How this dietitian charted new ground in population health

Published on 23 October 2024

As a champion for population health at the National University Health System (NUHS), dietitian Ms Jesslyn Chong has developed and led various programmes over the past decade aimed at educating and empowering communities in the west to improve their nutritional habits.

When Jesslyn Chong first stepped into the world of population health nearly 13 years ago, she never imagined it would evolve from a “side project” into a passionate commitment that would shape her career as an Allied Health Professional (AHP).

Unlike today, the concept of population health – defined as health for everyone in a specific population – was relatively new to Singapore then. But Jesslyn soon found that it was a field that drew her interest, and she began to dedicate herself to developing programmes that would improve the nutritional habits of communities in the west.

The first population health initiative that Jesslyn — whose clinical specialty is in critical care and parenteral nutrition — was involved in was a programme for pre-diabetic patients.

“We recognised the need for this initiative as pre-diabetes patients were becoming younger and often lacked the time for hospital consultations,” recalled Jesslyn, who is now the Head of Dietetics & Nutrition at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH).

“Understanding that environment, family, and peer support significantly influence behaviour, we designed a programme featuring group education and virtual consultations via an app. This allowed patients to track their food intake and physical activity while minimising face-to-face consults.”

By encouraging peer support and empowering patients to take the lead in their health journeys, Jesslyn and her team fostered a community-centric approach to nutrition.

“Instead of being prescriptive, we became facilitators within the group, allowing patients to share their expertise and bond with one another,” she explained. “Another key aspect of our approach was setting small, specific goals to make them achievable, which helps patients build confidence as they work toward their next targets.”

“Setting small, specific goals helped patients build confidence as they progressed toward each new target.”

– Ms Jesslyn Chong

One other notable initiative Jesslyn helped develop was a health programme that connected preschoolers with seniors at active ageing centres. Recognising the social isolation faced by the elderly, Jesslyn and her team collaborated with a local preschool and senior centre to organise a series of nutrition workshops, where seniors and preschoolers learned about healthy eating while preparing meals together.

“We found that many of the elderly enjoyed the sessions because they felt they could contribute to the children, and the kids brought them joy. At the same time, the children learned about nutrition at a young age, which is quite important for their development,” said Jesslyn.

The programme was a success, with results showing a significant 26 per cent increase in preschool children's nutrition knowledge scores. In addition, 87 per cent of parents reported that their child encouraged them to adopt at least one healthy eating habit, and 63 per cent noted that their child had embraced healthier eating habits themselves.

Jesslyn added, “We also collected statistics from the parents, asking whether their children had taught them anything and if they had adopted any new behaviours as a result. The results were positive, showing that the programme not only benefited the children but also had a significant impact on their families. That’s the beauty of educating the young — witnessing the ripple effect within families.”

With her experience in population health, Jesslyn joined the leadership team as a senior manager for the Bukit Batok (BB) township project – a six-year community-based model of care initiated in 2018 and funded by the JurongHealth Fund.

This initiative, developed through a partnership between the Bukit Batok constituency and NTFGH, aimed to enhance health outcomes across the entire population of the constituency.

In her role, Jesslyn played key roles in both the preventive and health-promoting arms of the programme, implementing holistic strategies to enhance health outcomes within the community.

The project yielded significant results, including positive lifestyle changes like increased fruit and vegetable consumption, which contributed to a 7.9 per cent improvement in EQ5D measurements — indicators of overall health-related quality of life. Additionally, it led to increased take-up rates for screenings and vaccinations in the town, surpassing those reported in the 2021 National Population Health Survey.

The findings from this township project were recently published in the October 2024 issue of BMJ Open - a leading multidisciplinary open access medical journal publishing high-quality peer-reviewed content. The study, which Jesslyn contributed towards, is titled Impact of a Community-Based Multidomain Preventive Health Programme on Healthcare Utilisation Among Elderly Persons in Singapore: A Propensity Score-Matched and Difference-in-Differences Study.

For her contributions to NUHS’ population health initiatives and in recognition of her leadership and commitment to improving patients' lives both in and out of the hospital, Jesslyn was awarded the NUHS Allied Health Excellence Award this year.

Reflecting on her journey as an AHP, Jesslyn said, “I think it's been very meaningful. Being an AHP requires a lot of resilience and patience because, sometimes, things don't come to fruition in just a year or two. But don’t give up — keep pursuing what you believe in.

“Humility is also essential; as AHPs, we only see one part of the picture. When we work as a team with clinicians, or community and social partners, we get to see the other sides too. It's about learning together, understanding different perspectives, and knowing that we achieve more together than we ever could alone.” 

“Working as a team with clinicians and community partners reveals other perspectives. Together, we learn, understand, and achieve more than we could alone.”

– Ms Jesslyn Chong

With Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) shifting its focus towards building a robust population health system through initiatives like Healthier SG, Jesslyn believes that AHPs will play an increasingly vital role in bringing health to the community.

“Allied Health plays a crucial role in preventive care, especially as healthcare costs continue to rise," she explained. “The best way forward is to keep our population healthy, preventing unnecessary hospital visits. As we live longer lives, we want those extra years to be spent in good health, not in illness. Our goal is to ensure a better quality of life as we age.

“AHPs are key in educating the public and patients, equipping them with skills related to nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management, and hydration. We focus on lifestyle interventions and modifications to help people stay healthy.”

Interested to join us as a dietitian? Find out more about working in our institutions and the work that they do  here.

In consultation with Ms Jesslyn Chong, Head, Dietetics & Nutrition, NTFGH.