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Gerontology Matures In Singapore: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Ageing

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  • 1 year ago
  • SilverStreak Editorial Team

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Gerontology Matures In Singapore: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Ageing
"An ageing population will totally change the way our society works,"
said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the book launch of Singapore Ageing: Issues and Challenges Ahead, in April, this year.
The statement pithily summarises the difficulties Singapore is facing as it rapidly ages, with the proportion of the population aged 65 and above skyrocketing from one in 10 to one in four in the span of just two decades.
Huge overhauls to the country’s healthcare system, economy, housing, transport infrastructure and built environment will need to be developed, piloted and implemented to meet the needs of a rapidly growing silver population.
To that end, Singapore’s tertiary institutions have launched a number of gerontology programmes that seek to address these growing interdisciplinary needs.
Gerontology is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive and biological aspects of ageing.
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Over the past two decades, the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have both launched a master’s programme in gerontology.
The former also offers a PhD programme in the same field; its first batch of students graduated just last year.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Management University (SMU) and National University of Singapore (NUS) run their own gerontology research programmes.
SilverStreak speaks to three university professors in the growing field of eldercare to find out what are the most pressing issues in gerontology today – and how they can be addressed.
Building communities outside of family
Dr Shannon Ang, an assistant professor of sociology at NTU, has contributed his opinions on social gerontology to national broadsheets on numerous occasions.
His work primarily revolves around exploring “issues of family, identity, gender, race and how those things can shape seniors’ social lives”.
Connectedness between seniors and the people around them is a nascent area of focus for Dr Ang, especially as families shrink.
"We are so based around family as a society in Singapore. But the longer we stick with it, the longer the issues proliferate,"
he says.

"The family is simply not enough anymore. Compared to just a generation or two ago, families are much smaller. There are many ageing people today with no children, a trend that will continue in the future."

“There are a few solutions. One of them is more support from the community."

"There’s a more radical solution too – expanding the idea of what a family is. Communes could work, but you need the funding mechanisms to make it happen,"
he says.
"Senior co-living homes like Red Crowns Senior Living, where they share resources like a helper, seem to be working, but the current infrastructure doesn’t support it,"
he adds, pointing to the fact that Red Crowns is currently being investigated by the Ministry of Manpower for this practice.
"We need to be a lot more imaginative with what’s possible,"
he says.
Intergenerational bonding
Gerontology Matures In Singapore: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Ageing - Intergenerational bonding
That said, the social gerontologist is no advocate for large-scale retirement villages.
"We need to stop putting older people together and assuming that they’ll amuse themselves. That’s true to some extent – the younger old will look after the older old. But you don’t want to have a huge huddle together. Generational divide is not good for society,"
he says.
Instead, Dr Ang hopes to see “more imaginative” housing solutions in the future, such as a scheme that matches older homeowners with spare rooms to younger tenants looking for independence.
"Putting people together doesn’t mean integration will happen. But one of the things we need to do is to make older people know younger people as friends,"
he says.

"There is evidence to show that there are strong benefits for intergenerational interaction. But these programmes are often sporadic. We should be encouraging organic integration. If the only people you meet every day are other people in the same age group, there won’t be a chance at all for the generations to intermingle."

Tackling ageism in society
Integration can also help dispel stereotypes between generations.
"Just because of how quickly Singapore developed, there are very stark differences between the generations here. For example, the pioneer generation – maybe 10% or less of them went to university. Now it’s over 40%. They were still speaking in the vernacular when we switched to Mandarin, then English as the working language. We left them behind,"
he says.
"We have a cold, economic-driven logic that you have to keep up, you have to upskill. But we systematically left them behind, then told them to catch up,"
he adds.
One of the biggest ways he sees ageism in the real world play out is in the implementation of technology and digitisation.
Constant updates to apps’ interfaces, for example, especially disadvantages less tech-savvy seniors “who might not fundamentally understand the applications they are using”, forcing them to relearn how to use it from scratch every so often.
"My point is this: Why are we always putting the onus on older people to make them learn? Make it necessary for the tech companies, who have all the resources, to cater to older people. When you’re making public transportation accessible for people with disabilities, you create infrastructure like ramps. You won’t tell someone in a wheelchair they have a personal responsibility to learn how to climb steps,"
he says.
So too for “technocratic solutions aimed at creating a sort of techno-utopia, which in itself is ageist. The solution to seniors ageing seems to be always more robots and more sensors. We don’t need a robot cat and bubble wrap covered in sensors for seniors – maybe they just need more friends,” he adds.
Novel technology in eldercare
Gerontology Matures In Singapore: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Ageing - Novel technology in eldercare
SUSS’ Dr Kelvin Tan, on the other hand, believes that technology is key to tackling the silver wave – even if that involves robot animals.
The senior lecturer at the university and head of its Minor in Applied Ageing Studies programme was part of the team who brought in the Lovot, a cutesy penguin-like social robot from another Asian ageing hub, Japan.
The Lovot uses a suite of more than 50 sensors, including a 360-degree half-sphere camera on its noggin, to recognise and approach people. Covered in fur and warm to the touch, the 3kg companion robot is meant to be picked up and cuddled by the seniors it accompanies.
SUSS trialled the Lovot at the Sengkang Community Hospital and nursing homes like Orange Valley. Data is still being compiled about its efficacy for improving social connectedness while reducing individual loneliness and will soon be published.
Dr Tan stresses that novel technologies like these and other robots he’s working on, including an automated nursing assistant that can measure your vitals, are meant to complement the human touch, rather than replace them, and ease the burden of caregivers, instead of taking over.
"I am an engineer by training. I’m looking at using innovation and technology to fill in the gaps from lack of manpower. Technology is an adjunct, not a replacement. Humans must be at the core of all our technical solutions,"
he says.
Working toward a “multi-aged society”
Gerontology Matures In Singapore: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Ageing - Working toward a “multi-aged society”
Apart from robots, Dr Tan is also looking into real-time smart wearables and advanced telemedical solutions like surgeries by doctors operating remotely, both of which are still in their nascency due to limitations in network bandwidth.
"One good thing about Singapore is that we are able to learn from the painful lessons of countries like Japan and Finland, who are further along in their journey towards an ageing society,"
he says.

"We can take their solutions and use a bit of trial and error, to see if it works here with a different cultural and economic context."

"The thing with gerontology is that it will take a longer time to manifest into actual solutions. It covers such a wide spectrum of issues, so it’s best to start as soon as possible. Work anti-ageism into the education system, so that people have more empathy."

Rethinking employment and the idea of the retirement age
Key to that transformation, says Dr Helen Ko, SUSS associate professor for its Master & PhD in Gerontology Programmes, is rethinking how we treat seniors that are nearing the retirement age.
"My personal take is that while we encourage people to retire and relax, research suggests that many want to continue working. They need the finances, they want to maintain their health, and they do recognise that they want to keep working,"
she says.

"Psychologically, it gives many people the satisfaction that they are still being useful, and still a contributing part of society."

"But I also recognise that we have to be realistic. Although many people do want to continue working, there might come a point when they do not want to have a job that is onerous, that is beyond their capacity in the challenges and conditions that they experience."

To that end, the former executive director of Beyond Age, an education consultancy focused on senior employability, believes that training programmes that are targeted specifically at seniors can ease their upskilling journey.
"I’ve proposed a framework that can be used to boost instructors’ effectiveness in delivering lessons to seniors. Trainers, especially younger ones, have to be cognisant that older people learn somewhat differently – we have to achieve a certain balance in the materials, speed, tone and methodology of teaching,"
she says.
Gerontology presents opportunities
"That’s why I’m teaching at SUSS too – we’re equipping the next generation with the skills and knowledge to teach their peers in turn how to help seniors and their families. There will be a multiplier effect throughout society as we progress,"
Dr Ko adds.

"We started 12 years ago with just 20 students. Now we have two classes totalling 60 students each cohort. It’s quite a significant number considering it is a graduate class, with people hailing from multiple disciplines and generations."

"We saw a gradual shift from a majority of students coming from the health and social services sector to a broader range of skillsets. People are beginning to see the need for specific knowledge about gerontology within their various sectors. This is vital as dealing with an ageing population has to be very holistic. It pervades all of society – literally, because everyone ages.” she declares. “I’m quite excited to see what will happen in the following years."

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