Instilling Healthy Behaviors in Graduates
Fresh graduates and new working adults (less than two years of working) gain weight within the first 7 years of their working life. Health Promotion Board (HPB) aims to engage youth to start thinking about and adopting positive lifestyle habits that would prepare and carry them through the challenging transition period from school to the workplace.
Objectives of the project:
a. Identify the lifestyle habits among the soon-to-be graduates and new working adults.
b. Identify the motivators and barriers to physical activity and healthy eating among youth.
c. Propose or recommend how to engage and effect these behavioural changes and habit formation among graduating students or young working adults, using programmes that are already existing, e.g., Move it!, Eat, Drink, Shop Healthy & health screening.
Each team took up one of the following sub-themes for further exploration, investigation, and analysis:
• Being physically active
• Healthy eating
• Managing stress
• Healthy social / family lifestyles
• Healthy behaviour
Some of the key questions students were seeking answers to were (but not limited to):
1. What constitutes a positive lifestyle, including associated habits, for fresh graduates and new working adults?
2. How do individuals perceive and assess the effectiveness of existing public programs provided by HPB, as well as private programs such as private gyms and Active SG classes?
3. Are there significant differences in terms of perception among groups of young adults?
4. What are the significant factors influencing the appeal of different program types?
5. What factors serve as motivators and barriers to physical activity, stress management, healthy eating, lifestyle choices, and behavior among youth?
6. How can HPB enhance support, whether through the introduction of new initiatives or the modification of existing programs, for adoption and implementation?
These are the steps that students undertook:
1. Conducted a literature review (based on local and overseas practices) to gain initial insights.
2. Conducted social listening by collecting data from social media platforms according to their group’s theme and analyzed the data using text analytics.
3. Refined the problem statement and framed their hypotheses.
4. Conducted qualitative studies through initial interviews and focus group discussions to fine-tune their research questions and directions, and shaped their survey design.
5. Designed survey questions based on their research questions.
6. Presented their initial findings and research methodology to HPB during the mid-term checkpoint. Feedback was provided by HPB during the mid-term presentation to help each team stay on track to meet HPB’s expectations.
7. Fine-tuned survey questions.
8. Collected responses using survey questionnaires and performed quantitative analysis using descriptive analytics, statistical, and machine learning methods.
9. Analyzed the reliability (internal consistency) of the survey responses using Cronbach's Alpha.
10. Applied the Blue Ocean Strategy framework, systematically analyzing, designing, and developing solutions for HPB that eliminate and reduce unnecessary features/factors, raise standards and desired practices, or create new features/factors that were not yet offered.
11. Refined solutions using multi-faceted thinking by adopting the Six Thinking Hats approach to consider challenges and opportunities holistically.
12. Some teams built prototypes or mock-ups to showcase their solutions.
Throughout the project duration, each team had access to the instructor, adjunct teaching mentor, and undergraduate teaching assistants for assistance, consultation, and review. They also received regular feedback from HPB to sharpen their analysis and recommendations for solutions.
This project tasked students with collecting ground sentiments from various sources, including online discussions on commonly used social platforms (e.g., Reddit, Facebook comments, YouTube, TikTok), as well as through direct surveys and interviews with the target audience. Each team developed their own research hypothesis, guided by instructors, and designed survey questionnaires to address their respective sub-theme hypotheses. After receiving feedback from the Faculty and HPB following their initial pitch presentation, teams proceeded with a combination of focus group discussions, interviews, and surveys. Across the five project teams, over 70 participants were interviewed either one-on-one or in focus group discussions, and more than 500 survey respondents participated.
As each team focused on a different sub-theme, a diverse array of interesting insights surfaced. Some teams excelled in data gathering, while others demonstrated strength in data analysis and solution development. A few noteworthy insights gathered by the students included:
• Social media and friends exert significant influence on youths, impacting their eating and exercise habits easily.
• Friends can pressure and influence youths' decisions to smoke, vape, and drink, even if they are unwilling.
• Most individuals are aware of the concept of a healthy plate and the importance of eating healthily. They associate salads with healthy food and hawker centers with unhealthy options.
• 56% of vapers have never received information about the health concerns associated with vaping.
• 53% have never undergone voluntary health screenings aside from those required for National Service or employment.
A few noteworthy solutions recommended which were well received by HPB were:
• Enhance Healthy365 App incorporating a variety of workout demonstrations in the form of short GIFs, offering concise and digestible visual guidance for physical activities. This can be easily implementable on an existing app.
• Track small achievable personal goals by having bite-size physical activities at workplace, e.g., installing treadmill desks and standing meeting pods in offices. This can be implemented across different companies in a decentralized manner.
• Introduce visual displays for portion selection at Hawker Centers and Food Courts, targeting stalls that already offer menus with price range. This initiative is easily implementable with some education provided to stall providers.
• Enhance existing healthy choice symbols on dining menus, including hawker food, by adding a "Healthiest" choice symbol and additional quantifiable information (refer to diagram 1).
• Increase awareness of Screen for Life by integrating it into employment packages.
• Gamify the tracking of healthy habits by incorporating in-game currencies, collectibles, and tickets for physical rewards.
• Introduce “Healthy Heather” chatbot buddy to provide conversational support.
The project's final deliverables consisted of an A1 size poster, a 2-minute pitch video, and final presentation slides. HPB graciously hosted the final presentation at their premises, providing an opportunity for students to engage with HPB staff and address questions about their proposed solutions and analytical insights. This interaction took place in the Poster Hall, where project posters and pitch videos were on display. HPB generously sponsored prizes for the Most Insightful Project and Most Innovative Blue Ocean. To encourage audience engagement and participation, additional awards were introduced, including the Audience Choice Best Poster Award and the Audience Choice Captivating Video Award.
Diagram 1:
Diagram 2:
“Working with SMU-X, specifically on Analytics Applications for Smart Living, has given us a fresh perspective on the approach to programming, with the insights gathered from the students and as well as their target audience (e.g. individuals they’ve approached for their research projects). Having been given a chance to work with an industry expert / consultant has given us a glimpse of how other industries use such tools to inform decision. Collaborations like this benefit us in the long term since the knowledge and insights gained (on healthy living) by the youth (students) in the course of their work would be something they could tap on as they go about their lives even after they move on from SMU.” Patricia Mondonedo, Deputy Director, Health Promotion Board
“Teaching this interdisciplinary SMU-X course has been a rewarding experience, allowing me to guide students in integrating social science, management, and information systems. The comprehensive curriculum—covering research methodology, data and statistical analysis, social analytics, and Blue Ocean Strategy—equips students to develop citizen-centric solutions. Collaborating with an industry sponsor on real-world smart city problems provides invaluable hands-on experience in project planning, data analysis, and stakeholder management. Students benefit from real-world data collection, interacting with respondents, and executing analytical work, all while receiving constructive feedback from industry practitioners. This course uniquely offers the full project lifecycle, fostering interdisciplinary problem-solving and preparing students to drive evidence-based decision-making in real-world contexts.” Associate Professor of Information Systems (Practice), Faculty Instructor of SMT202 Analytics Applications for Smart Living, Tan Kar Way
"This course tested the students’ ability to apply the analytical theories they learn in class, to propose new insights and recommendations for a very relatable and meaningful problem on instilling healthy behaviour amongst youths. As the course ATM, I have the privilege to engage HPB to understand their expectation better and work with the students to sharpen their analysis and solution recommendations for a real-life social concern." Adjunct Teaching Mentor, Tan Poh Choo
STUDENT #1: “Learning to be curious and open-minded was a big challenge before I enrolled in this course, but it effectively taught me so through the class content and the various aspects of analytics. This course has also enhanced my ability to conduct quantitative and qualitative studies to gather important insights that drive analytics projects.” (extracted from student’s feedback, feedback is anonymous)
STUDENT #2: “I've gained a multifaceted understanding of how data analytics intersects with smart city technologies. I've honed my technical skills, particularly in data analytics and IoT integration, using languages like Python to analyze real-world urban challenges. This has equipped me with the ability to see these challenges from a systems perspective, integrating hardware, software, and human elements. I've also developed a strong sense of the ethical and societal impacts of smart living solutions, learning to weigh data privacy concerns and algorithmic fairness in my projects. The course encouraged an interdisciplinary approach, teaching me the importance of collaborating across fields like engineering, social sciences, and policy-making. Additionally, I've gained practical project management skills, learning how to take an idea from conception to deployment. This experience has prepared me for the complexities of scaling solutions and has underscored the need for effective communication with diverse stakeholders. Overall, the course has made me adaptable and ready to engage with the rapidly evolving field of smart living.” (extracted from student’s feedback, feedback is anonymous)
