From academic year 2022/23 onwards, third year undergraduate students from the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies can now delve into the workings of public and community health, thanks to this newly published textbook.

When the Ministry of Health (MOH) shifted its focus from acute care to community care, a new mode of care that will drive the efficiency and sustainability of the future healthcare system, A/Prof Serena Koh from the National University of Singapore’s Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies (NUS Nursing) found that the current international nursing textbooks did not fit well into our local healthcare context. This prompted her and her team to write and publish the textbook, titled “Public and Community Health in Singapore”.

The world is rapidly ageing. In 2021, 17.6 per cent of Singapore’s population were aged 65 and above. By 2030, this will rise to 25%, driven by rising life expectancy and lower fertility rates.

In line with this, it is more than important than ever for NUS Nursing students to understand the shift in mindset from acute to community care and learn how best to care for their patients, going forward.    

Acute care focuses more on treatment and surgery in hospitals upon admission, while community care targets a more holistic approach of care, including nursing and rehabilitation after discharge. “Teaching students the latter way of caring for patients will greatly benefit this shifting healthcare landscape, and our healthcare workers will be able to maximise resources to care for more elderly and patients,” says A/Prof Serena Koh.

Published in the first week of June 2022, the book aims to teach students the principles of public and community care, including epidemiology, determinants of health, primary health care, community and home care, in the context of Singapore.

This book will become the teaching material for third year undergraduate students, who will be taught a chapter every week, during each tutorial class. The chapters include content on the structure of Singapore’s healthcare system, its challenges, primary healthcare and community healthcare, and more.

This is the second textbook published by NUS Nursing’s in-house lecturers, the first being “Healthy Ageing and Well-being in Singapore” written by Dr Rosalind Siah, senior lecturer at NUS Nursing.