Speaking up for the dead in Bukit Brown Cemetery? An anthropological enquiry on contemporary civil society in Singapore

My research examines contemporary civil society in Singapore using the empirical example of a community interest group called ‘all things Bukit Brown’ (atBB for short) which has been advocating for the preservation of Bukit Brown Chinese Municipal Cemetery (BBC) for ten years now. atBB had emerged in early 2012 following the government’s announcement in late-2011 of the cemetery’s partial clearance to build a highway and eventual complete clearance for residential development. atBB had opposed the highway construction and when that failed, the group repivoted to advocate for the preservation of the remaining cemetery. Cemetery clearances are not new in Singapore, but BBC’s experience has evoked sustained public objection for a substantial period and this has been taken into serious consideration by the government. atBB’s engagement with the government to discuss on BBC’s prospect is surprising and therefore worthy of academic scrutiny because of its unregistered and informally composed profile that has thrived in Singapore’s authoritarian political environment which is said to be intolerant of civil society activities. I raise two questions in my research: (1) What is contemporary civil society in Singapore? and (2) How is death conceptualised in Singapore? My research is premised upon two arguments: first, I argue that atBB is an example of an emerging contemporary civil society in Singapore that has yet to be academically examined and bears the potential to open a third space for community voices to be heard; second, I argue that the need to care for the dead drives the emergence of contemporary civil society in Singapore. Thus, understanding the importance accorded to the dead in the Chinese community is essential to allow for an appreciation of atBB’s advocacy as well as the slew of organised and ad-hoc community initiatives onsite that have been speaking up for the dead

More talk than action: gender and ethnic diversity in leading public health universities.

Improving the career progression of women and ethnic minorities in public health universities has been a longstanding challenge, which we believe might be addressed by including staff diversity data in university rankings. We present findings from a mixed methods investigation of gender-related and ethnicity-related differences in career progression at the 15 highest ranked social sciences and public health universities in the world, including an analysis of the intersection between sex and ethnicity. Our study revealed that clear gender and ethnic disparities remain at the most senior academic positions, despite numerous diversity policies and action plans reported. In all universities, representation of women declined between middle and senior academic levels, despite women outnumbering men at the junior level. Ethnic-minority women might have a magnified disadvantage because ethnic-minority academics constitute a small proportion of junior-level positions and the proportion of ethnic-minority women declines along the seniority pathway

The creation of the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies and the professionalization of nursing in Singapore

Master'sMASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Important to distinguish between end-of-life values and preferences for improved advance care planning

10.1136/spcare-2022-004151BMJ SUPPORTIVE & PALLIATIVE CAR

Proxying, Warning and Exploring: A Typology of Digital Intervention Scenarios for End-of-Life Decision Making Support

Workshop on Informations Systems in Health (WISH) 2023German

The role of community-based nursing interventions in improving outcomes for individuals with cardiovascular disease: A systematic review

Objective To examine the role of community-based nursing interventions in improving outcomes for community-dwelling individuals with cardiovascular disease. Design A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Data sources Seven electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Global Health, LILACS, Africa-Wide Information, IMEMR and WPRIM) were searched from inception to 16 March 2018 without language restrictions. Review methods We included studies evaluating the outcomes of interventions led by, or primarily delivered by, nurses for individuals with cardiovascular disease in community settings. Study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessments were performed by at least two independent reviewers. Results Twenty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Community-based nursing interventions improved outcomes in four key areas: (1) self-care, (2) health, (3) healthcare utilisation, and (4) quality of care. Significant improvements were reported in patients' knowledge and ability to self-manage, severity of disease, functional status, quality of life, risk of death, hospital readmission days, emergency department visits, healthcare costs and satisfaction with care. Facilitators to intervention effectiveness included the use of an individualised approach, multidisciplinary approach, specially trained nurses, family involvement and the home setting. Conversely, barriers to intervention success included limitations in nurses' time and skills, ineffective interdisciplinary collaboration and insufficient intervention intensity. Conclusions The overall evidence is positive regarding the role of community-based nursing interventions in improving outcomes for individuals with cardiovascular disease. However, this review highlights the need for more robust research establishing definitive relationships between different types of interventions and outcomes as well as evaluating the cost-effectiveness of these interventions to aid the development of sustainable policy solutions