IPUR partnering with Diabetes Singapore to promote growth mindsets, improve care and management 

IPUR is excited to announce a partnership with Diabetes Singapore to enhance public awareness and understanding of diabetes care and management. This initiative, titled “Mind Over Diabetes”, aims to engage healthcare providers, policymakers, individuals with diabetes and the wider community in dialogue on improving diabetes management by exposing fixed mindsets and fostering growth mindsets. The collaboration will involve health screenings and data collection to develop a sense-making report that highlights perceptions towards diabetes and disease management. The findings will be presented at a public event on 2 November 2024 at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar, ahead of World Diabetes Day on 14 November 2024.

Alongside the presentation of the findings, the event will feature engaging and informative activities, and serve as a platform to reframe how diabetes is perceived and managed. The partnership with DiabetesSG was motivated by a joint study with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, exploring the relationship between mindsets and diabetes. The published study, titled “Mindsets and self-efficacy beliefs among individuals with type 2 diabetes” presents a new understanding to how patients’ beliefs may influence motivation and behaviour to profoundly improve diabetes care and health outcomes. At the same time, it also brings to light the potential benefits of advocating growth mindsets among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D), which could prove a crucial precursor to improved diabetes management. 

While there is no direct evidence proving that a growth mindset would definitely lead to improved diabetes outcomes, the study observed patterns of better glycaemic control (HbA1c) among those with higher growth mindsets and self-efficacy toward their health or blood glucose levels. These findings suggest that mindsets matter and may prove an important gamechanger in the fight against diabetes.

In an effort to extend the impact and reach of the study findings, IPUR sees this partnership with DiabetesSG, the only registered charity organisation in Singapore solely dedicated to fighting diabetes, as integral to creating a well-informed community capable of making proactive health decisions, ultimately reducing the prevalence and adverse impact of diabetes.