From Bedside To Public Square: Illness Narratives, Advocacy And Public Policy

Date: 23 October, Friday | Time: 10:30 - 12:00 | Venue: Academia Room, L1-S3

Speakers: Prof May Lwin, Asst Prof Rayner Tan, Mr David Gan & Ms Melissa Lim
Moderators: Assoc Prof Mok Yee Hui & Asst Prof Victoria Ekstrom

Programme Description:

Presentation by Asst Prof Rayner Tan & Mr David Gan

Beyond 'Drug Addict': Narratives of Recovery through Research and Poetry

What becomes visible when we look beyond the label "drug addict" to the person whose life it attempts to contain?

This presentation brings together public health research, lived experience, and poetry to explore dimensions of addiction and recovery that extend beyond biomedical and behavioural frameworks. Through a dialogue between empirical research, personal narrative, and poetic inquiry, we examine the tensions between public understandings of addiction and the lived realities of those who experience it, including the intersecting experiences of stigma, recovery, and LGBTQ+ identity.

Learning Outcomes:

An understanding of the myriad of factors that shape risks of substance dependance
An appreciation of how trauma, life-course, family systems and intersectionality shape narratives of substance use and dependance
An affective or emotional shift that results from poetic transcription as a participatory, ethical and methodological commitment to platforming patient narratives

Presentation by Ms Melissa Lim

Advocacy and Care for People Living with Brain Tumours

Daily struggles of people living with brain tumours in Singapore and Asia Pacific, and the advocacy and care that matter.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the unique challenges based by brain tumour patients and caregivers at every stage of their journey from Diagnosis, Treatment, Rehabilitation to Survival.
Appreciate the mission and works of Brain Tumour Society (Singapore) in meeting the gaps in local healthcare for brain tumour patients and caregivers.
Perceive how struggles are compounded in the developing countries in Asia Pacific and why having an Alliance is important to advance diagnosis, treatment and survival not just for Singapore but the region.

Presentation by Prof May Lwin

Whose Voice Matters? Companions and Culture in Older Adult Consultations

This talk focuses on clinical communication’s complex landscape with older adults in multicultural Singapore. To map these shifting dynamics, our research investigates the intersection of patient profiles and physician communication styles across medical encounters. By capturing the lived challenges of patients, companions, and doctors, our mixed-methods approach identifies distinct categories of elderly patients and highlights how third parties can alter the relational fabric of consultation. These insights provide a critical framework for cultivating culturally responsive, empathetic communication practices in multicultural medical settings.

Format:

3 presentations (25 min x 3)
Q&A (15 min)