Fall prevention: Facebook, WhatsApp workout videos for Singapore elderly boost their confidence and improve their health

Daily strength, balance and flexibility exercise videos produced by university students offer a fresh and interactive angle on preventing falls among elderly

The digital aspect of the campaign makes it easy for elderly Singaporeans to share information with their friends and remind one another to follow the videos

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An online campaign is using WhatsApp and Facebook to raise public awareness of the importance of strength, balance and flexibility exercises for Singaporeans, which may reduce the risk of elderly people suffering a fall. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 3:00pm, 9 Mar 2020Updated: 1:38pm, 26 May 2020

When it comes to his health, retiree Tang Chong Meng says it pays for him to be digitally savvy. The 72-year-old is one of 760-plus elderly Singaporeans who use the digital platforms WhatsApp and Facebook every day to access workout videos specially produced for 60- to 75-year-olds.

The video tutorials focus on strength, balance and flexibility (SBF) exercises, which become increasingly important as we age. “Since starting SBF exercises three months ago, I feel more confident and healthier,” Tang shares. “I used to experience knee pain when taking the stairs, but I don’t have that problem any more.”

The video tutorials – along with other health-related resources for the elderly – are part of “Ready, Steady, Go”, a non-profit health communication campaign that provides a fresh and interactive angle on fall prevention.

“Through this campaign, we hope to encourage older adults to take ownership of their health and incorporate SBF exercises into their daily lives,” says Yeo Sze-G, a final-year communications major at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and one of the team behind “Ready, Steady, Go”. The campaign is part of a final-year academic project at the university’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

Singaporean retiree Tang Chong Meng does SBF exercises every day.

The team was inspired to start the campaign after the great aunt of one of its members fell in a washroom. The 80-year-old woman was treated in hospital, but succumbed to her head injury two weeks later.

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