One is dealing with the frailty of seniors, while the other is on using augmented reality.

Two Singaporean recipients who have research on seniors’ well-being has received Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Welfare Foundation’s (MSIWF) research grant with each receiving S$10,000 each for their research projects. These two awards make a total of 49 grants to date, amounting to more than S$470,000 being awarded to Singapore-based researchers by MSIWF since its inception here.

Committed to serve society by building a resilient and sustainable society, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company in Japan established the non-profit MSIWF as part of the company’s dedication to contribute back to society meaningfully. In Singapore, the research grant is administered by MSIG, a subsidiary of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited which founded MSIWF. For the 2019 MSIWF Research Grant Award, there were a total of 11 grant applications. The two related to seniors include:

• Dr Lim Siew Hoon, senior staff nurse, PhD Nursing at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), for her research in how psychosocial elements such as resilience and self-efficacy can improve the outcomes of frailty in older individuals. She was also a co-investigator for a study on developing an automatic beverage thickening device for seniors with swallowing impairment which received the 2018 MSIWF Research Grant.
• Clinical A/Prof Tan Ngiap Chuan, director of research, SingHealth Polyclinics, for his research on the use of augmented reality (AR) on older persons who are 65 years and above to assess their cognitive functions. He was also the co-investigator for a published research “Prevalence of and factors associated with sarcopenia among multi-ethnic ambulatory older Asians with Type 2 diabetes mellitus in a primary care setting” in the “BMC Geriatrics” journal in 2019 which received the 2016 MSIWF Research Grant.

Each year, MSIWF calls for award applications in April, followed by a review and selection by a board of directors in Japan. Research projects need to be completed within a year following the award and must be unable to receive alternative funding. The research grant from MSIWF is unique as it supports interdisciplinary research in its early stages where funding is generally more difficult to secure.

Alan J Wilson, deputy head of International Business Department, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd (Japan), added, “Traffic safety (the other area being highlighted in their award applications) and the well-being of the elderly are rising priorities in our society today following demographic trends of rapid urbanisation and longevity that have dominated the recent decades. By supporting research in these areas, we hope to encourage and uncover solutions that will contribute to the sustainable development of today’s society and the future.”

Including the ones in Singapore, a total of 41 research grants (33 from Japan, four from Thailand and one from Taiwan) has been selected for the 2019 MSIWF Research Grant Award.

(** PHOTO CREDIT: SingHealth Polyclinics)

 

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