Panel on Health and Ageing of Singaporean Elderly (PHASE)

Panel on Health and Ageing of Singaporean Elderly (PHASE) is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of older (aged 60 years and above) community-dwelling Singapore citizens and permanent residents. Initiated in 2009, PHASE collected data from the same older adults in 2009 (Wave 1), 2011-12 (Wave 2) and 2015 (Wave 3). 

In Wave 1 – also called Social Isolation, Health and Lifestyles Survey (SIHLS) – a total of 4990 older Singaporeans or their proxy respondents [for 458 (9.2%) older adults unable to respond due to health reasons] were interviewed and data on a range of physical, mental and social health variables were collected along with anthropometric and performance measurements.

In Wave 2, a total of 3103 older adults (or their proxy) were re-interviewed, collecting information on the same set of variables assessed in Wave 1. Additional information on fall history, provision and receipt of transfers from family members, healthcare insurance, use of acute and long-term care services and medications was collected.


In Wave 3 – also called Singapore Assessment for Frailty in Elderly – Building upon the Panel on Health and Ageing of Singaporean Elderly (SAFE-PHASE) – a total of 1572 older adults (or their proxy) were interviewed for a 3rd time, again collecting information on the same variables asked in Wave 1 and 2. In addition, detailed information on employment, physical activity, health literacy, medication use and adherence, physical frailty and understanding of prescription medication labels was also gathered.

A decedent questionnaire, to collect information about end-of-life health status, was administered to willing next-of-kin of the participants who were reported as dead in Waves 2 and 3. Information on date of death of survey participants who had died till 31 December 2015 was obtained from the national Registry of Births and Deaths. PHASE Waves 2 and 3, analysis of de‐identified data from PHASE Wave 1, and linkage with the mortality database have been approved by the Institutional Review Board at the National University of Singapore.

More details on PHASE, including its design and participant flow across waves, are provided in the publication “Chan A, Saito Y, Matchar DB, Østbye T, Malhotra C, Ang S, Ma S, Malhotra R. Cohort Profile: Panel on Health and Ageing of Singaporean Elderly (PHASE). International Journal of Epidemiology. 2019; 48(6): 1750‐1751f. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyz172”. 

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12. Chan A, Visaria A, Gubhaju B, Ma S, Saito Y. Gender differences in years of remaining life by living arrangement among older Singaporeans. Eur J Ageing. 2021 Dec;18(4):453–66. doi:10.1007/s10433-020-00594-3 PubMed PMID: 34790084; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8563909.
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15. Takagi E, Saito Y, Chan A. Gender differences in the association between social relationships and loneliness among older adults in Singapore. J Pop Research. 2020 Sep;37(3):243–63. doi:10.1007/s12546-020-09242-0
16. Suppiah S, Tan YW, Cheng GHL, Tang WE, Malhotra R. Mediators of the association of limited English health literacy with medication non-adherence among Singaporean elderly. Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare. 2020 Mar;29(1):25–32. doi:10.1177/2010105819899126
17. Malhotra R, Tareque MI, Tan NC, Ma S. Association of baseline hand grip strength and annual change in hand grip strength with mortality among older people. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2020;86:103961. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2019.103961 PubMed PMID: 31704626.
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19. Tareque MI, Chan A, Saito Y, Ma S, Malhotra R. The Impact of Self-Reported Vision and Hearing Impairment on Health Expectancy. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019 Dec;67(12):2528–36. doi:10.1111/jgs.16086 PubMed PMID: 31411348.
20. Tan YW, Suppiah S, Bautista MAC, Malhotra R. Polypharmacy among community-dwelling elderly in Singapore: Prevalence, risk factors and association with medication non-adherence. Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare. 2019 Dec;28(4):224–31. doi:10.1177/2010105819868485
21. Tareque MI, Saito Y, Chan A, Visaria A, Ma S, Malhotra R. Years of life with and without limitation in physical function and in activities of daily living by body mass index among older adults. Int J Obes (Lond). 2019 Nov;43(11):2244–53. doi:10.1038/s41366-019-0370-8 PubMed PMID: 31068661.
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23. Malhotra R, Bautista MAC, Tan NC, Tang WE, Tay S, Tan ASL, et al. Bilingual Text With or Without Pictograms Improves Elderly Singaporeans’ Understanding of Prescription Medication Labels. Gerontologist. 2019 Mar 14;59(2):378–90. doi:10.1093/geront/gnx169 PubMed PMID: 29190378.
24. Chen TY, Lee S, Schade MM, Saito Y, Chan A, Buxton OM. Longitudinal relationship between sleep deficiency and pain symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in Japan and Singapore. Sleep. 2019 Feb 1;42(2). doi:10.1093/sleep/zsy219 PubMed PMID: 30418637.
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26. Chei CL, Lee JML, Ma S, Malhotra R. Happy older people live longer. Age Ageing. 2018 Nov 1;47(6):860–6. doi:10.1093/ageing/afy128 PubMed PMID: 30165421.
27. Cheng GHL, Malhotra R, Chan A, Østbye T, Lo JC. Weak social networks and restless sleep interrelate through depressed mood among elderly. Qual Life Res. 2018 Oct;27(10):2517–24. doi:10.1007/s11136-018-1895-3 PubMed PMID: 29869296.
28. Cheng GHL, Malhotra R, Østbye T, Chan A, Ma S, Lo JC. Changes in nocturnal sleep and daytime nap durations predict all-cause mortality among older adults: the Panel on Health and Ageing of Singaporean Elderly. Sleep. 2018 Jul 1;41(7). doi:10.1093/sleep/zsy087 PubMed PMID: 29722881.
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30. Gubhaju B, Østbye T, Chan A. Living arrangements of community-dwelling older Singaporeans: predictors and consequences. Ageing and Society. 2018 Jun;38(6):1174–98. doi:10.1017/S0144686X16001495
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34. Malhotra R, Chan A, Ajay S, Ma S, Saito Y. Variation in the Gender Gap in Inactive and Active Life Expectancy by the Definition of Inactivity Among Older Adults. J Aging Health. 2016 Oct;28(7):1279–98. doi:10.1177/0898264316656512 PubMed PMID: 27590802.
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39. Chan A, Malhotra R, Matchar DB, Ma S, Saito Y. Gender, educational and ethnic differences in active life expectancy among older Singaporeans. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2016 Apr;16(4):466–73. doi:10.1111/ggi.12493 PubMed PMID: 25868426.
40. Ansah JP, Matchar DB, Malhotra R, Love SR, Liu C, Do Y. Projecting the effects of long-term care policy on the labor market participation of primary informal family caregivers of elderly with disability: insights from a dynamic simulation model. BMC Geriatr. 2016 Mar 23;16:69. doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0243-0 PubMed PMID: 27007720; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4806512.
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42. Chan A, Raman P, Ma S, Malhotra R. Loneliness and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling elderly Singaporeans. DemRes. 2015 Jun 3;32:1361–82. doi:10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.49
43. Malhotra R, Haaland BA, Chei CL, Chan A, Malhotra C, Matchar DB. Presence of and correction for interviewer error on an instrument assessing cognitive function of older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2015 Mar;15(3):372–80. doi:10.1111/ggi.12331 PubMed PMID: 25109236.
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Data Request

Quick guide for dataset request

Researchers can request for de-identified data from the Panel on Health and Ageing of Singaporean Elderly (PHASE) waves 1-3 for academic research purposes. The full dataset for PHASE will not be shared; only a subset of the dataset, containing the variables that are relevant for answering the research question/s or investigating the research topic/s the researchers are interested in will be shared.

Steps for accessing the PHASE de-identified data

Step 1: Download the Data Request Form and Data Collection Form (please select the relevant data collection form by waves below).

Step 2: Submit the completed Data Request Form to CARE Data Request
(email: care-datarequest@duke-nus.edu.sg)

Note: CARE may request clarifications from you on the submitted data request form, if necessary.
If an undergraduate or graduate student wants to use PHASE data for a research project or thesis then the student’s supervisor must be listed as Requestor 1 (Lead Researcher) in the Data Request Form. The student can be listed as an additional researcher.

Next, permission for sharing the data will be taken from various data owners by CARE, based on the submitted data request form. Please proceed to Step 3 only after CARE has informed you of the permission outcome.

Step 3: Obtain approval from your Institutional Review Board (IRB) or ethics review board for the analysis of de-identified survey data from PHASE

• If you require a supporting letter from PHASE researchers in support of your IRB or ethics review board application, please download the supporting letter template, fill in your name, institution and study name and submit it to the CARE Data Request email
• If the content of the supporting letter needs to be modified, please send your request to the same email

Step 4: Upon approval of your IRB or ethics review board application, please submit the IRB or ethics review board approval letter and the approved IRB or ethics review board application form/protocol to the CARE Data Request email for our reference

Step 5: Sign the non-negotiable Letter of Undertaking (to be signed by the lead researcher, and his/her institutional representative).

Step 6: You will receive the dataset either in person or via a secure cloud-based link

Study	Relevant Documents
PHASE Wave 1*	Data Collection Form (Main Questionnaire and Anthropometric Measurements)
PHASE Wave 2	Participant Information Sheet (PIS) Consent Form (CF)   Data Collection Form (Screener, Main Questionnaire, Anthropometric Measurements)
PHASE Wave 3	Participant Information Sheet (PIS)   Consent Form (CF)   Data Collection Form (Screener, Main Questionnaire, Anthropometric Measurements)

 

* The Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form for PHASE Wave 1 are not available