Royal Philips to launch health campaign in Singapore schools

In September this year, the company brought its ‘+project’, first launched in Indonesia and Thailand, to Singapore with the stated aim of improving residents’ lives with people-centric solutions to health and well-being.

Through an online platform, the company gathered information on people’s health and their concerns. The online survey conducted across 10 weeks saw a total of 6,833 Singaporeans take part. The platform also allowed people to vote and rank five concrete ideas from the company that are likely to improve their lives. The ‘Healthier schools, brighter kids’ idea won this crowdsourcing contest with 45 per cent of the popular vote. 

According to the survey, even though 63 per cent of respondents felt the health and well being of their children is good, the majority voted for the ‘Healthier schools, brighter kids’ idea.

As part of this idea, Philips will help transform schools into healthy environments to learn, grow and play by putting in programs to encourage healthy living. This includes setting up relaxation rooms, consulting nutritionists and rolling out a sleep program to assess and improve students’ sleep habits.

“Philips will take the lead in transforming a school into a nurturing habitat that fosters healthy living and an ideal learning environment,” said Harjit Gill, chief executive officer of Philips ASEAN & Pacific and chairman of Philips Singapore.

The results of the survey can be connected to another recent study, from Viacom, which showed that Singaporean youth are globally the most stressed. That study, The Next Normal, showed the stress level in Singapore stands at 39 per cent versus the Global average of 33 per cent. The youngest respondents, aged between 9 and 14 years, are the most stressed, at more than double the Global average. The study attributed it to tougher Government examinations and increasing competition.

Insights from consumers in Indonesia revealed that school children weren’t getting healthy meals. Philips then invested funds in launching ‘Chef at school’, a program where established chefs worked with school authorities to provide healthier and safer food to school children. 

To continue engaging with Singaporeans, the company will continue its dialogue on how to improve the health and well-being of people in Singapore. It will also update the community on progress of the project as it sets out to implement the winning idea.

Other findings from the survey showed that 78 per cent of respondents were satisfied with their quality of life. People who rated their work-life balance positively tend to be more satisfied with their quality of sleep (60 per cent) and their current eating habits (73 per cent) than those who do not have good work-life balance. Only 20 per cent of Singaporeans go for a health screening every year.