Abstract
BackgroundIn April 2016, the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) declared War on Diabetes (WoD) to rally a whole-of-nation effort to reduce diabetes burden in the population. This study aimed to explore how this policy has been positioned to bring about changes to address the growing prevalence of diabetes, and to analyse the policy response and the associated challenges involved.MethodsThis qualitative study, using Walt and Gilson's policy triangle framework, comprised analysis of 171 organizational documents on the WoD, including government press releases, organizational archives, YouTube videos, newspaper reports and opinion editorials. It also involved interviews with 31 policy actors, who were policy elites and societal policy actors.ResultsFindings showed that the WoD policy generated a sense of unity and purpose across most policy actors. Policy actors were cognisant of the thrusts of the policy and have begun to make shifts to align their interests with the government policy. Addressing those with diabetes directly is essential to understanding their needs. Being clear on who the intended targets are and articulating how the policy seeks to support the identified groups will be imperative. Issues of fake news, unclear messaging and lack of regulation of uncertified health providers were other identified problem areas. High innovation, production and marketing costs were major concerns among food and beverage enterprises.ConclusionWhile there was greater public awareness of the need to combat diabetes, continuing dialogues with the various clusters of policy actors on the above issues will be necessary. Addressing the various segments of the policy actors and their challenges in response to the WoD would be critical.
Highlights
In April 2016, the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) declared War on Diabetes (WoD) to rally a wholeof-nation effort to reduce diabetes burden in the population
They highlighted that access to unhealthy food, affluence of society, expansion of eating-out places, and roles of the food and beverage (F&B) industry led to the growing diabetes situation in Singapore
This study has shown that the WoD policy has generated a general sense of unity and purpose across most policy actors
Summary
In April 2016, the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) declared War on Diabetes (WoD) to rally a wholeof-nation effort to reduce diabetes burden in the population. Diabetes is a condition that affects more than 400 million adults globally, and this number is expected to increase to above 640 million, which equates to one in ten adults, by 2040 [1]. The global prevalence of diabetes among adults over 18 years of age rose from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014 [2]. The lifetime risk of developing diabetes is one in three among Singaporeans, and the number of those with diabetes is projected to surpass one million by 2050 [1]. An estimated 430,000 (or 14% of ) Singaporeans aged 18 to 19 years are diagnosed with pre-diabetes, where their normal blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes [3]
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