Challenges Faced by Singapore Citizens
Project Scope
As a group, we undertook this project for Singapore citizens, with each of my team members addressing a specific societal challenge exacerbated by the recovery from COVID-19. My focus was on the deteriorating mental health of citizens while my teammates explored related issues:
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Ageing population in Singapore
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Inflation
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Housing crisis in Singapore
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Increasing costs of medical products in Singapore
Ever since the start of the recovery journey from COVID-19, Singaporeans have faced rising housing prices, inflating costs of goods and services, and increasing healthcare expenses. These economic pressures, compounded with the prevalence of poor mental health, have significantly impacted individuals' well-being.
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Our primary goal was to explore how to effectively assist individuals affected by these challenges, particularly the mental health struggles arising from heightened stress and anxiety. Elderly citizens, in particular, have been disproportionately affected, as financial insecurity forces many to re-enter the workforce, despite their preference for retirement.
What are my roles in this project?
I focused on analyzing how poor mental health affects individuals and identifying actionable solutions through data visualization in Tableau. To delve deeper into mental health-related issues, I developed an individual sub-problem statement and presented insights using data analysis.
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My sub-problem statement:
"How can we effectively assist individuals impacted by the increasing prevalence of poor mental health, enabling them to regain their well-being and encourage them to seek help?"
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The solution involved breaking down the problem into measurable data points, such as the prevalence of mental health conditions, willingness to seek help, and the effectiveness of mental health initiatives. I used data from relevant sources to create meaningful visualizations, emphasizing actionable insights like improving accessibility to mental health services and public awareness campaigns.
Data sets I have used:
Willingness to seek help from a mental health hotline
My Work Process
​​Gathered data relevant to mental health challenges in Singapore
Defined the scope of the sub-problem statement
Reviewed insights with group members to ensure alignment with the broader problem statement
Used Tableau to create interactive visualizations, highlighting trends and problem areas
Problems I Faced:
Even though I had limited or fragmented datasets on mental health trends, I addressed this by combining multiple data sources to create a cohesive narrative
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I also ensured that the visualizations were clear and actionable for the audience and revised several dashboards to improve clarity and impact.
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Furthermore, I initially explored retrenchment as a primary cause of stress and anxiety among individuals. However, the datasets lacked a logical connection between retrenchment and mental health, making it impossible to create an interactive and insightful dashboard. To overcome this, I shifted my focus to the broader issue of the prevalence of poor mental health, which provided more cohesive data for analysis.
Old datasets:
I also planned to use data from an article about the percentage of Singaporeans who feel stress: Click here for the link!
Outcome and Results Achieved
The project successfully highlighted critical challenges faced by individuals with poor mental health in Singapore. The visualizations effectively conveyed the insights, leading to productive discussions within the group. The results also reflected the effort and quality of our work.
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Our group received high grades, with members earning B+ and As. I achieved an A for this project, reflecting my substantial individual contribution and the impact of my work on addressing the prevalence of poor mental health through practical data analysis and visualization.​
Some positive and measurable results:
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Identified the top barriers to seeking mental health support, such as stigma and lack of awareness.
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Highlighted the need for increased public outreach and support initiatives.
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Provided a foundation for actionable solutions, such as public campaigns and service accessibility improvements.
Final Results:
Prevalence of Mental Health based on age range across 3 key years (2017 pre covid, 2020 during covid, 2022 post covid):
Worksheet Version:
Dashboard Version:
Willingness to seek help from professional and informal support by age range
Worksheet Version:
Dashboard Version:
Willingness to seek help from mental health hotline in 2022
Worksheet Version:
Dashboard Version:
My Results:
