2023/11/06 【Activity Results】 Parallel Symposium at the 54th APACPH Conference 2023, Kuching, Malaysia

On October 31, we held a parallel symposium at the 54^th Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) Conference 2023 in Kuching, Malaysia. The symposium's main theme was ‘Combating NCDs Through Health Promotion Strategies’, and it was divided into two sub-topics: ‘Physical activity in the aging population’ and ‘NCDs and health promotion in schools’. We invited 4 speakers from 4 different countries: Dr. Heejin Kimm, Professor of the Institute for Health Promotion, Graduate School of Public Health from Yonsei University, Republic of Korea; Dr. Elbert Hung Yi Chiou, Distinguished Investigator and Director of the Institute of Population Health Sciences from National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan; Dr. Jun Kobayashi, Dean and Professor of the Graduate School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine from the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan; Dr. Feisul Idzwan Mustapha, Deputy Director of the Disease Control Division from Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
 
In the first session, ‘Physical activity in the aging population’, Dr. Heejin Kimm shared her experience on ‘Community health promotion activities for and by the senior citizens in Korea’. She mentioned that physical activities had declined among senior citizens in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of promoting infrastructure and investment in this field. She also introduced ‘The 5th National Health Plan, HP2030’ in Korea and shared their experiences on conducting community health promotion programs. Next, Dr. Elbert Hung Yi Chiou shared his experience with the ‘Precision Physical Activity Program for Activity Aging in Taiwan’. He addressed the nation's challenges during the rising number of senior citizens and shared his projects on the correlation between senior citizens’ muscular endurance training program and the changes in body functions.
 
In the second session, ‘NCDs and health promotion in schools’, Dr. Jun Kobayashi shared his experience on the ‘Impact of the promotion of sports in schools’. He mentioned the impacts on schools during the promotion of sports and how sports activities affected the enrollment rate, declined dropout rate, and enhanced school work performance. Eventually got support from the government. He also mentioned that sports activities can enhance students’ sense of belonging and develop their interests. Next, Dr. Feisul Idzwan Mustapha shared his experience on the ‘Challenges in school-based interventions for NCD risk factors, including mental health’. Being a government representative, he mentioned their challenges during the policy development and promotion. He emphasized that local cultures might conflict with the policy, so we need to gather people with different races and backgrounds, and eventually come up with a ‘Co-benefit’ program.