Dementia programme expanded to seven centres in Singapore

A community programme for people living with mild to moderate dementia has been expanded to seven centres islandwide, with plans to support more than 1,200 participants by 2028.

- Chin Soo Fang

The Cognitive Intervention Programme (CIP), rolled out by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), follows a successful two-year pilot launched in October 2022 involving more than 120 participants across two centres.

More than 85 per cent of those who completed the weekly two-month intervention maintained or improved their cognitive scores, while over 90 per cent reported better mood.

Since mid-2025, CIP has been offered at centres run by Dementia Singapore, Yong-en Care Centre and NTUC Health. Dementia Singapore was also involved in the pilot phase.

The programme offers structured, multimodal activities aimed at helping participants maintain or improve their cognitive, physical and social abilities. Activities are tailored to each participant’s abilities and interests, and include memory games, dance, baking, arts and crafts.

A trained staff member guides up to four participants during each session, keeping seniors mentally stimulated, socially connected and physically active.

Participants start with a seven-week core programme, with three-hour sessions twice a week.

They may then opt for a maintenance phase of up to 26 weeks to help sustain gains made during the initial stage.