Chi-Hang Lee, MBBS, MD; As Tar Thant, RPSGT; Crystal Cheong, MBBS; Joshua Gooley, MD, PhD; Lim See Ming, MBBS
Competition Sponsor: Ministry of Health and National Research Foundation of Singapore
Awardee year: 2021
There has been an increasing number of elderly taxi drivers in Singapore. Elderly people are more likely to suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) which is a common cause of malaise and sleepiness. We believe treatment for taxi drivers with OSA will improve their sleep quality and vigilance. This will in turn improve road safety. This approach replaces punishment-based accident preventive measures with prevention.
ACTIVE (Advocating CPAP for Taxi drivers to Improve Vigilance and Employability) is an applied science project to improve attention and blood pressure of taxi drivers. A total of 50 taxi drivers above the age of 60 will be recruited for a sleep study. We estimate that 60% of the taxi drivers (n=30) will be eligible for OSA treatment, and CPAP therapy will be provided for a duration of 6 months. During the 6-month study period, they will be under the care of an accredited sleep specialist. The taxi drivers are encouraged to continue using the CPAP after the 6-month study period.