Furthermore, the health of caregivers and of their care recipients is interlinked. Our research found that the mental health of caregivers can affect and is also influenced by the mental health of their care recipients.
The 2023 Action Plan highlights initiatives for supporting family caregivers, such as enhancement of the Home Caregiving Grant and expansion of support for caregivers of persons living with dementia.
OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTINUE CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIETY
But the narrative around an ageing population shouldn’t be gloomy. Research in Singapore also tells us we should throw away the common cliché about old age that seniors will have less productive engagement with the family, community and society at large.
CARE’s nationally representative THE SIGNS Study found that a majority (63 per cent) of older persons had moderate to high engagement in one or more productive activities, such as employment, learning, volunteering and providing support to their family.
These engaged seniors had lower depressive symptoms and feelings of loneliness, and higher cognitive function compared to those with low engagement. Research from other countries also supports the value of productive engagement of older adults.
Initiatives in the 2023 Action Plan, such as making senior volunteering more sustainable, teaching them useful life skills, like financial and digital literacy, or offering other subsidised learning opportunities, will provide a variety of avenues for continued productive engagement in their later years.