This chapter considers residential space in Singapore that is evolving to accommodate changing demographics, while simultaneously supporting ageing in place, and promoting healthy ageing. As with many other cities, Singapore is ageing rapidly. Its older population is projected to increase to 1.8 million (28 per cent of the total population) by 2030. Promoting healthy ageing, and a better fit between the ageing population and public housing neighbourhoods, where 80 per cent of its resident population reside, is an urgent urban policy issue. The chapter examines how Singapore, through the institution of its public housing agency, the Housing and Development Board, provides residential spaces for ageing in place, and how these spatialities in turn shape opportunities for older adults’ social interaction and healthy ageing. It will explore how physical space has been given materiality and meanings to older residents through their lived experience, highlighting the environmental enablers and challenges to outdoor mobility.

Increasing life expectancy in cities has heightened the urgency to understand how built environments affect the various health dimensions of the ageing population. This study explores community-dwelling older adults’ (n = 80; aged 52 and above) perceptions of the links between neighbourhood built environment and their physical, social and mental health in Singapore. Content analysis of focus group discussions reveals that Singaporean older adults associate different but overlapping built environment factors with the physical, social and mental dimensions of health. Safety, amenities, pedestrian-friendly spaces, transport infrastructure, and social and public spaces are most frequently identified with older adults’ health. In particular, safety and pedestrian-friendly spaces are considered most important to older adults’ physical health while safety and amenities are most important for social health, and aesthetics and wayfinding for mental health. These findings underscore the diversities and complexities of everchanging person-environment fit that must be considered while planning, designing and/or retrofitting neighbourhoods and outdoor spaces in high-density Asian cities. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to understand the patterns of occupations among community-dwelling older adults in Singapore. The objectives are to describe their occupational engagement using the Activity Card Sort Singapore, understand their occupational preferences and perceived barriers and facilitators to engagement. Methods: A convergent parallel mixed-method study was conducted over a 5-month period in 2018. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit the participants. Individual 1-h interviews were conducted at participants’ homes. Quantitative data collected include demographic information, Modified Barthel Index scores and activity engagement based on the Activity Card Sort Singapore. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews. Results: 105 participants were enrolled in the study. Overall, older adults engaged mostly in instrumental and social activities. However, leisure and social activities were most preferred. Gender, educational level and age were found to influence occupational engagement. Overall, six main themes relating to perceived barriers and facilitators to occupational engagement were identified: cognition and physical status, self-efficacy, resources, affect and meaningfulness, social influence and environmental factors. Conclusion: The findings from this study provided insights into the occupational patterns of community-dwelling older adults in Singapore and their perceived barriers and facilitators to engagement. Recommendations for practice were identified. © The Author(s) 2021.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/1742

Today, “walkability” is considered a critical component of an aging-friendly neighborhood. This study examined the relationships between the neighborhood physical environment, walkability, and physical activity levels of older residents in Singapore. Five neighborhoods notable for their “aging in place” strategies were selected for a site survey. A questionnaire focusing on the evaluation of neighborhood walkability was administered to older adults in these neighborhoods. The questionnaire included three sections: neighborhood satisfaction, walkability, and the daily physical activity of older adults. The results indicated that adequate physical facilities and connectivity to the city were critical to older adults’ satisfaction with their neighborhoods. The mean walking time significantly dropped as the number of nearby facilities increased, and the number of facilities was negatively correlated with the daily activity levels of older adults. Thus, planners should attempt to calibrate the provision of neighborhood facilities to maintain the physical activity levels of older adults.

Singapore now faces one of the fastest aging populations in the world, leading the country’s political leaders to fear the implications of population aging for the country’s economic viability. We analyzed National Day Rally speeches from 2011 to 2015 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to examine how policymakers conceptualized the challenges related to its aging population. Findings point to the government’s manifest and latent emphasis on its economic viability when developing social policies to address the well-being of its aging population. Its approaches to welfare provision are informed by a neoliberalist agenda that requires its citizens to exercise personal responsibility and self-reliance, and to rely on their family and community for mutual assistance. Despite its highly interventionist approach, the government is clear about its residual role in the provision of safety nets. A neoliberalist reconceptualization of citizenship serves to restrict older citizen’s claims to basic social assistance. © 2021 Taylor & Francis.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7995946/

Asia, which has the highest increase in dementia prevalence, is unfortunately lacking recent up-to-date research, with regions of Southeast Asia being the most inadequate. Preventive approaches, such as the understanding of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), are currently the most effective approach in reducing the risk or delaying the onset of dementia but are not adequately understood. Additionally, there is a paucity of research examining lifestyle and sociodemographic correlates of MCI that are relevant to the local population of Singapore. To address these gaps, this study aimed to explore: 1) the prevalence of MCI and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), 2) the psychosocial and lifestyle correlates of MCI and aMCI. Data were drawn from the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly (WiSE) population study, which is a single-phase cross-sectional household survey conducted among older adult residents aged 60 years and above. Analyses revealed that the weighted MCI prevalence (1.2%) was lower than global figures. Few sociodemographic and lifestyle habits were related to MCI prevalence, as only age and physical activeness emerged as significant correlates. Despite the low prevalence of MCI, individuals with MCI experienced marked disability, clinical levels of depression and anxiety, which are all concerning finds. Due to the exploratory and cross-sectional nature of the study, future longitudinal research could further refine our understanding of MCI and confirm the present findings.