Department of Dietetic and Nutrition, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, National University Health System, 1 Jurong East Street 21, 609606, Singapore, Singapore.
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Oct 24;24(1):2954. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20409-9.
Despite global popularity, Community-based Health Intervention (CBHI) programmes have yet to be fully incorporated into Singapore's public healthcare systems, with most initiatives focusing on specific diseases. This qualitative study aimed to evaluate older adults' perceptions of the "Get Well, Live Well" multi-domain preventive health programme, explore the effectiveness of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in promoting health literacy and modifying health behaviours, and examine participants' experiences in the CHW-delivered CBHI programme.
Purposeful sampling was used to recruit study subjects from participants in the "Get Well, Live Well" programme until data saturation was achieved. In-depth, semi-structured, one-to-one telephone interviews were conducted in English or Chinese with participants aged ≥ 40 years. Audio recordings were translated into English as needed and transcribed in full. The collected data were anonymised, and thematic analysis was performed by three trained evaluators using a structured process.
The final study sample included 19 subjects (median age of 64 years; 84% women; and 95% Chinese). Three key themes emerged regarding the programme's value, interactions with CHW, also known as Care Connectors, and their facilitation of health services/behaviours. Participants acknowledged that the "Get Well, Live Well" programme provided physical/emotional support, improved health literacy, and enhanced social interaction. The programme's effectiveness may depend on Care Connector's personal qualities, service quality beyond expectation, connection with participants, and their proactive and authoritative roles in facilitating health services/behaviours.
The findings suggest that future Community-based Health Interventions could benefit from deploying CHWs with strong people skills to enhance the programme's success.
尽管社区健康干预 (CBHI) 计划在全球范围内广受欢迎，但尚未完全纳入新加坡的公共医疗体系，大多数举措都集中在特定疾病上。本定性研究旨在评估老年人对“保持健康，生活美满”多领域预防保健计划的看法，探讨社区卫生工作者 (CHW) 在促进健康素养和改变健康行为方面的有效性，并研究参与者在 CHW 提供的 CBHI 计划中的体验。
采用目的抽样法，从“保持健康，生活美满”计划的参与者中招募研究对象，直到达到数据饱和。对年龄在 40 岁及以上的参与者进行英语或中文的深入、半结构化、一对一的电话访谈。需要时将录音翻译成英文，并完整转录。收集的数据进行匿名处理，由三名经过培训的评估员使用结构化流程进行主题分析。
最终研究样本包括 19 名参与者（中位数年龄为 64 岁；84%为女性；95%为华人）。该计划的价值、与 CHW（也称为关爱联络人）的互动以及他们促进卫生服务/行为这三个关键主题凸显出来。参与者承认“保持健康，生活美满”计划提供了身体/情感支持，提高了健康素养，并增强了社会互动。该计划的有效性可能取决于关爱联络人的个人素质、超出预期的服务质量、与参与者的联系，以及他们在促进卫生服务/行为方面的积极主动和权威角色。
研究结果表明，未来的社区健康干预可能受益于部署具有较强人际交往能力的 CHW，以提高计划的成功率。
