Our specific aims
• To promote the development of a comprehensive and integrated system of services for older persons.
• To work towards the development of policies that enable older persons to age with grace and dignity.
• To promote coordinated service planning between the voluntary sector and government.
• To take these initiatives into the region as the other ASEAN countries experience the longevity revolution.
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Our Approach
We work ‘horizontally’ with aged care agencies and ‘vertically’ with policy makers – through active engagement, consultation and sharing of expertise and knowledge.
We hope that with greater interagency collaboration and increased input into policy planning, we can facilitate the development of an integrated system of services for older people; thus, enabling their continued participation and engagement in society.
The Foundation has therefore invested its resources in creating systems, strengthening networks, and opening up channels for partnerships, consultation and resource sharing.
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Our programmes
Distinguished Scholars on Successful Ageing
International experts were invited to Singapore to share their knowledge with local age care providers and policy makers under our Distinguished Scholar’s Programme and the MCYS-TSAO Foundation Experts’ Series On Successful Ageing.
Our experts would speak at professional forums and hold discussions with relevant government ministries.
We hope that this sharing of expertise will contribute towards policy planning on health care services for older people in Singapore.
Our prominent scholars have included:
1996: Dr Robert N. Butler, President and CEO, International Longevity Center-USA (ILC-USA) and Professor of Geriatrics and Adult Development, Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development at Mount Sinai Medical Center. The renowned physician and psychiatrist was the keynote speaker at the launch of the Distinguished Scholar’s Programme (DSP). Dr Butler, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, spoke on the impact of “The Longevity Revolution” at a professional forum for health and aged care professionals.
1997: Prof Ursula Lehr, Director, German Centre for Research on Ageing, University of Heidelberg, ermany. The former German Federal Minister of Youth, Family and Health and Director spoke on “A Passion for Life: The elderly and families meeting challenges for the 21st Century”.
1998: Lady Sally Greengross, former Chief Executive of Age Concern, England. Her keynote address at the DSP professional forum: “Young and Old in an Aging Society – Conflict or Continuity.”
1999: Dr James Birren, Professor Emeritus of Gerontology and Psychology, University of Southern California. Dr Birren, widely known as the founding father of the Psychology of Ageing, spoke on the “Psychological Perspective on the Challenges of an Aging Society” at the MCYS-TSAO Foundation Experts’ Series On Successful Ageing. Another scholar, Mr Shiro Yamasaki, Director, Planning Division, Welfare for the Elderly Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan was invited to give a lecture on “Long Term Care Insurance – the Japanese experience.’
2000: Professor Martin Knapp, Director, Centre for the Economics of Mental Health and Professor of Health Economics, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. Professor Knapp, an expert on the economics of health and social care, gave a lecture on the “Economics and the Care of Older People: Burden versus Quality, a Balancing Act”.
2001: Professor Dale Dannefer, University of Rochester, USA. The visiting scholar conducted forums and workshops on employment and employability of older persons.
2003: Dr Victoria Velkoff, Chief, Ageing Studies Branch, US Census Bureau; Mr Dalmar Hoskins, Secretary General, International Social Security Association; Ms Irene Hoskins, Senior Technical Officer, World Health Organisation. They were keynote speakers at the professional forum on “Older Men are from Mars, Older Women are from Venus – Policy Issues on Health, Income Security and Social Support”.
2004: Dr Kathleen A. Bower, Principal and Co-owner, Center for Case Management, Inc. She was a member of the team that invented Clinical Paths and provider-based Case Management at New England Medical Center in 1985. The DSP scholar spoke on “Case Management across sectors – The Cutting Edge” at the professional forum.
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Voices of Older People
Older people often have little say in policies affecting them. The aim of the Voices of Older People is to create an advocacy platform for older people and facilitate their participation in national policy planning.Older Singaporeans were invited to talk about their lives and concerns at Focus Group discussions organised by the Foundation and community-based organizations. These focus group discussions provide very useful feedback from the ground to policy makers in formulating policies on ageing.
Tapping Dreams, Unleashing potential
Through the Guided Autobiography Programme (GAB), the Foundation aims to provide opportunities for older persons to reconnect with their past aspirations and unleash hidden potential for new pathways in their latter years.
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Research on older women
The situation of older women and their capacity to live out their later years meaningfully and productively is a cause of great concern. Women in Singapore and elsewhere in the world are more susceptible to chronic poverty because of a lifetime of caregiving and irregular work.
The Foundation and the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) have conducted extensive research on older women. Our research reports show that older women not only outnumber men significantly among the oldest-old (defined as aged 80 or over), but also have lower income security than men.
Read our reports on older women:
Hard facts on ageing in Singapore
Feminine Face of Ageing in Singapore
Income Security of Older Women in Singapore, a cause for concern
Plight of Widows among the oldest old
Disability Rates highest among elderly women
Gender Disparity in CPF Savings
Eldercare – only a women’s business?
AWARE - TSAO Ageing Report
Dementia in the Asia Pacific
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Address
Interagency Collaboration Division
298 Tiong Bahru Road
#15-01/06 Central Plaza
Singapore 168730
Tel: 6593 9517
Fax: 6276 7128
Email: ic@tsaofoundation.org
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