Cancer prevention initiatives, comprehensive health education at the forefront of Public Health Service 2022
Published: 22 Aug 2022
Photo Credits: NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
The 15th edition of the Public Health Service (PHS) Free Screening Event was conducted on 20 and 21 August 2022, with a resounding turnout of over 1000 residents over both days.
The event was opened by Guest-of-Honour Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Member of Parliament for Yuhua. Held at the Canopy @ JLink, all residents aged 40 and above were welcome to take risk assessments and screen for various cancers and chronic diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, and common geriatrics conditions. Followed by which, they were advised by student and medical volunteers for potential or further follow-up check ups and screenings.
A preventive health project organised by the NUS Medical Society, the PHS is an annual initiative involving Singapore’s three public healthcare clusters: the National University Health System, the National Healthcare Group and SingHealth. Since its roots in 2004, the event has taken off, with its focus consistently updated according to the changing healthcare landscape of Singapore.
This year’s event had 14 newly updated modalities, such as the Women’s Cancer Education and Faecal immunochemical Test (FIT), as well as partnerships with various organisations. Homing in on its focus on early cancer detection and prevention, checks for cervical, breast and colorectal cancer were also provided.
Alongside the health screening stations, there were also comprehensive exhibitions on different diseases and conditions, representing the efforts of close to 20 partner organisations, including National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS) and National Kidney Foundation (NKF).
Its motto, “Promoting Health, Spreading Awareness”, effectively encapsulates PHS’s aim as a health service. Through a population-based approach of employing primary and secondary prevention strategies, it strives to reinforce positive health attitudes and behaviour among the public.
Complementing the on-site health screening and risk assessments, the Public Health Catalogue (PHC) was also developed and given out to residents through their door-to-door publicity efforts earlier this month. The catalogue includes health tips and advice for common conditions such as high cholesterol and metabolic syndrome, information to address common health-related misconceptions, as well as government subsidies. This ties in with their objective of increasing residents’ health literacy and aiding them in taking charge of their own health, and residents showed great interest and receptivity towards the initiative.
This collaborative effort in empowering the community was truly reflected in both the residents and volunteers’ enthusiasm in the event. Over the weekend, the PHS screening event had the ironclad support of over 1000 volunteers, from students of various faculties like medicine, nursing, dentistry, social work and more, to allied health professionals, and medical doctors from our alumni.
Read more in the press release here.
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