S20: Empowering communities for preventive healthcare and well-being


Friday 15 August 2025 | 13:25-14:50 


Format: Presentation


Stream: Populations


Part 1: A Technology-Enhanced Falls Prevention Intervention for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Fandomised Controlled Trial


Falls among older adults are a growing global challenge with significant health and economic implications. This session introduces SAFE-TECH, an innovative, technology-enhanced, multi-domain intervention that targets the complex risk factors of falls in older adults. By combining wearable sensor technologies with personalised interventions, SAFE-TECH offers a data-driven approach to identifying and mitigating falls risk.


Attendees will gain an understanding of the SAFE-TECH randomised controlled trial, including its design and conceptualisation, shaped through multiple engagements with stakeholders. This collaborative approach ensures the intervention aligns with the needs of older adults and the healthcare systems that serve them. At this point of writing, we have recruited 140 participants of which, 70 are undergoing active intervention. We will also be sharing our preliminary findings of our study during the conference where we expect to have results for at least 200 participants. Our pilot study suggests improvements in physical function and reductions in fear of falling, demonstrating the impact of integrating technology and personalised interventions into preventive healthcare.


Key session outcomes:


1. Designing and implementing tailored, falls prevention community-based interventions.
2. Harnessing technology for risk assessments and outcome measurements.
3. Leveraging stakeholder input for trial design.The impact of such interventions on health outcomes and quality of life


Angelique Chan Duke-NUS Medical School; Singapore

Part 2: Health Together: Improving Health Literacy Through Empowering Volunteers in the Community


Increasing health literacy through community volunteers is a key strategy for the National University Health System (NUHS), in developing healthy communities in the western region of Singapore. With Singapore fast becoming a super-aged society and increasing chronic disease burden, there is an urgent need to increase the population’s health literacy in preventive health and abilities in self-managing chronic conditions.


A novel Volunteer Development Framework was developed and implemented by the NUHS to improve effectiveness, motivation and retention of community volunteers. This Framework guides the development of volunteers in contributing to various roles within the community to improve health literacy, based on their motivation, strengths, abilities, and commitment level. Also, hear firsthand of the lived experience of a volunteer Health Peer on his health empowering journey with residents with diabetes, and the meaningful impact of volunteerism on others and especially himself and family.


Key session outcomes:


1. Understand the critical roles of volunteers in the development of healthy communities in the western region of Singapore.
2. Learn about a novel volunteer development framework to motivate, grow, and empower volunteers in increasing health literacy in the community.
3. Appreciate the lived experience of a volunteer in his Health Peers journey with residents living with diabetes.


Andrea Chan National University Health System; Singapore


Part 3:  What is a Good Life? – Co-creating health goals with residents through the Local Area Coordination and Empowerment (LACE) programme


Join us for an engaging presentation on the Local Area Coordination and Empowerment (LACE) Programme, a transformative initiative by the SingHealth Centre for Person-Centred Care (CPCC) and the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS). This session will delve into the person-centred approach of the LACE Programme, which emphasizes empowering residents to co-create their health goals. We will also evaluate the training curriculum to demonstrate its effectiveness in fostering behaviour change. This session is ideal for those interested in implementing a strength-based, person-centred approach in community work, enhancing the quality of care and support for residents.


Key session outcomes:


1. List the person-centred features of the LACE Programme.
2. Describe the evaluation step of the LACE Programme.
3. Understand the role of person-centred care in program adaptation.


Meng Xiankun SingHealth Centre; Singapore