Projects
Research
NUS NAI has embarked on an “Exploratory Study on the Experience of Care of Older Persons Transiting from Acute to Post-Acute Care Services in Singapore”. This pilot study, led by Assistant Professor Lee Geok Ling, aims to examine how far the current service delivery - the formal and informal care support for older persons transiting from acute to post-acute care – has realised the general aim of integrating care across settings so that the older persons’ health is maintained, restored or rehabilitated.
A team of multi-disciplinary researchers from Social Work, Public Health, Economics and Geography is undertaking the research. Three key hospitals namely, Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital are key collaborators. The study is completed in 2017.
Please click HERE to download the research report: T1-T4 Data for this study.
This project, led by Associate Professor Chia Ngee Choon, explores fiscal sustainability and income and wealth (in) equalities in Singapore as the demographic landscape changes. Generational accounting framework is used to evaluate fiscal sustainability across generations. Simulation studies will be used to examine innovations to help finance retirement needs by unlocking housing equity. The adequacy of the CPF system will be evaluated together with the monetisation options available and the present value of retirement consumption expenditure.
This pilot project, led by Dr Cao Kai, aims to analyse the geographical accessibility of healthcare facilities for elderly population in Singapore using the web- based Geographic Information System (GIS). This project will bridge the gap by conducting systematic and in-depth analyses based on multiple categories of datasets and innovative methods to reflect the “real” profile of accessibility (geographical accessibility) of these elderly healthcare facilities for elderly population in different districts of Singapore. The project will contribute to more comprehensive understanding of “accessibility” of healthcare facilities for elderly population and provide constructive suggestions for practice and policy.
The research project, led by the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) in collaboration with NUS NAI, aims to investigate suicide trends in Singapore among the overall population. The study utilises information on suicide deaths from the Coroner’s Court for analysis. Through the research, SOS aims to provide an update on the Singapore suicide landscape within the last decade. Findings may also be used as a basis for continued improvement of local suicide prevention and intervention efforts.
This research led by Co-Directors, A/P Chia Ngee Choon and A/P Corinne Ghoh, aims to 1) compare how savings incentives with different match rates affect parents' savings attitudes and behaviour and 2) investigate which behavioral motives and income transfer mechanisms will better nudge people to save for their child. The research will test policy interventions and community involvement to encourage savings early in life, and inform stakeholders and policymakers on designs of an asset-based social protection for the young and vulnerable. This research is funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Social Service Research Council (SSRC).
Community Involvements
From 2017 to 2019, The NUS Next Age Institute in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis(WUSTL), introduced a new educational and training initiative to develop Singapore's curriculum on Financial Capability and Asset Building (FCAB). The FCAB initiative sought to equip professional social workers with FCAB knowledge and skills to be integrated as part of social work practice, providing low-income and disadvantaged Singaporeans with guidance on household financial matters and access to appropriate services. The FCAB project was funded by Citi Foundation and was supported by the Ministry of Social and Family Development, National Council of Social Service, Singapore Association of Social Workers and the Institute for Financial Literacy (MoneySense- Singapore Polytechnic). The training programme is now rolled out by the Department of Social Work, Continuing Professional Education (CPE) for social workers and offered as a module for NUS Social Work Undergraduates.
Having successfully adapted, pilot tested and refined the FCAB Training Curriculum for social workers, NAI has embarked on developing a SG FCAB-Frontline (FCAB-Frontline) Training Curriculum in 2022. FCAB-Frontline training is targeted at frontline staff and volunteers working with low-income clients. The project continues to be funded by Citi Foundation and has the support of Ministry of Social and Family Development, Ministry of Manpower, Singapore Prison Service, MENDAKI, Institute for Financial Literacy (MoneySense- Singapore Polytechnic) as well as community and social service agencies.
How can Singapore and the United States increase supportive community care and minimise institutional care for older adults? Launch of Next Age Institute cum Inaugural Conference on Older Adults in Community: Capacities and Engagement for Ageing-in-Place held at NUS, February 23-24, 2015.
More than 250 policy makers, academics, students, and healthcare and social service providers attended this conference. Experts and leading gerontologists from Asia and the United States discussed issues related to ageing in place, including family care-giving, social support and social services, care environment and social engagement of older adults.
Conference proceedings were published in a special issue of Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development.
The symposium “Advancing Group Work Approaches to Enhance Lives – The Intersection of Theory, Practice and Efficacy” jointly organised by the National University of Singapore (NUS), The Next Age Institute (NAI) and the Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW), was successfully concluded on 26 January 2021. The 5-day virtual symposium which ran from 9am to 11.30am on 20, 21, 22 , 25 and 26 January 2021 attracted some 478 participants who registered for the event. The participants included social workers, counsellors, youth workers, students and academics.
At the opening address, Associate Professor Corinne Ghoh, Steering Committee Member of NAI, highlighted how the symposium would enable participants to enhance their knowledge on the fundamentals of groupwork and gain insights on development in practice on the use of narrative therapy, non-deliberative and activity-based group work across different clientele groups. Associate Professor Ghoh expressed her appreciation to Professor Barbara Muskat, President of International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG ) for her support and participation in the symposium. The linkages with IASWG would deepen professional exchange of knowledge and development in groupwork practice in Singapore.
Over the five days, participants learnt the use of guidelines, standards, ethical considerations and evaluation in group work practice and how specific approaches like narrative therapy, non-deliberative and activity-based group work were applied across different clientele groups. The blend of overseas and local speakers had enriched the learning of how groupwork approaches could be contextualised in Singapore to enhance lives of the vulnerable. The symposium concluded with a panel discussion comprising local and overseas experts, on how practitioners can innovate the use of groupwork approaches in local practice, the need for social workers to enhance their knowledge and skills in groupwork, the need for supervision in conducting groupwork and the support from the leaders of organisations to embrace groupwork as a method in practice. The active exchange of ideas between panel members and participants on rethinking and envisioning groupwork practice as a method to enhance lives of the vulnerable in our society was indeed enriching.
The symposium was closed with a call to action by Ms Long Chey May, President of the Singapore Association of Social Workers. In her closing address, Ms Long encouraged social workers to continue to break new boundaries, innovate and create new ways of engaging individuals in need through group approaches. She invited practitioners to use the “S.A.S.W” platform to advance groupwork practice. She reiterated the need to :
S: Set standards and support starts ups
A: Advocate for causes and advance knowledge
S: Seek support from peers and share best practices
W: Working together with clients, caregivers, and community to advance groupwork to enhance lives.
The symposium has indeed contributed to building new knowledge in the use of groupwork approaches and in inspiring practitioners to innovate and move to greater heights to enhance lives of the vulnerable in Singapore.
Please download the slides for the symposium below;
Day 1 - Advancing Knowledge & Practice
Day 2 - Power of Stories in Mental Health Resilience
Day 3 - ABC of Group Work with Older Persons
Day 4 - Empowering Persons with Disabilities and Their Families
Day 5 - Expanding Group Work Boundaries
COVID-19 has upended our lives, and irrefutably impacted the way we function as a profession. Some changes and shifts may be temporary, but others, possibly here to stay. The webinar series for medical social workers provided valuable opportunities for health social workers to come together to share their practices as they undertook surmountable tasks of delivering services to meet critical needs of clients, innovate care delivery and rethink social work practice in a pandemic situation. 4 webinars were held between June and August 2020 with key topics focusing on innovation, ethics, leadership and futurology. More than 290 participants from the health and community social work field, academics, students and government institutions registered for the webinars.
This is possibly the first publication on social work practice in COVID-19 in Singapore. Please click here to download the publication for the webinar series.