Background

In Singapore, obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, cancer and hypertension have risen rapidly. The National Health Surveillance survey conducted in 2010 found that about half of Singapore residents aged 60 years and above had hypertension and about one-third had diabetes. The modifiable factors to arrest the rapidly increasing trend in these conditions locally and worldwide are health behaviours such as physical activity, diet and screening.  Health behaviours are very complex and are influenced by the interaction of the socio-cultural and physical environment and the health care system with institutional, interpersonal and individual-level factors. There is a need for a multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral approach, with researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines such as psychology, sociology, public health, clinical medicine, dentistry, marketing, business, organizational behaviour and communications to work together to plan, implement and evaluate behavioural interventions to tackle these health problems. Recently, a core group of like-minded interested individuals met and decided to form the Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore to address these problems through awareness raising, capacity building and collaborative research and practice. 

Our Mission

1. To foster collaborative research, and provide training and services to build on the field of behavioural health and medicine in Singapore.

2. To plan, organize, and facilitate scientific meetings and conferences for the exchange of scientific information, professional views, research or practice updates, and discussions.

3. To develop and maintain liaisons and collaboration with the International Society of Behavioural Medicine (ISBM) and other relevant local and regional professional organizations.

4. To facilitate communication and exchanges among professionals and academics in disciplines related to behavioural health, including public health, social sciences, biomedical research, clinical sciences, and other disciplines.

5. To increase public awareness and interest in improving behavioural health across vulnerable populations and in the general public.