Problems Faced

Preliminary research by crawling through the Internet has pointed out the following problems of people living in 1- or 2-room government rental flats: (1) sudden illness and the inability to cope with the huge medical bills, (2) poor/lack of medical knowledge, (3) food insecurity, and (4) loneliness.

1. Sudden illness and the inability to cope with the huge medical bills

Residents in rental flats often do not start out poor but lose a huge portion of income and savings due to sudden diagnosis of chronic illnesses, usually with multiple health issues (e.g. Hypertension and Diabetes). They lose their jobs as they have to undergo treatment because of the illnesses or be the main caretakers of the patients, which could be their family members (Tan, 2016). With the huge medical debt, residents in rental flats not only deplete their savings, but also lose their source of income, resulting them to be poor overnight.

2. Poor/lack of medical knowledge

Many in the low socioeconomic-status (SES) rental-flat community in Singapore have limited access to pain management services, with few options for such support other than through the health system.

Individuals went for health screening with the expectation of finding an explanation for their pre-existing symptoms of pain, rather than the understanding that these tests serve to help them to pick up and get an idea of the disease at an early asymptomatic stage. Yet after the health screening, they are unable to follow up with the treatment due to limited resources and many had the mentality to merely find out the root cause to their pain but not continue with further management or treatment.

(3) Food Insecurity

Healthy-eating is a challenge for low-income families as food donations mostly provide processed food such as canned food, which often lack nutritional value. Low-income families may also lack the knowledge to discern healthier food items, therefore unable to pick the healthier choices.

In looking at food security, CARE has defined it as the following:

• when a family/individual consumes cheap but innutritious foods such as instant noodles or canned food in order to stretch their dollar

• when a family/ individual cuts down on the number of hot meals a day in order to save money

• when a family/individual experiences anxiety worrying about whether they will have enough food

• when an individual with a chronic illness has to make a difficult choice between spending their limited resources on ‘healthier’ food versus paying for everyday expenses

(4) Loneliness

While poverty is commonly linked to financial or material resources, the lack of social contact can be just as problematic to the low-income community, especially among elderly. Many elderly struggle to adjust to the new phase of their life, especially after the death of their spouses or retirement. Facing this new phase, they often feel that sense of purpose has been lost, and the lack of companionship further heightened the social isolation faced by the elderly.

Studies have shown that the social participation is commonly cited as what the elderly needed.

• “It means not feeling like you are left out as a member of society,” said Dr Ng. “A decent standard of living means that I want to be a part of society, having access to friends. It doesn’t mean I stay home all day and eat to meet my bare nutritional needs.” Assistant Professor Ng Kok Hoe of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

References

Tan, J. (2016, April 24). What does it mean to be poor in Singapore? The New Paper[Singapore].

Liang, E.W., Sin, D., et al. (2016, Dec 30)

Kotwani, M. (2016, September 22). Healthy eating a challenge for low-income Singaporeans amid diabetes fight. Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved September 15, 2017, from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/healthy-eating-a-challenge-for-low-income-singaporeans-amid-diab-7809936

Is setting a poverty line all it takes to alleviate poverty in Singapore? (2016, November 03). Retrieved September 15, 2017, from http://www.unscrambled.sg/2016/10/31/is-setting-a-poverty-line-all-it-takes-to-alleviate-poverty-in-singapore/

Wee, L. E., Sin, D., Cher, W. Q., Li, Z. C., Tsang, T., Shibli, S., & Koh, G. (2017). “Im healthy, I dont have pain”- health screening participation and its association with chronic pain in a low socioeconomic status Singaporean population. The Korean Journal of Pain, 30(1), 34. doi:10.3344/kjp.2017.30.1.34

Tan, J. (2016, April 24). What does it mean to be poor in Singapore? AsiaOne. Retrieved September 15, 2017, from http://www.asiaone.com/singapore/what-does-it-mean-be-poor-singapore

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