The Singapore Population Health Studies (SPHS) marked its 20th anniversary on 9 November 2024, with Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung joining the celebration as Guest-of-Honour.
Since its inception in 2004, SPHS has grown into a large-scale, population-based resource, thanks to the participation of over 90,000 individuals. Their valuable health data has been instrumental in shaping national healthcare policies programmes. The event celebrated this milestone and showcased the incredible impact of these contributions with short talks by Prof Chia Kee Seng, founding Dean, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health; Prof Tai E Shyong, Senior Consultant, National University Hospital and Chief Medical Officer, PRECISE; Assoc Prof Mary Chong, Programme Director, Master of Public Health, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health; and Asst Prof Hannah Clapham, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Minister Ong also went on a tour of the facilities used for data collection.
In his opening address, Minister Ong thanked the cohorts for their contribution to the studies, and invited more to join this meaningful cause, “There is much promise in population health to transform health and promote preventive care, but provided data is available, and research is empowered. In Singapore, we have a holistic strategy to harness the power of information to transform healthcare and we are actively doing so. I look forward to the continued contributions of SPHS in this exciting journey ahead”.
If you have not participated in the SPHS and would like to find out more, CLICK HERE.
The short talks, dedicated to all SPHS participants, highlighted how their contributions impacted public health and future research on both non-infectious and infectious diseases, including prevention strategies and debunking popular diet myths. Participants who were not able to attend the event can now view the talks on the YouTube video below. Each short talk is about 7 to 10 minutes long and the first one starts at the 24th minute.
Last updated 14 January 2025