Participation Rates of Seniors in Fall-Risk Prevention Programmes and Outcomes in Past Five Years, and Future Expansion Plans

27 Mr Alex Yeo asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) what is the number of seniors who have participated in fall-risk awareness or prevention programmes organised by the Government in the past five years; (b) what is the assessment on the effectiveness of these programmes in reducing falls and fall-related injuries; and (c) whether there are any plans to introduce new or expand these programmes, including any targets and timelines.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: Seniors can access a wide range of programmes in the community that help reduce their risk of falls. These are offered by various organisations, such as the Health Promotion Board (HPB), Sport Singapore (SportSG), the People's Association and Active Ageing Centres (AACs).

Over the past five years, HPB's targeted programmes, like Steady Lah, and SportSG's Combat Age-related Loss of Muscle (CALM) programme at Active Health Labs and AACs have attracted a total participation of more than 25,000.

We have seen results from these targeted programmes. For example, seven in 10 seniors who attended HPB's targeted programmes demonstrated functional improvements in strength, flexibility and gait speed. For CALM, 85% of seniors improved in at least three of the five measurements, that is, skeletal muscle index, handgrip strength, gait speed, sit-to-stand and functional reach. HPB and SportSG plan to expand these programmes to reach another 10,000 seniors by end-2026.

Beyond these programmes, seniors can take part in self-directed activities, such as tapping on Age Strong on the Healthy 365 app that provides customised workouts and falls prevention tips.