A recent survey by Philips called “Healthy Living in Asia” found that less than half of Singaporeans act on what they learn about their health. This is a worrying trend because Singapore’s preventive health can only get better if data and insights are used.
In this article, we’ll talk about the most important results of the survey, such as what makes Singaporeans take action on their data health, what worries them about data privacy, and how they use personal health devices right now. We will also give suggestions on how to improve Singaporeans’ ability to understand and use data.
Motivators for Singaporeans to act on data health
According to the survey, the biggest motivator for Singaporeans to start acting on their data is doctors’ recommendations. More than four out of ten respondents said they would only act on insights from health data if a doctor or other healthcare professional told them to. This shows how important it is for people who work in health care to encourage people to use data and insights to improve preventive health.
Sharing data with doctors or healthcare providers
But only 23% of Singaporeans share their health data with their doctors or other healthcare providers on a regular basis. This could be because people are worried about their privacy and don’t know how to share health data, as 35% and 20% of respondents said.
Enhancing data literacy and use
Ivy Lai, the general manager at Philips Singapore, says that the best way to deal with these problems is to use education to improve data literacy and use. She said that the government will ramp up preventive health in Singapore through the Healthier SG initiative. This shows how important it is to teach both the general public and medical professionals in Singapore how to use data and insights to improve preventive health.
Increased use of personal health devices
The poll also showed that Singaporeans are using personal health devices more frequently, with 30% indicating they have checked their health more frequently than they did in 2019. Heart health (40%), oral health (26%), sleep (34%), and nutrition (37%) are the main health concerns that Singaporeans keep an eye on. Even though more than half of the respondents claimed to have changed their health-related behaviours, they still desire to take more steps to improve their health.
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The poll, which gathered information, had 4,000 people from Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand take part. The findings not only show how seriously Singaporeans need to start addressing their data health, but they also present a chance to improve data literacy and usage there. Singaporeans can use data and insights to improve their preventive health by getting help from education and health care providers.
