Closing Remarks by Associate Professor Ding Yew Yoong, Executive Director, GERI at the Knowledge-to-Practice Webinar on Understanding Cognitive Decline in Older Adults (4 Nov 2022)
4 November 2022
A very good late afternoon to my distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
About five years ago, GERI and the NTU-Ageing Research Institute for Society and Education (ARISE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to pursue research opportunities in frailty, psychosocial wellbeing and community care of older adults, as well as health systems and policies.
Five years on, the outlook on ageing has become more complex. Singapore is rapidly ageing, and the present and future needs of our seniors are also evolving and becoming more complex. Under the auspices of our MOU, researchers from GERI and ARISE have steadily conducted research to address some of these challenges.
This afternoon, we have had a very good opportunity to hear from researchers of both institutes presenting findings from their work that can help enrich our collective understanding of cognitive decline in older adults in Singapore.
In particular, I am also heartened to have with us Ms See Yen Theng from the Agency for Integrated Care sharing on the care of persons living with dementia in the community. We are reminded of the critical role that community and healthcare partners play in the nexus between policy and research, in supporting people living with dementia and their caregivers.
A significant obstacle to ageing-in-place is functional decline, in particular cognitive decline, and we have heard our researchers approach this from a variety of fresh angles today.
Recognising that we cannot afford to regard cognitive impairment and physical frailty in silos, Associate Professor Tan Chin Hong and Dr Justin Chew’s research has taken both in tandem, thereby unlocking new insights on the links between these two conditions.
Beyond the dollars and cents of healthcare costs, the research conducted by Associate Professor Andy Ho and Dr Allyn Hum has instead shone a light on the more elusive yet critical matter of unseen dementia caregiving challenges – and blessings – in Singapore.
Thirdly, technology is another frontier that holds immense potential in helping seniors age-in-place. From a proactive angle, Associate Professor Domenico Campolo and Dr Iris Rawtaer’s study is a valuable exploration of how robotic technology can provide cognitive and motor training through errorless learning.
I am encouraged to see such research yielding practical applications that can support older persons with cognitive decline in living well in the community, and I sincerely hope that you have all found today’s presentations, as well as Q&A session, enlightening and useful.
On a related note, I look forward to the research teams taking intentional steps forward to translate their study findings towards practice and policy, which is what really matters.
At GERI, we continue to engage and collaborate with partners like NTU-ARISE, to tap on each other’s multidisciplinary expertise, and as a result, develop and sharpen the quality of our translational research on ageing. And so, I would like to extend my gratitude to researchers from both institutions for their hard work, and it is my hope that the networks forged through this activity will open up new paths for future collaborations.
This webinar and the KPS series signals GERI’s ongoing commitment to translating research knowledge and putting information in the hands of where it is needed. I look forward to next year’s webinars as well.
It is important for me at this juncture to thank our colleagues from ARISE and GERI who have organised this webinar and made it possible.
With that, thank you, and have a good evening and an excellent weekend ahead.