Intrinsic capacity in Singapore's primary care: IMPACTFrail to be piloted at five polyclinics
17 January 2025
A collaborative research project by GERI, National University Polyclinics (NUP), National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP) and SingHealth Polyclinics (SHP) aims to translate the National Frailty Policy into real-world practice by piloting a new healthy ageing programme at five polyclinics.
The National Frailty Policy was introduced in 2023 by the Ministry of Health, Singapore to address frailty by optimising older adults’ hashtag intrinsic capacity (their physical and mental capabilities) and functional ability (their ability to do the things that are important to them).
The study is titled "Implementing the National Frailty Policy in Singapore’s primary care: The Intrinsic Capacity ProMotion in PrimAry Care for The Frail Program", or IMPACTFrail for short.
“IMPACTFrail screens mildly frail older adults for vision, hearing, nutrition, mobility, memory and mental health, and provides coordinated care across health and social services. Implementing this programme in the primary care setting is strategic, as it serves older adults who may not be participating in screening programmes at active ageing centres and community centres,” shared Dr Grace Sum Chi-En, PhD, Research Fellow, GERI and the study’s Principal Investigator.
On 7 Jan 2025, the IMPACTFrail study team and stakeholders gathered for a virtual kick-off meeting to mark the programme’s roll-out around Mar 2025. GERI’s Executive Director and Lead Scientist, Associate Professor Ding Yew Yoong, gave the opening remarks. The following cluster leads from NHGP, NUP and SHP by were in attendance, with each cluster providing insights into their intended plan of action to pilot IMPACTFrail at their respective sites:
NHGP: Dr David Ng, Head (Special Projects) & Deputy Director (Clinical Services) and Dr Jonathan Ng, Family Medicine Clinician
NUP: Dr Richard Hui, Director (Primary Care Partnerships, RHS Office) and Dr Kwek Sing Cheer, Senior Consultant
SHP: Professor Ng Chirk Jenn, Deputy Director (Research) and Dr Sinead Wang Zhen, Senior Consultant
“This is an exciting milestone, representing the culmination of hard work in co-developing the programme and implementation strategies. Next, we will apply implementation research concepts and a multi-methods approach to conduct a feasibility study. By involving three healthcare clusters from the outset, we increase the likelihood of successfully scaling up, informing policymaking on frailty and promoting healthy ageing in Singapore,” said Dr Sum.
Stay tuned as we bring you more updates on IMPACTFrail and other GERI research projects.