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Dream. Own. Celebrate Living.
You may be a parent who wants to see your children grow and succeed in life; you may be a kid who wants to play all day; you may be an adventurous one who wants to travel the world; you may be a senior who wants to remain mobile. Whatever your dreams are at every stage of your life, Active Health sets you on a journey to celebrate living.
Active Health is a social movement to encourage everyone to proactively take ownership of their health and wellness so that they can fulfil their aspirations and be ready to embrace and celebrate life’s most significant moments with confidence.
“Beyond providing infrastructure, Active Health seeks to encourage Singaporeans’ aspirations to live well by supporting them with knowledge, programmes and networks of like-minded enthusiasts,” said Mr Lim Teck Yin, Chief Executive Officer of Sport Singapore. “The investment in health and wellness is a life-long pursuit, and an on-going process of self-awareness, adjustments and adaptations to optimise potential according to each person’s life stage. As a first step, we will be working with strategic partners that will enable us to integrate our efforts and ensure that the Active Health journey will be fruitful and enjoyable.”
Harnessing the strengths and expertise of SportSG and key partners, Active Health is designed to educate, motivate and activate individuals to take ownership of their journey to wellbeing by focusing on inculcating positive habits in these four key domains namely, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Screen Time and Sleep.
Strategic Partnerships
SportSG is already in conversations with several public, private and people sector organisations to embrace Active Health and the framework for the benefit of the community. In signing the five separate Memorandums of Understanding with Sport Singapore, the following institutions are the first to pen their support for Active Health.
Sport Singapore with the**Health Promotion Board**will jointly develop a nation-wide framework and the policies for the engagement of Active Health stakeholders from both the public and private sectors at the national level. The two agencies will explore and identify opportunities to introduce and carry out Active Health programmes and content through specially designed platforms such as the Active Health Lab, and to educate the general public on nutrition and physical activity.
Mr Zee Yoong Kang, Chief Executive Officer, Health Promotion Board (HPB), said, “HPB is pleased to be a part of this initiative where we hope to empower every Singaporean to take ownership of their health. We will work closely with SportSG to co-develop and implement relevant programmes to help Singaporeans cultivate healthier lifestyle habits such as paying more attention to our diet, incorporating physical activity into our daily routine and going for regular health screening and follow-up.”
Sport Singapore with**Changi General Hospital, andExercise is Medicine Singapore (EIMS)will pilot the first Active Health Lab at Our Tampines Hub. The parties will jointly create fitness solution pathways, and equip Active Health Experts with the knowledge and skills to recommend physical activity in the ‘right dosage’ to prevent and manage common chronic health conditions._
Dr Lee Chien Earn, CEO of CGH and Deputy Group CEO, Regional Health System, SingHealth said, “We are excited about this partnership with Sport Singapore. Our expertise in sports medicine complements Sport Singapore’s capabilities and experience in fitness and wellness. We look forward to working together to develop solutions to help Singaporeans achieve better health through an active lifestyle in a safe and enjoyable way.”
Dr Benedict Tan, Chairman of EIMS said, “Exercise is Medicine Singapore aims to promote physical activity and exercise as a standard part of preventing and treating chronic diseases. We are pleased to partner with Sport Singapore and healthcare providers to nurture an active and healthy nation.”
Sport Singapore with**National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP)will develop a holistic integration of infrastructure design for Active Health at the upcoming Sembawang Sports and Community Hub. The parties will also jointly identify and develop suitable technological advancements and/or innovation capable of providing greater enhancement to the Active Health framework. Both SportSG and NHGP will explore and identify opportunities for future collaborative endeavours in the Northern sector of Singapore._
“One of the key thrusts of the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP) is to engage and motivate our patients, as well as the community, to take charge of their health. In caring for our patients, NHGP adopts a holistic care approach and promotes healthy living. We do this by encouraging patients to make the right choices, to keep active, eat healthy and prevent disease, so as to add years of healthy life. NHGP has also been actively collaborating with our partners to conduct regular health promotion within the community. This partnership between NHGP and SportSG will further synergise these efforts by tapping on our respective expertise to make it easier for people to choose and adopt active and healthy lifestyles,” said Associate Professor Chong Phui-Nah, CEO, NHGP.
Sport Singapore with**National University Health System**will pilot an Active Centre within Alexandra Hospital[1], providing targeted exercise therapy to complement conventional medical treatment. The Active Centre will provide patients with connectivity, accessibility and the convenience of exercise therapy in conjunction with their outpatient management at the hospital’s chronic and metabolic disease clinics. These patients will have risk and assessment tests done before commencement of the exercise programme in close consultation by clinicians, Exercise Physicians and trainers. Patients will also be closely supervised and monitored by the doctors. Exercise plays a key complementary role to managing chronic diseases, and this partnership provides patients with accessibility and convenience to better manage their health, beyond seeking treatment for their condition. While exercise prescription will be done at the hospital, with contribution from SportSG, the eventual goal is to also engage community providers such as General Practitioners who can see these patients and support them in the community to continue with the exercise.
“The MOU affirms NUHS’ commitment to promoting physical activity and exercise as essential components of health and wellness. This is a strategy that is assuming increasing national importance, particularly given our underlying demographic trends and chronic disease burden. The Active Centre promotes exercise as an effective treatment modality for patients to better manage their chronic medical conditions. By establishing exercise as an integral part of standard medical management, we hope to encourage patients to take ownership of their health and wellness - to keep active, stay healthy and lead enriched lives despite their co-morbidities.”, said Associate Professor Khoo See Meng, Clinical Lead of Alexandra Campus Development Team.
Active Health Framework – the ecosystem
The Active Health framework comprises three critical components, namely Active Health Playbook, Infrastructure and Technology. Active Health playbook is the strategy underpinning the design of Active Health ecosystems and its nationwide implementation with all Active Health partners.
Under infrastructure, the Active Health Lab (AHL) is a new capability added to the ActiveSG Sport Centres and integrated hubs to enhance the overall offerings to our community. AHL is founded on exercise science and operated by allied health certified Active Health Experts. Every individual who walks through the AHL will be able to experience a personalised journey towards self-discovery, appreciation and activation of the right lifestyle habits for living better. In the pilot phase, the first AHL will have its Open House at Our Tampines Hub on 6 August 2017. During this pilot phase, which will last till the end of the year, we will gather information and feedback to further improve the offerings to meet the demands of the people.
For technology, the Active Health Management Suite (AHMS) will be a virtual extension of the AHL and is designed to be an integrative platform to bring about a seamless experience for its users. AHMS provides users a convenient platform that can integrate with various health devices such as Fitbit and Apple watch, and other health management apps such as Health Hub Track. Through AHMS, users can access to Active Health key functional testing protocols, Active Health coaches, Health and Wellness content and programmes. It also allows users track and manage not only their own lifestyle habits, but also that of their loved ones. AHMS is still in development and is expected to be launched end of the year.
“The Active Health framework provides us with knowledge, ideas, tools and programmes to celebrate living at every life stage. It is a long-term goal to encourage greater personal ownership of health. However, the strength of this framework lies in the hands of multi agencies coming together to cross share information, ideas and platforms. The big idea is to make it easy for everyone to embark on this fulfilling journey,” added Mr Lim.
Active Health Capsule at Padang
To give Singaporeans an idea of how Active Health can benefit them, the Active Health Capsule will be open to public at the Padang as one of the key fixtures of the GetActive! Singapore - a week-long national day celebrations through sport. The capsule will be at the Padang from 29 July to 8 August 2017. The Active Health Capsule will feature activities for individual’s self-awareness and deeper engagement, as well as, tips on how to adopt good health habits in everyday life.
For more information, log on to Active Health.
[1]National University Health System (NUHS) takes over Alexandra Hospital from Sengkang Health from middle of 2018.