PUL SE OF ASI A The Health of Asia Barometer · Health of Asia Barometer: Challenges and...

PULSE OF ASIA

Written by:

Challenges and opportunities for health and well-being

The Health of Asia Barometer

2

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2021

Health of Asia Barometer: Challenges and opportunities for health and well-being

3Health of Asia Barometer: Challenges and opportunities for health and well-being


4


Health of Asia Barometer: Challenges and opportunities for health and well-being4The Health of Asia Barometer: An information challenge

Foreword

Prudential is proud to support the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in taking on its first Pulse of Asia – The Health of Asia Barometer in 13 Asian markets. Our aim is to shine a light on the challenges people in the region face to improve their health and well-being.

This report could not have been more timely. Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of personal and societal health and has motivated many businesses, including ours, to examine how we can enhance the access and delivery of healthcare during the pandemic. Throughout 2020 we have re-aligned our priorities to deliver what matters most to our customers and our communities.

What this research clearly highlights is the demand for recognised tools and services to be made available to vast segments of people across Asia: 78.5% of respondents use some form of personal health technology. Millions are looking for the ability and support to help them better navigate the healthcare system, and as a result, improve the way they manage their health and well-being. One trend is that many in the region are turning to informal sources, such as social media, for this advice.

People in Asia often believe that their future will be financially healthier. This report reveals the same optimism when it comes to health and well-being. The underlying belief is that the region will recover from the devastation that covid-19 has brought to so many families. There will eventually be a return to the levels of socio-economic growth and development that previously transformed societies across Asia, that lifted many millions out of poverty.

Prudential is proud to have been part of this regional dynamism for many years, providing protection and peace of mind to millions. What we are doing now is leading the way in redefining what access to health and well-being looks like for millions more.

The research informs us of people’s sentiment on the affordability and accessibility of healthcare, which technology could help address. While 54% of respondents said medical care was easily accessible and affordable to them, 71% said that three years from now, they would be using more technologies to improve their health and well-being.



Making digital healthcare a reality is an integral part of our efforts. Through our app, Pulse by Prudential, we are helping people protect, prevent and postpone diseases. Pulse delivers health information and advice as well as access to medical professionals - all through the touch of a button. We continue to build Pulse, our all-in-one AI-driven healthcare app, bringing in partners that will help us support people’s journey to physical, mental and financial health. We believe this will in turn enable people to live well, for longer.

I want to thank the EIU and the subject matter experts for their deep insights on the important debate about improving people’s health and well-being in Asia. At Prudential, we remain committed to be an active voice in that debate, in the service of our customers and communities.

Nic Nicandrou Chief Executive Prudential Corporation Asia

2



About the research

The inaugural Pulse of Asia: Health of Asia Barometer is a report written by The Economist Intelligence Unit and supported by Prudential. It explores the challenges that Asian societies face in efforts to improve citizens’ health and wellness. The analysis in it is based on a survey of 5,000 people conducted in the second half of 2020.

The respondents hail from Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, mainland China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. They range in age from 21 to 55, with 49% aged between 25 and 34, and 31% between 35 and 44. The respondents have different income levels and are split roughly evenly between males and females. A wide range of occupations is represented in the sample, as well as various categories of non-employment.

Additional insights were obtained from in-depth interviews with executives in health institutions, companies and government administration. We would like to thank the following for their time:

• Edward Booty, chief executive officer, reach52

• Ryoji Noritake, chief executive officer, Health and Global Policy Institute

• Rashmi Sharma, global learning & wellbeing lead, Unilever South East Asia & ANZ

• Dr Wang Ying-wei, director general, Health Promotion Administration, Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare

• Singapore Health Promotion Board

The report was written by Denis McCauley and edited by Michael Frank and Charles Ross.

1



The world is facing its gravest health crisis in a century, giving people a stronger incentive to focus on personal health and wellness. By and large, people living in Asia do not need to be convinced of the connection between their diet, physical exercise, stress levels and other facets of personal health on the one hand, and their susceptibility to disease on the other. This is thanks to years of public health education campaigns by international organisations and governments and, more recently, the growth of a wellness industry. Awareness, however, does not necessarily lead to action by individuals to improve their personal health, as this report has found.

We surveyed 5,000 people in Asia to find out what they are doing to manage their personal health and wellness, the resources they use to do it, and the challenges they face in the process. The results point to a population more than minimally aware of the benefits that accompany a healthy lifestyle, but in many parts of the region, constrained in building one. The challenge for policymakers is finding innovative ways—either alone or in conjunction with the private sector— to increase citizens’ access to reliable health and wellness information, advice and services.

Defining health and wellness

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), health is a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.1 Wellness may be summarised as the practices people pursue and the lifestyle choices they make that contribute to a state of personal health. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the dimensions of wellness are physical (exercise, diet, sleep), mental, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental.2

For the purposes of our research and analysis, we subscribe to these definitions of health and wellness.

Executive summary

1 Constitution of the World Health Organisation (from the WHO website). https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/constitution#:~:text=Health%20is%20a%20state%20of,absence%20of%20disease%20or%20infirmity.

2 Global Wellness Institute website. https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/what-is-wellness/



The main findings of the research are as follows:

Ample information does not necessarily lead to good health decisions. Survey respondents have no shortage of personal health information available to them, although the quality of the information varies. A slight majority of respondents report sourcing health information from social media; a far lower proportion consult formal medicine. Overload is a problem as well, especially in the wake of the pandemic: for 53% the volume of information available is so overwhelming that they don’t know what to focus on.

Respondents are seeking more control over their physical as well as mental health. Awareness of the connection between wellness and disease has been growing, driven by the covid-19 pandemic. Over half of those surveyed (52%) have taken two or more measures in the past three months to improve their personal health, mainly by engaging in more physical exercise and changing eating habits, cited by 34% and 29%, respectively. Around one-quarter (24%) have also sought to improve their mental health, a need underscored by the 34% who say the covid-19 crisis has caused them greater stress, anxiety or depression.

Income levels do not dictate health and wellness optimism. The Health of Asia Barometer developed for this report reveals a striking contrast between the less and more developed markets in the region. Citizens of the former are considerably more positive than those of the latter about the state of their personal health and its near-term outlook, as well as about their ability to manage their health and wellness. The exceptions to this revolve around financial constraints and access to facilities.

Low affordability limits people’s scope of action to live more healthily. Financial considerations constrain 56% of survey respondents from taking action to improve their health and wellness. The figures are higher in less developed markets such as Thailand and Vietnam. Half of the respondents also cite limited access to exercise or other facilities as an impediment.

Digital health technologies are popular but need to work harder for citizens. Survey respondents use a wide variety of personal health tools, including smart watches, smart thermometers and blood pressure monitors. Experts interviewed for this report say the value of such technologies can be enhanced if they can connect to centralised data repositories, such as patient health records, a reality today only in the region’s developed markets.

3





Such heightened awareness may explain the propensity to take proactive measures to improve personal health. In the past three months, over half of those in our survey (52%) have taken two or more such steps based on information or advice they received from social media, health websites, public health authorities or other sources. Such measures have most often involved taking more physical exercise, cited by 34% of respondents, and changing their diet, cited by 29%.

Just under one-quarter of those surveyed (24%) have acted in the past three months to improve their emotional well-being or mental health. Those steps are important in light of 34% of respondents reporting elevated stress, anxiety or even depression as a result of covid-19. Large numbers of respondents also say the crisis has affected their sleep and eating habits (cited by 28% and 25%, respectively).

Thanks to public health education campaigns, growing consumerism that prizes good health and physique, and other influences, people’s awareness of the need to live healthy lifestyles has grown steadily in recent years.3 This is the case even in rural areas of lower-income countries where, according to Edward Booty, CEO of digital health services provider reach52, there is much greater understanding than before of the factors that contribute to disease.

The global pandemic has helped open people’s eyes more widely to the nexus between lifestyles and disease. This is the case in Taiwan, says Dr Wang Ying-wei, who is director general of the Health Promotion Administration at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “There is a press conference virtually every day that makes clear to citizens how their personal health practices are helping to control the virus,” he says.

Health awareness and action

Figure 1: Measures taken to improve personal health and wellness (Measures taken by respondents in the past three months)

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit

1 For a discussion of the steps that Singaporeans, for example, have been taking to prepare for longer life spans that could involve chronic disease, see Ready for 100? Preparing for longevity in Singapore, a report written by The Economist Intelligence Unit in 2018 and commissioned by Prudential. https://readyfor100.economist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/20180924-ECO035-Ready-for-100-Whitepaper-Spread.pdf

Increased the amount of physical exercise I engage in

Changed my diet

Measures to improve my emotional well-being/ mental health

Measures to improve my sleep

Had a health check-up

Measures to reduce work-related or other stress

Began shopping from healthy food stores/providers

Measures to improve the quality of my water intake

Measures to improve the quality of air in or near my home

Eliminated or reduced my alcohol consumption

Quit or cut back on smoking

34%

29%

24%

22%

19%

18%

15%

15%

13%

11%

8%

5



Philippines, basketball and Zumba fitness classes are common, even in the countryside.” The bigger problem affecting personal health there, he says, is poor diet—as well as, more broadly, an acute shortage of doctors to obtain advice from.

Affordability—whether of good quality food, exercise facilities or health technologies—is a significant constraint to adopting healthier lifestyles in Asia. Across the survey sample as a whole, 56% say financial constraints make it difficult to take measures to improve their health and wellness, an inhibitor felt especially keenly in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. Half (50%) also say that limited access to exercise or other facilities make health improvement difficult for them.

Over one-fifth of respondents (22%) have taken no measures at all to improve their health during this period. (This number is considerably higher than the average in Cambodia, Myanmar and even Singapore). “I don’t feel the need to take action,” is the most oft-cited explanation for inactivity—surely a concern as health and wellness usually need personal attention just to remain stable. Another common excuse is “not enough time”.

Building awareness is only half the battle

Awareness does not always lead to action. “In some countries, there is a huge disconnect between awareness and incentives to take action,” says Mr Booty. As an example, he points to the affordability of fast food in Philippine cities and towns, and the effect this has on obesity levels. Physical activity is seemingly less of a problem. “In the

Figure 2: Affordability of personal health improvement (% of respondents agreeing that financial constraints will make it difficult for them to improve their personal health and wellness over the next year)


Asia average Thailand Vietnam Malaysia Philippines Laos India Indonesia Cambodia Myanmar Singapore Hong Mainland Taiwan Kong China

Agree Strongly agree

19%

24% 30% 28% 22% 21%23% 16% 15% 12%

18% 12%16% 7%

37%48% 42% 41% 42% 41% 35%

42% 40% 42%31% 35% 29%

35%



Figure 3: Health of Asia barometer, overall values


4 The barometer will be updated in future years, in order to gauge how people’s view of their own health and wellness, and their ability to manage it, is changing over time.

5 We provide here a high-level discussion of the barometer findings. For a detailed look into category and indicator values in each country, see pulseofasia.economist.com

The Health of Asia Barometer: A contrast in perceptions

Using responses to eight survey questions, The Economist Intelligence Unit constructed a benchmark that provides a view into how people in Asia feel about the current state of their personal health, their management of it and its future trajectory.4 The barometer values reveal a striking contrast between the perceptions of those living in Asia’s less developed markets and those in its more developed ones: the former are more positive about their health, and their control over it, than the latter.5

The barometer shows residents of India representing the most positive view of their own health, with a value of 59 out of 100. Close behind follow those from Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines. At the other end of the scale, with a value of 46.5, are Hong Kong residents, the most pessimistic in the study; their peers from Singapore and Taiwan are only slightly more positive.

The barometer values are generated from responses to eight survey questions that relate to respondents’ self-assessed health and wellness status, the extent of recent health improvement, and the prospects for its improvement in the near future. Another set of questions asks respondents about the extent to which they seek health and wellness information, from which sources, their use of health technologies, and the constraints they face in seeking to improve their health.

The survey responses are converted to barometer values that fall along a 0-100 scale, with 100 being the best possible score. The eight indicators are equally weighted, with the three categories—health status, managing heath and future health outlook—reflective of the number of indicators.

Hong Kong Singapore Taiwan Myanmar Laos Mainland China Cambodia Malaysia Thailand Philippines Indonesia Vietnam India

46.5 47.350.8 51.0 52.6

53.6 54.0 54.0 55.157.5 57.8 58.5 59.0

7



Health status and future health outlook

The barometer values in these two categories— which broadly mirror each other in terms of the relative position of markets—indicate that survey respondents as a whole feel positive about their personal health and wellness and what lies immediately ahead for it. When it comes to overall health, every country registers a barometer value of more than 70. Respondents’ assessment of their current wellness (lifestyle and emotional well-being) is also positive: only Hong Kong and Singapore register values of under 60. The category value is pulled down in each country by an indicator of how frequently respondents have taken steps in recent months to improve their health. Although most have taken more than one such step (see earlier discussion), the barometer values generated are more modest than those for the other indicators."

Managing health

The comparatively low values in this category across all markets (none exceed 50) point to the difficulties that many people face in adopting healthier lifestyles. By and large, the availability of health and wellness information is not one of them, as we discuss later—although people’s ability to access accredited information is suspect. Access to technology does not seem to be a major constraint. More than 60% of survey respondents in each country affirmed their access to relevant technology in managing their health.

Financial constraints and physical access to exercise facilities are larger barriers for many. In these two areas the positions of the more and less developed markets are reversed from the general pattern: respondents in markets such as Vietnam and Thailand cite financial constraints and physical access as more of a barrier than those in, for example, Taiwan, mainland China or Hong Kong.

Figure 4: Barometer categories



Current health status Managing health Future health outlook

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90



The disparity between this category score and the others suggests that respondents in all the surveyed markets may not in reality be doing enough to justify the positive assessment of their own health. If that is the case, it could point to problems ahead in terms of their mental health and their susceptibility to disease. Should the covid-19 crisis drag out further, their current health optimism will be put to a bigger test.

Reality check?

Are respondents from Asia’s less developed markets overly optimistic about their health, and those from the others unduly pessimistic? There are no objective means to make that judgment. Health perceptions are negatively correlated with average life expectancy. The latter figures for Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan are among the highest in the world, but residents are relatively downbeat about their personal health.

One possible explanation lies in better education and information availability in wealthier places. The link between personal health and chronic disease—and therefore longevity—can sober people about health risks and what it takes to manage them. At the other end of the scale, the considerably lower life expectancy figures in markets such as India, Cambodia and the Philippines (although steadily rising in all for several years) could indicate that their citizens’ optimism is more a product of cultural attitudes than actual health outcomes. Health authorities in those markets may find their efforts to provide more targeted health and wellness education an uphill battle, owing to lower levels of health literacy, falsely optimistic personal health assumptions and less developed communication channels.

Figure 5: Average life expectancy (2018) and overall barometer scores

Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators; The Economist Intelligence Unit


Life expectancy 2018 HAB

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

9



information, as are health advice websites and the public authorities.

The most useful of these, as rated by the survey respondents, are national government and public health authorities. According to Ryoji Noritake, CEO of the Health and Global Policy Institute, a not-for-profit think tank, the value that people attach to government-sourced information on personal health is in line with the deference typically shown toward government experts and their advice on a range of issues. The family doctor and health advice websites trail closely behind government in information utility. Social media, although rated highly, has slightly less utility for people than the other sources, judging by the responses.

The citizens of most Asian countries can have few complaints about a shortage of information on what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and good personal health practices. Besides periodic education campaigns run by public health authorities and NGOs, locally oriented wellness websites and wellness businesses have proliferated across Asia in recent years.6 Should these sources prove insufficient, social media channels provide individuals with a plethora of opportunities to obtain information and advice almost on-demand.

In the three months prior to taking the survey, 50% of respondents obtained personal health and wellness information from social media—the most frequently cited source. Family and friends are another common source of

A wealth of information

Figure 6: The usefulness of different sources of personal health and wellness information (% of respondents assessing each source as extremely useful or useful)


6 The Asian Development Bank estimates that the wellness economy has grown by an average of 10% annually in nine Asian countries since 2010 and accounted for about 11% of their combined GDP in 2017. Asian Development Outlook 2020 Update, Theme Chapter: Wellness in Worrying Times, September 2020. https://www.adb.org/what-we-do/economic-forecasts/september-2020/theme-chapter#wellness-asia

National government and public health authorities

GP/family doctor

Health advice websites

Local government and public health authorities

Social media

Television and radio

Relatives and friends

Smartphone health apps

Traditional medicine providers

32%

33%

35%

32%

33%

32%

35%

31%

30%

38%

35%

32%

34%

30%

29%

26%

28%

18%

Useful Extremely useful



blood pressure. “People will get different, often conflicting information about this from social media, from the internet, and from family and friends.”

The pandemic has added considerably to health information overload—and misinformation—notes Dr Wang. “More isn’t always better when it comes to health information,” he says. “We [government authorities] must ensure that people are getting the correct information.” With digital technology increasingly integral to how people receive health information, governments may need to partner with private-sector firms to share capabilities and provide the information people need.

Too much of a good thing?

This abundance of health information is a two-edged sword. The sheer volume and variety available can make it difficult for people to make the right decisions on diet, exercise and other aspects of personal health improvement. Over half of the respondents (53%) say the amount of information available about health and wellness is so overwhelming, they don’t know what to focus on.

“Information overload is a defining feature of our times,” says Mr Noritake, affecting health and many other aspects of daily life. A by-product of this, he says, is often conflicting advice and information on core health prevention issues. Mr Booty agrees, noting that there are even debates within communities as to what constitutes high

Figure 7: Where too much health information can be problematic (% of respondents agreeing that “The amount of information available about health and wellness is so overwhelming, I don’t know what to focus on”)


Asia

Mainland China

Laos

India

Taiwan

Vietnam

Malaysia

Cambodia

Thailand

Philippines

Myanmar

Hong Kong

Singapore

Indonesia

40%

41%

46%

38%

47%

36%

42%

41%

39%

39%

43%

38%

35%

28%

13%

19%

11%

19%

9%

18%

11%

11%

13%

11%

6%

10%

7%

9% Agree Strongly agree

11



13



by more than 20% of respondents). Among the technologies that respondents do not yet use, the adoption of wearable monitors (measuring indicators such as heart rate, sleep and oxygen levels) looks likely to grow fastest over the next year. Just 29% of those surveyed say they are uncomfortable using personal health technologies.

Digital health, of course, consists of more than gadgets. Online services connecting people to doctors and other providers of health advice—including advice on disease prevention—are sprouting throughout the region. For example, the health apps and services of China tech giants Tencent, Alibaba and JD.com have reportedly experienced strong user growth as well as new investment since the onset of covid-19.9

Smartphone penetration across the Asia-Pacific region stood at 67% in 2019, according to the GSM Association, a mobile industry group.7 That connectivity extends to wearables that act as fitness aids and monitors such as smart watches or wristbands. According to one source, penetration of such devices is higher in Asia Pacific (at 22% of internet users) than in any other region of the world.8

That affinity for health technologies is reflected in our survey. It shows a wide variety of digital devices that individuals in the region use to improve their personal health. Top of the list in popularity are blood pressure monitors, followed closely by smart watches, smart body temperature thermometers, wearable fitness trackers and intelligent weight scales (all used

The digital factor

Figure 8: Taking control with digital health devices (% of respondents using different personal health technologies)


7 GSM Association, The Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2020, July 2020. https://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/asiapacific/8 “Wearables: Now a Health Essential?”, GlobalWebIndex, December 17, 2019. https://blog.globalwebindex.com/chart-of-the-week/are-wearables-

the-new-health-essential/9 See, for example, “China’s digital health care start-ups get a boost from the coronavirus, Beijing and investors”, CNBC, September 10, 2020. https://

www.cnbc.com/2020/09/11/chinas-digital-health-care-start-ups-get-a-boost-from-the-coronavirus-beijing-and-investors.html

Blood pressure monitor

Smart watch

Smart thermometer

Wearable fitness tracker

Intelligent weight scales

Wearable health monitor (for heart rate, oxygen level, sleep, etc)

A digital platform (e.g. app) to speak directly with a health professional

A digital platform (e.g. app) that uses AI to diagnose or manage your health

Air quality monitor

Glucose meter

I do not use personal health technologies

27%

26%

25%

24%

22%

20%

18%

17%

15%

13%

22%



lower-income communities,” he says. “Many innovations aimed at middle-income countries or cities just won’t work there.”

Governments in Asia need little convincing of the merits of citizens’ adoption of digital health technologies, although some—such as Singapore’s—are more proactive than others in promoting it. An example of that government’s approach is its recent tie-up with a technology company to make a personal health app available to Singaporeans using a smart watch. The app helps users to meet weekly activity goals, make healthy food choices and keep up with immunisation and health screening. The government’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) entices people to download and use the app by offering monetary rewards for meeting personal wellness goals.11

Another HPB mobile app is “Healthy 365”. In addition to helping users to monitor their diet and physical activity, it encourages healthy eating through partnerships with food and beverage providers and retailers. By scanning the QR codes of healthy food and drink purchases into the app, users can earn and redeem points with HPB’s partners.12

Governments in Asia have traditionally been conservative about involving the private sector in healthcare. The Singapore government’s initiatives suggest that this could be changing, at least in the area of personal health and wellness. According to Dr Wang, Singapore’s personal health initiatives are a model for other governments in the region, including his own. Among the lessons taken is how to forge partnerships

One of the better-known digital health platforms in South-East Asia is DoctorOnCall, launched by a Malaysian start-up, Health Digital Technologies, in 2017. Pandemic-related growth in local demand for health advice has led the firm to launch multiple new ventures with partners in 2020.10 Similar examples of digital health services can be found in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and other Asian markets.

Digital health devices and services such as those described above can help fill the gap in many Asian markets left by understaffed health systems, particularly where doctors are not available to provide advice. Indeed, people’s affinity for health technologies in the region’s less developed markets offers the potential of making up ground on their more developed neighbours in terms of access to health services.

Augmenting the power of digital

As useful as personal health devices are, Mr Noritake says, their value to citizens can be greatly enhanced if they are connected to centralised repositories of health information. Currently, this is only possible in the region’s more developed markets such as Singapore, mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan (and, to a lesser extent, Japan), he says.

In Asia’s less-developed markets, says Mr Booty, poor data connectivity and the absence of centralised health data restricts the usefulness of wearables, blood pressure monitors and other personal health technologies. “There needs to be an ecosystem for patient-centred digital innovation to flourish that are designed for

10 “An overview of Malaysia’s digital health landscape”, Healthcare IT News, July 1, 2020. https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/asia-pacific/overview-malaysia-s-digital-health-landscape

11 Information provided to The EIU by the Health Promotion Board; see also “Apple and Singapore to reward health-monitoring smartwatch users”, Financial Times, September 23, 2020 https://www.ft.com/content/0185de62-b790-4819-903d-d182bada2295

12 Information provided to The EIU by the Health Promotion Board

15



Asian companies, too—in technology and other sectors—clearly have a role to play in initiatives that encourage citizens to look after their personal health. An example of what’s possible is offered by Singapore-based healthtech company mClinica, which is partnering with the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration to build an integrated national health information system.13

with business to promote healthy lifestyles. The Health Promotion Administration that he manages has, for example, begun discussions with healthtech companies to encourage greater adoption of wearable health devices. “This is a starting point,” says Dr Wang, “and we plan to involve Taiwan businesses in our public health efforts in the future.”

Businesses on the frontlines of wellness

“We see wellness as a business driver,” says Rashmi Sharma, who is the global learning & wellbeing lead at Unilever South East Asia & ANZ. In Asia, few governments or health authorities make that connection, she says, but many businesses have begun to. “Companies are providing a lot more training now for employees about how to look after personal health and wellness—not just their own but also that of their families,” says Ms Sharma. This is a trend that predates the pandemic.

Governments should push businesses to do more to help employees look after their well-being, Ms Sharma believes. One option, in her view, is to mandate that organisations focus on health in their employee engagement activities. Another is to form an expert taskforce

that highlights the role that physical and mental health play in driving higher business performance. Such a taskforce could include advisers or coaches who help companies to expand and better target the health and wellness support they provide to employees. Helplines could also be set up that employees can call for personal health advice. Such initiatives must give as much priority to addressing employees’ mental health as their physical health, says Ms Sharma, as both are equally integral to performance.

Government prodding of businesses through such measures can be effective, but mandates will work better, believes Ms Sharma. “That will do more to bring conversations about health and wellness into the mainstream in our societies.”

13 “Singapore’s mClinica partners with Philippines FDA to create country’s first national health database”, mClinica press release, October 29, 2018. https://www.mclinica.com/singapores-mclinica-partners-with-philippines-fda/

17





Involve the private sector. Governments should highlight the importance of employee health and wellness to business performance, and by extension to economic growth. They should encourage, or even mandate, companies to provide training and support to employees in managing their personal health. And they should collaborate with businesses to advance health promotion initiatives (see below).

Collaboration between governments and businesses needed to drive digital healthcare. With digital technology increasingly integral to how people manage their health, governments should involve technology firms in partnerships to devise innovative ways of promoting healthier lifestyles. The partnerships that the Singapore government is pioneering should provide useful lessons to other governments as those initiatives play out.

Treat mental health on par with physical health. The toll that covid-19 is taking on people’s mental health and emotional well-being is well-documented the world over, Asia included. The effects are likely to be felt long after the virus is defeated. It’s not easy everywhere in the region to talk about mental health openly: governments need to encourage such discussion.

Governments and other health sector actors in Asia have by no means been inactive in nudging their citizens to adopt healthier lifestyles. This research points, however, to some areas where public actions to achieve this end can be expanded, re-targeted or refined:

Act now to improve the health information audiences are getting. People are highly receptive—especially now—to information related to their health and wellness. The pandemic serves as a daily reminder of the importance of healthy living, not least to put off the onset of chronic disease. But the crisis also underscores the importance of raising the quality of information on offer. Governments can set an example by improving the information they provide.

Digital health ecosystems, supported by open and fair data governance, have great potential to support health management. In health as in so many other realms, the power of data is magnified when it is augmented by other related information. Creating a digital health ecosystem connecting data from personal health devices and services to patient health records, where they exist, or to other centralised repositories, can benefit both individuals and health authorities. The foundation is data governance that balances the needs of commerce and the legitimate privacy concerns of consumers.

Conclusion: Implications for health policy

19


Health of Asia Barometer: Challenges and opportunities for health and well-being19The Health of Asia Barometer: An information challenge

Prudential Insight

Tackling the health protection gap

Prudential is developing next-generation health and wealth solutions and delivering them through its OnePulse ecosystem, putting control of health and wealth in people’s hands.

OnePulse is designed to address some of Asia’s biggest health and wealth challenges, at scale. It is part of Prudential’s broader strategy to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for everyone across Asia and Africa, by leveraging digital technologies and best-in-class partnerships.

The OnePulse includes Pulse by Prudential (Pulse), an all-in-one health app and first-of-its-kind in Asia, that offers holistic health management, taking healthcare to a new level of engagement. The strength of the ecosystem lies in its ability to harness the power of technology and data across interconnected systems. Through Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools and real-time information, Pulse empowers users to take control of their health and well-being anytime, anywhere.

With Pulse, Prudential is helping address the sizable and growing health protection gap, which is underpinned by escalating medical costs and a rise in chronic and non-communicable diseases. In 2017, this gap was US$1.8 trillion in Asia alone.14

While insurers have traditionally solely focused on protecting customers, Pulse has enabled Prudential to provide more holistic support across the critical stages in a person’s health journey. Prudential believes that insurers can play a more preventive role alongside protection to address the growing health burden. With Pulse, Prudential will help users prevent, postpone and protect against the onset of diseases.

14 https://www.swissre.com/institute/research/topics-and-risk-dialogues/economy-and-insurance-outlook/asia-health-protection-gap-report.html



20The Health of Asia Barometer:

An information challenge

Within 15 months from launch, Pulse has been downloaded over 12 million times across 11 Asian markets.

Pulse provides users with access to a range of innovative solutions from global and local partners. At the heart of the ecosystem is a symptom checker - an AI-powered chatbot that provides users with a better understanding of worrying symptoms and directs them to healthcare professionals for further advice, and a health assessment, which, based on a digital questionnaire, creates a health report with insights into potential long-term disease risks represented through the “Digital Twin”, a graphic representation of the human body.

Through Pulse, users can also do video consultations with board-certified doctors who will provide a diagnosis and recommend the appropriate treatment, whenever applicable. Users may also have their prescribed medicine delivered or collect it at designated pharmacies.

Other key features include personalised wellness services, health awareness content, a hospital navigator, as well as market-specific solutions such as a dengue outbreak predictor and an air pollution index.

Pulse is an evolving platform where new partners, functionalities and features will be added in phases. The ecosystem will over time feature more value-added offerings to further support users’ health and wellness journey.

21



While every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of this information, The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. cannot accept any responsibility or liability for reliance by any person on this report or any of the information, opinions or conclusions set out in this report. The findings and views expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor.



LONDON20 Cabot SquareLondon, E14 4QWUnited KingdomTel: (44.20) 7576 8000Fax: (44.20) 7576 8500Email: [email protected]

NEW YORK750 Third Avenue5th FloorNew York, NY 10017United StatesTel: (1.212) 554 0600Fax: (1.212) 586 1181/2 Email: [email protected]

HONG KONG130112 Taikoo Wan RoadTaikoo ShingHong KongTel: (852) 2585 3888Fax: (852) 2802 7638 Email: [email protected]

GENEVARue de l’Athénée 321206 GenevaSwitzerlandTel: (41) 22 566 2470Fax: (41) 22 346 93 47Email: [email protected]

DUBAIOffice 1301aAurora TowerDubai Media CityDubaiTel: (971) 4 433 4202Fax: (971) 4 438 0224Email: [email protected]

SINGAPORE8 Cross Street#23-01 Manulife TowerSingapore 048424Tel: (65) 6534 5177Fax: (65) 6534 5077 Email: [email protected]

PUL SE OF ASI A The Health of Asia Barometer · Health of Asia Barometer: Challenges and...

Documents

Transcript of PUL SE OF ASI A The Health of Asia Barometer · Health of Asia Barometer: Challenges and...