Closing Remarks by Associate Professor Ding Yew Yoong, Executive Director, GERI at the Knowledge-to-Practice Webinar on Understanding Older Adults’ Responses to Pandemics (10 Feb 23)

A good afternoon to my distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.

Over the course of this afternoon, we had a robust sharing and exchange of knowledge, as we heard GERI researchers and collaborators present new evidence on health challenges that affected older adults during COVID-19.

We are also fortunate to have our partners from policy and practice on the speaking panel today: from the Ageing Planning Office at the Ministry of Health, Singapore; from the Society for Geriatric Medicine Singapore; Chapter of Geriatricians; our clinical partners and, from across the world, at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

As we come to the end of the webinar, I would like to take some time to reflect on some of the broader themes that have emerged today, which I frame as the 3 “Rs”.

The first “R” is “Reveal”. The pandemic revealed to us how older adults were disproportionately affected by shocks and changes in their environments. The pandemic also laid bare both new and long-standing needs of stakeholders, as well as knowledge gaps. These needed to be understood and addressed by the research community in a time-sensitive manner.

The second “R” is “Response”. Despite the challenges that arose amidst the climate of uncertainty, the global research community – and including those in Singapore – was galvanised to action. Over here in GERI, we also rose to this challenge, and worked in close concert with collaborators and practitioners both locally and abroad. Together, we produced timely and targeted research to aid the national fight against the virus with a focus on older adults. 

But the last “R” – that I would argue is the most important to us, particularly as of today – is “Relevance”.

In three days’ time, Singapore will transit to DORSCON Green, with a step-down of some of our COVID-19 measures that were previously implemented. But I would say that in spite of this welcome development, the core insights and enduring lessons – drawn from our research and shared today – are certainly relevant beyond the pandemic. These will contribute to efforts, by policymakers and practitioners, to fool-proof our healthcare and psychosocial support nets for our seniors. This is in readiness for a very uncertain world ahead, for more than one reason.

So, what we really need is a more holistic approach: No simple solutions. We have to account for the increasingly complex interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect the well-being of our seniors. We also have to tweak our approaches, enhance supports and interventions for our older adults, as Singapore prepares for “Disease X” that might emerge in the future.

Before I conclude, let me again say a few words of thanks. I would like to extend my gratitude to our researchers, who have done the work and shared their research today. I am positive that your hard work will ultimately help our seniors age well. 

Speaking of translation, today’s webinar is also another example of how GERI commits to ensuring that our research reaches key stakeholders. For that, I would like to thank our collaborators and colleagues for organising this session.

And with that, on a Friday afternoon: Thank you, and have an excellent evening ahead.​​