Neighbours for Active Living: It Takes a Community to Maintain Health and Wellbeing of Seniors

In 2013, Eastern Health Alliance (EHA) launched the Neighbours for Active Living programme to reduce hospital readmissions among seniors in eastern Singapore. At its core, ‘Neighbours’ addressed the health care and social needs of high-risk residents within their homes, while building social support systems around them through community outreach. The case discusses the asset-based approach that inspired the concept as well as challenges such as measuring its effectiveness and the impact on patient outcomes.

The case can be used to discuss the following key themes. • The notion of population-based health care and how it differs from the traditional hospital-based care model, as well as asset-based approaches to care management. • A conceptual framework for exploring the potential for community-based models to improve population health and chronic diseases management. • The challenges of shifting care to within the community, and scaling up these efforts.