In order to promote healthy ageing, the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) approach helps communities evaluate older adults’ intrinsic capacities and devise strategies to prevent or reverse declines. This study, the first of its kind in Singapore, aligns with the Healthier Singapore initiative to improve quality of life by exploring the feasibility of implementing ICOPE’s Step 1 screening in a local context. Using a mixed methods approach, this cross-sectional study assessed intrinsic capacity in 367 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 71.8 years) and gathered insights from 25 assessors on administering the screening tool and creating personalized care plans. Results showed that 284 participants had declines in intrinsic capacity, mainly in vision (42.0%), hearing (33.5%), cognition (31.3%), mobility (24.3%), nutrition (16.1%), and mental health (16.1%). Assessors found the tool was user-friendly and valued its person-centered approach and integration with care plans. They were confident in Singapore’s ability to adopt ICOPE, noting existing practices in assessing these domains and integrated care models. Successful implementation of ICOPE requires follow-up interventions, diagnostic assessments, routine monitoring, and coordination between healthcare clusters and community care networks.

Carol Ma is a leading expert in Service-Learning (S-L) and Ageing in Asia, serving as Head & Associate Professor of Gerontology Programmes at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. She pioneered the service-learning curriculum in Hong Kong universities and successfully integrated it with the university’s curriculum, making it a valuable academic experience in higher education in Hong Kong and the region. In Singapore, Carol also spearheads curriculum development, community engagement, and applied research in gerontology, advocating for transdisciplinary education to address ageing issues. She has led impactful projects, including the first geragogy guidelines in Singapore, innovative dementia care programmes, reminiscence facilitation programmes, and older adults’ functional capacity under the WHO ICOPE framework, etc.