Synopsis: This podcast series is based on selected chapters from a book, detailing Singapore’s experience battling the Covid-19 pandemic. The book - written by journalists of The Straits Times and edited by ST’s executive editor Sumiko Tan - is titled In This Together: Singapore's Covid-19 Story and is available in major bookstores now. Details online: https://www.stbooks.sg/ In this third episode of six instalments, ST's executive editor Sumiko Tan tells the exclusive story of how the decision-...
Apr 17, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Earlier this month, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) said during the debate on its budget that an inter-agency team is developing a 10-minute digital drawing test to help encourage people to seek help early for dementia. It analyses how people draw certain shapes and symbols and is expected to be ready in 2024. Seeking help early can help improve the quality of li...
Apr 05, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Synopsis: This podcast series is based on selected chapters from a book, detailing Singapore’s experience battling the Covid-19 pandemic. The book - written by journalists of The Straits Times and edited by ST’s executive editor Sumiko Tan - is titled In This Together: Singapore's Covid-19 Story and is available in major bookstores now. Details online: https://www.stbooks.sg/ In this second episode of six instalments, ST's health correspondent Timothy Goh tells the story of how Singapore secretl...
Mar 27, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Last week (March 9), Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced that the country is working towards a model where each resident will see one regular general practitioner or polyclinic doctor for all his or her care needs. The doctor will work out a personalised care plan to help nip diseases in the bud and keep him or her out of the hospital as much as possible...
Mar 15, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Synopsis: This podcast series is based on selected chapters from a book, detailing Singapore’s experience battling the Covid-19 pandemic. The book - written by journalists of The Straits Times and edited by ST’s executive editor Sumiko Tan - is titled In This Together: Singapore's Covid-19 Story and is available in major bookstores now. Details online: https://www.stbooks.sg/ In this first episode of six instalments, ST's senior health correspondent Joyce Teo tells the story of the ordeal, that ...
Mar 06, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. A Covid-19 infection confers natural immunity but the question is how long will it last. Israel has given some people a fourth dose, which is the second booster shot. In Singapore, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had said that the question of whether further booster shots are necessary is still a matter of debate among scientists studying the coronavirus, and that there a...
Mar 02, 2022•5 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Singapore is in the midst of an Omicron surge, and restrictions such as a maximum group size of five at restaurants remain. People are tired of worrying about Covid-19. Now that the Omicron variant has turned out to be less worrisome than thought, when can we stop talking about Covid-19? How are we going to live with it? What does endemic Covid-19 mean? In this episod...
Feb 15, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. If you’re raising a child with special needs, such as physical, cognitive, behavioural challenges, you are not alone. You deserve the time to look after yourselves and there is comfort to be found from families who have children with special needs. In this episode, Joyce Teo, a senior health correspondent with The Straits Times, speaks with Dr Lim Hong Huay, an epidem...
Feb 01, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionise healthcare but it is hotly debated. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo invites Prof Joseph Sung, dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at the Nanyang Technological University. They discuss how AI can help us improve our health and change the future of healthcare, particularly in primary care...
Jan 18, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Health Check Ep 74: Fight ageing with exercise 15:18 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. It's almost the end of the year, and nearly two years since the coronavirus emerged and changed the way we work, live and play. If you haven't been exercising, it's time to start. If you have been taking short walks now and then, it's time to walk a bit more on a regular basis. This is because every step you ta...
Dec 14, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Health Check Ep 73: What to know about antimicrobial resistance 21:28 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. The World Health Organisation has declared that antimicrobial resistance or AMR is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. AMR occurs when some of the germs that cause infections no longer respond to the drugs designed to kill them. Infections then become harder or impos...
Dec 01, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Health Check Ep 72: Don't let diabetes sneak up on you 17:10 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this pandemic, many people may be eating more and exercising less. It's not a good combination. The prevalence of obesity in Singapore across all ages has risen from 8.6 per cent in 2017 to 10.5 per cent last year. Not only is obesity a leading risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, it is also one of the f...
Nov 17, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Health Check Ep 71: Why lifelong immunity from Covid-19 is unlikely 15:54 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Singapore is gradually opening its borders to allow for quarantine-free travel as it moves towards a new normal of living with Covid-19. However, at home, restrictions remain in place to protect the unvaccinated seniors and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. The country is seeing ...
Nov 03, 2021•16 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Health Check Ep 70: Unlock your ADHD 21:49 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. It’s October, the ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) Awareness month, and ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo is going to find out more about what you can do if you have this disorder. ADHD is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. However, t...
Oct 20, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Health Check Ep 69: Can plant stanols lower my cholesterol? 15:35 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, we look at whether plant stanols and a more natural diet can help reduce cholesterol. Plant stanol ester is a natural compound which is used as a cholesterol-lowering ingredient in functional foods and food supplements. ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Helena Gy...
Sep 29, 2021•16 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Health Check Ep 68 (Pt 2): Vaccine expert on combating new Covid variants 20:02 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Prof Ooi Eng Eong from the Duke-NUS Medical School’s Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases about the current Covid-19 situation and how vaccination will lead us out of this pandemic. In the second part of their ...
Sep 16, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Health Check Ep 68 (Pt 1): Why bother about asymptomatic Covid-19 cases, says vaccine expert 19:05 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Prof Ooi Eng Eong from the Duke-NUS Medical School’s Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases about the current Covid-19 situation and how vaccination will lead us out of this pandemic. He talks ...
Sep 15, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Health Check Ep 67: How worried should vaccinated people be about Covid-19? 16:39 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. With the majority of Singapore's population fully vaccinated, how worried should the vaccinated be about Covid-19, as we learn to live with the endemic disease? ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Dr Louisa Sun, a consultant at the Infectious Diseases and Chronic Pr...
Sep 01, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Health Check Ep 66: How parents can promote good mental health in children 21:10 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Parents play an important role in promoting good mental health in their children. They are often the first to notice if a child is having problems with his or her emotions. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Ms Andrea Chan, the assistant director of...
Aug 17, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Health Check Ep 65: How to reach out to youth with mental health challenges 15:21 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. The Covid-19 crisis has impacted the mental health of many young people around the globe, including Singapore. ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Ms Andrea Chan, assistant director of TOUCH Mental Wellness, about the stressors faced by young people in this pandemic...
Aug 04, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Health Check Ep 64: Understanding the loneliness crisis 16:29 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Loneliness is toxic. It is associated with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep issues and stress. It can also shorten your life. New research from the Duke-NUS Medical school in Singapore and Nihon University in Tokyo, Japan has found that lonely older adults can ex...
Jul 21, 2021•16 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Health Check Ep 63: What is sudden cardiac arrest; how to prevent it 15:30 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Danish footballer Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest when he collapsed during Denmark’s Euro 2020 match against Finland, and had to be resuscitated. In Singapore, there have been cases of young and fit individuals who went into cardiac arrests during or after training, and then co...
Jul 07, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Health Check Ep 62: Making sense of the controversy surrounding US-approved drug for Alzheimer’s disease 19:27 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. There's a new drug in the United States that offers hope for patients facing the daunting prospect of not being able to remember their loved ones as their disease progresses. However, many experts are against the approval of this new drug for Alzheimer's...
Jun 15, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Health Check Ep 61: Why women should protect their hearts against cardiovascular disease 19:02 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. This episode tackles the often underestimated risk of cardiovascular disease in women, and how the symptoms of this disease can differ in women. ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo hosts Professor Carolyn Lam, a senior consultant at the Department of Cardiology and...
Jun 01, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Health Check Ep 60: How to sleep right 10:42 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Dr Richard Swinburne, a sleep scientist and the Head of Sports Nutrition at the Singapore Sports Institute on sleep hygiene, how long a nap should be and how a lack of sleep can affect your health. They discuss the following points: Develop a good s...
May 18, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Health Check Ep 59: What you can eat to sleep better 14:46 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Dr Richard Swinburne, a sleep scientist and the Head of Sports Nutrition at the Singapore Sports Institute on sleep nutrition, how he flew to Texas a few years ago to help Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling to sleep better and why ...
May 07, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Health Check Ep 58: Picking an IP insurer with a good panel of doctors 20:35 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you. Many private sector doctors are upset with Integrated Shield plan insurers for maintaining panels of doctors that they call “highly exclusive”. These panels are one of the measures that IP insurers have undertaken in order to reduce their costs, but doctors say that t...
Apr 21, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Health Check Ep 57: All you need to know about Covid-19 clinical trials 18:31 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you. Clinical trials are research studies that are usually conducted with healthy volunteers to learn about a potential treatment or vaccine and its effect on humans. There are various trials conducted here, including one for a potential Covid-19 vaccine that’s being deve...
Apr 07, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Health Check Ep 56: How a mother's well-being can have a large impact on her baby 27:39 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you. In early March 2021, the Ministry of Health announced during the debate on its budget, that it has set up a task force to oversee the development and implementation of a five-year action plan to provide comprehensive support to women and their children, as ...
Mar 11, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Health Check Ep 55: Getting working adults to share their mental health challenges 20:34 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Daniel Chang, 38, a freelance doctor who does medical aesthetic work. He started a movement last year with counsellors, fellow doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists to let working adu...
Feb 24, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 55
