Singapore is well-known for incorporating science and technology into its economic and social fabric. The nation is typically glad to accept the technological revolution that they are now synonymous with, from planned self-driving buses to Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).
However, the country must cope with the issue of an ageing population, a cohort that may not be as digitally savvy as its younger counterparts. With this, the Smart Nation initiatives in Singapore include those that have used technology to address healthcare concerns.
As part of their Year 3-course work, a group of students tagged as SITizens from the SIT-University of Glasgow Nursing programme recently collaborated on an applied research project to discover how older Singaporeans are coping with the digital urge.
The group conducted a study to identify the factors that promote and inhibit older individuals’ digital health literacy. According to them, there is an urgent need to equip senior citizens with greater cyber capabilities.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, internet communication was crucial for disseminating updates on the fast-evolving situation, thus, it was time to take a fresh look at how to engage elderly Singaporeans in the digital sphere.
As part of the team’s three-year initiative, students participated in an initial study over the course of three months in the first half of 2022. Two groups of six students each designed and implemented a digital health education programme for seniors at local Senior Activity Centres (SACs).
By interacting with SAC clients who serve the elderly in the locations where they are located, students had the chance to gain a greater understanding of the requirements of this demographic. In addition, it provided a unique opportunity to participate in real-world applied research, as it is an integral element of the nursing curriculum.
Elders welcomed the student, but not the health apps they introduced. It turned out to be difficult to encourage the elderly to be enthusiastic about using the HealthHub app because the older generation believed they had no demand for creative approaches because they were nearing the end of their lives.
Others couldn’t utilise the programme because they couldn’t speak English well enough. The elders are taught how to use the HealthHub app to schedule, change, and cancel appointments by the researchers-students.
Certainly, a Health Promotion Board leaflet was utilised to explain each step at the elders’ pace since the example film was too quick for them, yet, some elderlies were unable to log in during the hands-on attempt because they could not recall their Singpass accounts.
Likewise, the language barrier was an additional obstacle. The materials were also in Chinese, and most of them spoke Mandarin. But the total experience ended up being enjoyable and meaningful due to gestures and kind interactions.
On the other hand, the teaching package will be fully developed through an iterative approach that incorporates the nurses’ experiences. Students benefited from first-hand exposure to the actual process of data collection, which is challenging to simulate in a classroom setting.
Furthermore, health literacy is the motivation and ability to seek and utilise health information. It empowers a person to make choices that will improve their quality of life; and expanded to encompass media and computer abilities.
Across the globe, including Singapore, the elder population has a low propensity for digital health literacy. With this, students from various universities set out to develop instructional materials that would encourage senior citizens to access health information via mobile phones and the internet -initiatives supported by the government.
