatisation, but also a greater sense of empowerment and compassion towards others. Coping strategies adopted included problem-focused coping (seeking alternatives, self- and other-preservation), seeking social support, avoidance, and positive appraisal of the situation.@*CONCLUSION@#Amid the range of psychosocial responses seen in past infectious disease outbreaks, practical considerations for the current COVID-19 pandemic need to focus on the individual in the context of the larger social environment, with an emphasis on raising awareness of the range of possible psychosocial responses, access to psychological help, self-care, empowering self-support groups and sustained engagement with updated, reliable information about the outbreak.

Successful ageing in Singapore: prevalence and correlates from a national survey of older adults

INTRODUCTION@#The current study aimed to estimate the overall prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of successful ageing, as defined by Rowe and Kahn, among a national sample of multiethnic adults aged 60 years and older in Singapore.@*METHODS@#Data from older adults who participated in the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly study was analysed. Successful ageing was defined with five indicators: no major diseases; no disability; high cognitive functioning; high physical functioning; and active engagement with life.@*RESULTS@#The prevalence of successful ageing was 25.4% in this older population. Older adults aged 75-84 years and ≥ 85 years had 0.3 times and 0.1 times the odds of successful ageing, respectively, than those aged 60-74 years. Compared to older adults of Chinese ethnicity, those of Malay (odds ratio [OR] 0.6) and Indian (OR 0.5) ethnicities were less likely to be associated with successful ageing. Older adults with lower education levels, who had no formal education (OR 0.2), some schooling but did not complete primary education (OR 0.4) or only primary education (OR 0.5), had lower odds of ageing successfully than those with tertiary education.@*CONCLUSION@#Older adults in Singapore tend to have much more active engagement with life as compared to their counterparts from other countries. Further research into this population is needed, both in terms of qualitative research to gain a better understanding of successful ageing from the older adult's perspective, as well as longitudinal studies that explore behavioural determinants of successful ageing.

Health Technology Disinvestment in Singapore

Healthcare decision-makers are constantly challenged by growing healthcare needs in tandem with rising healthcare costs. Disinvesting in technologies and practices that are "low in value" is one strategy to re-allocate limited resources to the most effective, safe and cost-effective technologies. We put forward a health technology reassessment framework and examined the opportunities and challenges on technology disinvestment in Singapore and deliberated on possible solutions. We coordinated and supported a disinvestment programme in 2 hospitals, 1 specialist centre and 9 primary care institutions in the public healthcare sector. The key processes were identifying, prioritising and assessing low-value health technologies and practices, disseminating and implementing disinvestment recommendations, and post-implementation evaluation. Through case studies, we explored the barriers and enablers to the success of the programme. One of the barriers to disinvestment included difficulty in demonstrating a lack of benefit of in-use technologies from published studies. Differing viewpoint and priority might preclude a healthcare leader's support in such initiatives and that posed an unsurmountable hurdle. On the other hand, engaging the stakeholder throughout the evidence review process and striking a balance between rigour and timeliness of review were likely to assure success. Lastly, monitoring the impact on resources and patient outcomes can be diverse and methods need to be developed. Understanding barriers and enablers in health technology disinvestment can translate into improved opportunities for eliminating and minimising resource wastage.

Comorbid Diabetes and Depression among Older Adults - Prevalence, Correlates, Disability and Healthcare Utilisation

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The objectives of this current study were to: 1) examine the prevalence and correlates of diabetes mellitus (DM) among older adults (aged 60 years and above) in a multi-ethnic population; 2) examine the prevalence and correlates of comorbid DM and depression among them; and 3) assess the effect of comorbid depression on disability, cognition and healthcare utilisation.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>Data for the current study came from the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly (WiSE) study; a single phase, cross-sectional survey conducted among Singapore residents aged 60 years and above. A total of 2565 respondents completed the survey; depression was assessed using the Automated Geriatric Examination for Computer Assisted Taxonomy (AGECAT) while a diagnosis of DM was considered if respondents stated that a doctor had diagnosed them with DM.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>DM was reported by 25.5% of the population. The prevalence of depression was significantly higher in those diagnosed with DM than those without DM (6% vs 3%). After adjusting for sociodemographic correlates, smoking and other chronic conditions, DM remained significantly associated with depression and subsyndromal depression. However, after including measures of functioning and cognitive impairment as covariates, DM was not significantly related to depression and subsyndromal depression. Those with comorbid DM and depression were more likely to be of Indian and Malay ethnicity, aged 75 to 84 years (versus 60 to 74 years) and widowed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Given the significant association of certain sociodemographic groups with comorbid depression among those with DM, targeted interventions for prevention and early diagnosis in these groups should be considered.</p>

Is early-onset in major depression a predictor of specific clinical features with more impaired social function? / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Early-onset major depressive disorder (MDD) (EOD) is often particularly malignant due to its special clinical features, accompanying impaired social function, protracted recovery time, and frequent recurrence. This study aimed to observe the effects of age onset on clinical characteristics and social function in MDD patients in Asia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In total, 547 out-patients aged 18-65 years who were from 13 study sites in five Asian countries were included. These patients had MDD diagnose according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 th Edition criteria. Clinical features and social function were assessed using Symptom Checklist-90-revised (SCL-90-R) and Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). Quality of life was assessed by a 36-item Short-form Health Survey (SF-36). Analyses were performed using a continuous or dichotomous (cut-off: 30 years) age-of-onset indicator.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Early-onset MDD (EOD, <30 years) was associated with longer illness (P = 0.003), unmarried status (P < 0.001), higher neuroticism (P ≤ 0.002) based on the SCL-90-R, and more limited social function and mental health (P = 0.006, P = 0.007) based on the SF-36 and SDS. The impairment of social function and clinical severity were more prominent at in-patients with younger onset ages. Special clinical features and more impaired social function and quality of life were associated with EOD, as in western studies.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>EOD often follows higher levels of neuroticism. Age of onset of MDD may be a predictor of clinical features and impaired social function, allowing earlier diagnosis and treatment.</p>

Annual Review Clinic: A Chronic Disease management model of care for schizophrenia and delusional disorder in Singapore

Schizophrenia and delusional disorders are recognised as chronic mental conditions. During this time, the clinical course may fluctuate and co-morbidities may set in. Individuals with these conditions often lack insight and have high rates of default. We report the need to develop a chronic disease model of care to cater to this unique group of individuals in Singapore. Methods: The Ministry of Health in Singapore recently funded the Institute of Mental Health to develop a model of psychiatric care for individuals with schizophrenia and delusional disorders. Crucial to the success was the development of an information technology (IT) enabled platform to track and monitor the clinical status of this group of individuals. On a yearly interval, patients undergo a comprehensive review and needs analysis of their psychiatric and medical needs in the Annual Review Clinic (ARC). Clinical ratings and metabolic parameters of every patient were obtained, and every patient was assigned a case-tracker or case manager to monitor their engagement with the relevant services. Results: In the first year of operations, ARC reviewed 1525 patients with schizophrenia and delusional disorders. The median GAS score for the cohort seen was 75 (slight impairment in functioning). The median CGI-S score was 2 (borderline mentally ill). 48.5% of reviewed patients were classified as overweight and above with BMI ≥ 25. After the needs analysis, 100 patients received referrals to primary healthcare services for medical conditions that were recently diagnosed or for which they have defaulted medical treatment. Conclusions: In the first year of this program, a snapshot of the clinical status of the outpatient population was obtained and we also identified a high prevalence of obesity among the patients. Through this program, we can continuously monitor the health status of every patient and monitor for developing trends so as to plan the necessary interventions.