IH project Done by : Joel Koh and Cheng Tong Wen

Our neighborhood

Hougang / Serangoon North

Convenient

Residential area

Familiar

Physical feature

Many kinds of items

Important for mobility , recreation , health … etc

What government can provide

RAMPS

Realized that there were many ramps available

Help elderly on wheel chair

Improve mobility

Senior citizen corner

Television

Vending Machine

Cheap drinks

Sitting area

Wifispot

Mini Gardens

Recreation

Healthy way to pass time

Good for the environment

Fitness corner

Realised that there were fitness corners beside playgrounds.

Enable the elderly the exercise relaxingly

Many variety of equipments

Benches

Place to rest

Place to talk and meet

Place to play board games

Common services , food and others for elderlyPolyclinic

Hawker centre

SBS bus

Community centre

INTERVIEW 1

Interview elderly outside house

First level

Chance encounter as he as us to help him lift the wheel chair into his house

Accepted our interview

Age estimate : 60+

Q and AQ1) Do you go to the polyclinic often?

Ans: Yes, due to breathing problems

Q2) How do you find their service

Ans: OK (hai hao)

Q3) How long do you normally wait until it is your turn?

Ans: About half an hour to 1 hour

Q4) Is the cost of the medical fees manageable?

Ans: Manageable

Q5)  Do you have problems moving around in the neighborhood?

Ans: No. I usually stay at home due to breathing problems

Q and AQ6) What do you do during your free time?

Ans: Watch television or read the newspaper

Q7) Do you eat in the hawker centre?

Ans: Yes

Q8) Do you find the food there healthy

Ans: Most of them

Q9) Is the environment in your block clean?

Ans: Yes

Q10) Do you think that the price of the food in the hawker centre are manageable?

Ans: Yes

Q11) Do you take the public transport?

Ans: Yes, normally to go to polyclinics

Q and AQ12) Is the public transport comfortable?

Ans: Yes

• Q13) Do you find the Utility bills expensive?

• Ans: Not really

• Q14) Do you normally attend the events hosted by the community centre?

• Ans: Yes

• Q15) Do you enjoy them?

• Ans: Yes, especially the dance.

• Q16)  What do you do to keep fit?

• Ans: Hardly exercise due to breathing problems

Interview 2

• Did it with an elderly at the benches

• Allowed us to interview him but no photo

• Age estimate : 65 - 75

Q and A• Q1) Do you go to the polyclinic often?

• Ans: Yes I go there to check my kidney

• Q2) How do you find their service

• Ans: bu cuo ( mandarin )

• Q3) How long do you normally wait until it is your turn?

• Ans: About two hours sometimes , the medicine takes long to collect

• Q4) Is the cost of the medical fees manageable?

• Ans: Manageable , yes it is

• Q5)  Do you have problems moving around in the neighborhood?

• Ans: No. I don’t go around places very often

Q and A

• Q6) What do you do during your free time?

• Ans: Talk to friends

• Q7) Do you eat in the hawker centre?

• Ans: Yes

• Q8) Do you find the food there healthy

• Ans: No not really , very oily

• Q9) Is the environment in your block clean?

• Ans: Yes

• Q10) Do you think that the price of the food in the hawker centre are manageable?

• Ans: Yes

• Q11) Do you take the public transport?

• Ans: Yes, I do

Q and A• Q12) Is the public transport comfortable?

• Ans: Yes , it is air con but sometimes very packed

• Q13) Do you find the Utility bills expensive?

• Ans: Not really

• Q14) Do you normally attend the events hosted by the community centre?

• Ans: Yes

• Q15) Do you enjoy them?

• Ans: Yes, like singing .

• Q16)  What do you do to keep fit?

• Ans: breeze walk ( man man zou )

Interview 3

• Chance upon her when we were walking in the void decks

• Sitting on a bench

• Approached her

• Age : 70 – 80

Q and A• Q1) Do you go to the polyclinic often?

• Ans: Yes I go there because I have dibeties

• Q2) How do you find their service

• Ans: can lar

• Q3) How long do you normally wait until it is your turn?

• Ans: About one hour

• Q4) Is the cost of the medical fees manageable?

• Ans: yes it is

• Q5)  Do you have problems moving around in the neighborhood?

• Ans: no it is very convenient as the bus stop in just under my block

Q and A

• Q6) What do you do during your free time?

• Ans: go to the community centre

• Q7) Do you eat in the hawker centre?

• Ans: Yes

• Q8) Do you find the food there healthy

• Ans: No not really , very salty bad for my condition

• Q9) Is the environment in your block clean?

• Ans: Yes

• Q10) Do you think that the price of the food in the hawker centre are manageable?

• Ans: Yes

• Q11) Do you take the public transport?

• Ans: Yes, I do

Q and A• Q12) Is the public transport comfortable?

• Ans: Yes ,

• Q13) Do you find the Utility bills expensive?

• Ans: It is manageable

• Q14) Do you normally attend the events hosted by the community centre?

• Ans: Yes

• Q15) Do you enjoy them?

• Ans: Yes, like cooking .

• Q16)  What do you do to keep fit?

• Ans: dun really exercise

Live video of interview 1

Click to start playing

Conclusions ( service )

• Public transport : the government has done a good job in transport , most of the elderly in the interview says the public transport has been beneficial to them and it is very comfortable

• Food : Although the food is affordable and cheap , the quality of food is not there yet . The food sold at hawker centres are becoming more and more unhealthy . Many of these elderly cannot consume these foods as they might have kidney problems and diabetes

• Healthcare : Healthcare services is quite good because they are cheap and yet they provide the necessary medicine to solve the illnesses of the elderly . Although the cost of healthcare is manageable however the most common complain made by the elderly is that the time taken to see the doctor is too long .

• Recreation : Community centres are being build around many neighborhoods , this allows the elderly to meet up and do something together . Many parks also have a fitness corner designed for the elderly to exercise .

Conclusions ( physical features )

• Good

• Elderly – friendly

• Easy to use

• Placed near void decks

- Government has done a good job in meeting the needs of the elderly . They have fulfilled most of the requirements .

Reflections

• Joel : I found this field activity meaningful as it allowed us to understand the plight the elderly in our society and what they do . It is important for us to understand their problems as many of the senior citizen do not know where to seek help or ask for help . Hence it is our duty as younger individuals to address their problems and help them . During this field activity , I got to know my neighborhood better . There were many places in my neighborhood which was unexplored before I took on this trip . I understood why there were so many ramps and benches available in void decks and how it benefited the elderly . The activity has also allowed me to gain some insides on the concerns of the elderly . The activity has made me more confident in my speech since it is the first time interviewing an elderly . It has also allowed me to learn some dialect .

Reflections

• Tong Wen :

In my opinion, through this field activity, I have that the government has done a good job by addressing the need of the elderly. As Joel and I walk around our neighborhood, we discovered many physical features that are elderly friendly such as ramps for mobility, fitness corner for exercising and also an elderly corner to allow elderly to communicate with one another. Through this activity, a way that I can improve is to not be shy when asking permission from asking people if we could interview them. I would love to do this field activity again as this would boost my confidence level. Thus I enjoyed interviewing the elderly and enjoyed this activity as well.