BRD251 Assignment: Colorectal Cancer as a Health Priority in Singapore

This report focuses on colorectal cancer as a significant health priority in Singapore, analyzing its impact on the population and the rationale behind prioritizing it. The report identifies the target groups most at risk, primarily men and women, and discusses the key debates surrounding the issue, including genetic predispositions and lifestyle factors. It delves into the health determinants and risk factors, such as age, family history, and lifestyle choices like smoking and diet. The report also explores the relationship between colorectal cancer and overall well-being, highlighting the economic and social consequences for individuals and the nation. Furthermore, it details health promotion strategies, including awareness campaigns and support for affected individuals, and applies the fundamentals of the Ottawa Charter to address the issue. The report concludes by emphasizing the critical need for health promotion to educate the public and prevent the disease, supporting its arguments with relevant research and statistics.

BRD251_TJA_2019: ASSESSMENT TASK 1: HEALTH RATIONALE
Student Name: Student Number: Tutor:
Part A: Content (25)
Fail (N)
0-49%
Pass (P
50-59%
Credit (C) (60-
69%)
Distinction (D)
(70-79%)
High Distinction
HD (80-100%)
Defined concept of "health priority areas" and their role in improving the
health status of a population. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Established the relevance of the selected health topic to the CURRENT
health priority area/s in a specific context. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Clearly defined the target group for the particular focus of the health priority
and argued a case for this in the rationale. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Provided a thorough overview of the key debates and issues around the
chosen priority. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Clearly described the health determinants and risk factors relating to the
chosen priority. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Explained the relationship of chosen health priority to more than one
dimension, element, or construct of wellbeing in the essay. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Discussed health promotion actions and strategies (with examples) to
address the issue and/or improve health outcomes for the target group. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Described and applied the fundamentals of the Ottawa Charter in relation to
the chosen health priority. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Critically analysed the need for health promotion in the chosen health
priority (evidence based). ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Provided relevant and updated evidence of peer-reviewed research and
statistics. ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Part B: Style/Presentation (5)
Demonstrated appropriate academic essay format ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Provided logical, coherent and persuasive rationale layout ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Demonstrated fluency of writing, grammar and punctuation ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Demonstrated correct use of APA referencing (in-text and reference list) ☐
Revision
required.
☐
Revision
needed.
☐
Review
suggested
☐ ☐
Observed required word count (1,500 words +/- 10%) (+/-over
30%)
☐
(+/-25-
30%)
☐
(+/-15-
20%)
☐
(+/-
10%)
☐
(+/- 50
words)
☐
Final Mark: /30
Comments

Health priority
Name
ID
Course
Unit
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Date

Introduction
Singapore is one of the countries in Asia that faces multiple health conditions that puts the
citizens at risk of losing their lives. Consequently, when the country’s administration do not
make the areas priorities, they may not only cost people’s lives but also derail the
development in the country. There exist various sectors that needs attention. Some of these
areas include colorectal cancer, myopia in children, and cancer of the nose, diabetes and
thalassemia. However, the main goal of this assignment is to choose one of the health priority
areas and illustrate how the area is being addressed. Besides that, the assignment will
elaborate on the targeted group that is at risk of the issue, health determinant of the chosen
priority, promotion strategies, the Ottawa Charter in relation to the strategies among others.
The health priority area and its role in improving the health status.
The health priority issue right now in Singapore is the rise of colorectal cancer in both men
and women. Colorectal cancer refers to the type of cancer that begin either in the rectum or at
the colon. The name of the cancer differs depending on where the cancer has begun. For
example it can be called, rectal cancer or the colon cancer. However, despite the cancer
beginning at different points, it generally mean the same because of the effect it cause to the
individual.
The reason for choosing colorectal cancer as an area of priority is that every year Singapore
register more 3000 people with the disease according to Butler et al, (2017). Some of these
cases are inherited from the family history. However, those who inherit the gene from the
family members form a less percentage. The type of cancer begin when one’s cells begin to
grow out of control. The growth then spread to other parts of the body. The importance of
addressing this health priority area is that it will save the life of many citizens in Singapore.
Apart from saving the life of people, it will improve the economy of the country since the
government of Singapore will not be spending a lot of money to care for the victims. The

other thing is that the upcoming generation will be aware on the methods of controlling the
cancer.
The relevance of the selected health priority area
Despite having several health areas that needs priority, there are multiple reason why the
colon cancer outdo the others. The first thing is that treating cancer is expensive. It requires a
lot of funds and medical equipment. However, addressing this area will make the population
productive. However, taking an example of cancer and thalassemia; cancer need faster
address. Thalassemia is inherited blood disorder and that it means it attack specific group of
individual. Cancer do not spare an individual even though it can be inherited too.
Targeted population
The health priority area will mainly target men and women. These group of people are at a
stage of active production. They are the people who are at a high risk of contacting the
cancer. For example, one out of twenty four women always suffer from colorectal cancer. It
may be inherited or a disorder in the cells.
Key debates around the colorectal cancer in Singapore.
Several departments in Singapore have done research on the issue of colorectal cancer. For
example, Choo, (2018) said that between 2009 and 2013, over nine thousand people were
diagnosed with the type of cancer. However, this number have been increasing yearly based
on the reports. It is an issue that cut across men and women regardless of the region. From the
statistics, the cancer affect people at any age, however, the report indicate that those women
who are fifty years and above have high risk as compared to other people in Singapore.
Many people in Singapore have been talking about the inherited genes. For example, many
people view the cancer as type of disorder from a specific family and they cannot risk of
contracting the disease. Even though the debate is true to some extent, people should not
ignore that anyone can be at risk of getting the cancer. There are other lifestyle habits that put

an individual on the spot of getting the cancer. Some of these behaviours include smoking,
drinking and other specific types of food according to So et al, (2018).
Health determinant and risk factors that can lead to colorectal cancer in Singapore
There are several factor that put an individual at risk of getting cancer. The main one is
Singapore is the older age. From the statistics, many people who had been diagnosed with the
cancer are fifty years or older according to Chong et al, (2019). However, the doctors are not
able to provide an explicit explanation to the situation. The second common factor is the
history of the individual. If an individual’s parent had cancer in the past, the person is likely
to be diagnosed with the situation. The reason behind this is because of the genes that move
from the parent to the children. Besides that, there is the issue of diabetes. Those people with
insulin resistance have a higher risk of being diagnosed with colon cancer. Other issues
include smoking, obesity, low fibre, family history and smoking.
Relationship between the cancer and well being
From the issues discussed in the previous parts, it is clear that the cancer is harmful to the
larger population in Singapore. One can compare the healthy people with those who have
contacted the cancer. The first challenge will be derailing the economic development of the
individual. When a love one is ailing, the whole family will channel the contribution to the
medication. The effect of the situation may not be evident at the beginning, however, as the
individual progress with the treatment, there are other needs that come up. It may force the
family to change the way they were living initially to cope up with the treatment needs.
Consequently, when a working class individual get ill, the government also feel the pinch.
The GDP of the country drops. It means that many people will become dependent instead of
being independent financially. The challenge may follow the upcoming generation because
they are left unstable.
Health promotion strategy

The first main strategy to use to counter this situation is to create awareness to people. The
citizens in Singapore need to understand the cause of the colon cancer and the best way to
prevent it. For example, people may need to revise on their lifestyle. The food individuals
consume may cause the cancer. There are also behaviours that people need to abandon, for
instance excessive smoking and drinking of alcohol according to Luu et al, (2019).
When doing the promotion, the government can print on the drinking bottles that it can cause
colon cancer. The strategy work because it directly goes to the consumer. The other approach
is to find how to help the affected individuals. For example, the government can declare it to
be a national disaster and set aside money for it. There ae other channels to use for
promotion. For example the television and the social media. Many citizens in Singapore can
access social media. The campaigns can run on the television and social media. The content
of the campaign should be the cause of the colon cancer and the prevention measures
according to Lee et al, (2018). When the young people read the content, they will take care
of themselves and also pass the message to the old. However, since the issue mainly affect
the old, there can be a door to door campaign to enlighten the old and their care givers.
Fundamentals of Ottawa Charter in relation to the matter.
The Ottawa Charter mainly talks about how one can carry out health promotion with the aim
of reaching the client. The main areas in Ottawa Charter include education, shelter, food,
income and social justice according to Luu et al, (2018). The health promotion as illustrated
in the previous part covers most of these areas. Some of these things will include education.
People will get to understand the causes, prevention and the effect of the cancer. The
education will be universal regardless of the status of the individual. There are cases where
people may need additional assistance such as food and shelter. The government should be
willing to provide. The action will be away of facilitating the process.
The need for health promotion in the area.

Many people are not aware of the causes of the colon cancer. The disease continue to cause
havoc to many people while they are not aware on how to contain the situation. The scenario
calls for health promotion to enlightened people. Health promotion will also save the
upcoming generation against the effect of the cancer. However, it is important to evaluate the
promotion process to ensure that people get what they need. The statistic provide shows that
more than 1500 people will survive if the health education is successful according to Lim et
al, (2019).

References
Butler, L. M., Yuan, J. M., Huang, J. Y., Su, J., Wang, R., Koh, W. P., & Ong, C. N. (2017).
Plasma fatty acids and risk of colon and rectal cancers in the Singapore Chinese
Health Study. NPJ precision oncology, 1(1), 1-10.
Chong, D. Q., Lu, Y., Jin, A., Li, Z., Wang, R., Yuan, J. M., ... & Koh, W. P. (2019). 649P
Diet-derived metabolites and the risk of colorectal cancer: A nested case-control study
in a population-based cohort, the Singapore Chinese health study. Annals of
Oncology, 30(Supplement_5), mdz246-126.
Choo, S. P. (2018). AOL-5 Current situation and perspectives of Medical Oncology in
Singapore. Annals of Oncology, 29(suppl_7), mdy364-003.
Lee, J. J. Y., Thompson, C. L., Shaik, M. A., Wan, E., Chen, C. L. H., & Dong, Y. H. (2018).
Service use, advance planning and lifestyle changes following cognitive screening in
primary healthcare in Singapore. International psychogeriatrics, 30(1), 139-145.

Lim, W. S., Wong, C. H., Ding, Y. Y., Rockwood, K., & Lien, C. (2019). Translating the
science of frailty in singapore: results from the national frailty consensus
discussion. Ann Acad Med Singapore, 48(1), 25-31.
Luu, H. N., Qi, M., Wang, R., Adams-Haduch, J., Miljkovic, I., Opresko, P. L., ... & Yuan, J.
M. (2019). Association Between Leukocyte Telomere Length and Colorectal Cancer
Risk in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Clinical and translational
gastroenterology, 10(5), 1.
Luu, H. N., Wang, R., Shivappa, N., Hébert, J. R., Koh, W. P., & Yuan, J. M. (2018). A
prospective study of dietary inflammatory index scores and colorectal cancer risk:
The Singapore Chinese Health Study.
So, J. B. Y., Chan, D. Y. S., Syn, N. L. X., Yap, R., Neogh, C. T., Phua, J. N. S., ... &
Sundar, R. (2018, November). Intraperitoneal and Systemic Chemotherapy for Gastric
Cancer with Peritoneal Metastases. In BRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY (Vol. 105,
pp. 13-13). 111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN 07030-5774, NJ USA: WILEY.