Agape Professorship in Population Health

Clinical Professor Ng Chirk Jenn

Agape Professorship in Population Health, January 2024 – Current

Director, Digital Health Research, SingHealth Duke-NUS Family Medicine Academic Clinical Programme 

Deputy Director, Research, SingHealth Polyclinics

Senior Consultant, SingHealth Polyclinics

Clinical Professor, Health Services and Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School

The Agape Professorship in Population Health was established to support research interests that focus on improving the health of the population in Singapore, with preference given to research that has a profound impact on serving the vulnerable in the community. The appointment of Professor Ng for this Distinguished Professorship recognises his outstanding research work on the vulnerable community. He will continue to propel research and education to enable generations to continue leading healthy and fulfilling lives.

Outstanding Research Contributions 

Professor Ng is an active researcher. He is currently leading the S$3.5 million strategic hire grant for the EmPaTHy Programme and has been PI for several international and national grants totalling close to S$1 million. Professor Ng’s past credentials include being the Editor-in-Chief of the Malaysian Family Physician, the Deputy Chair of the University of Malaya Medical Centre Medical Research Ethics Committee and the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, before he relocated to Singapore. He still serves as an advisor to several editorial boards. 

Serving the Vulnerable in the Community

His academic work focuses on populations with vulnerability, specifically patients with low health literacy, psychosocial issues and those with difficulty in accessing care. Through research, he is able to identify populations with low health literacy and develop tools and interventions that are tailored to their level of literacy. He is particularly interested in discerning the health-seeking behaviour of different populations, and whether gender, culture and health literacy can influence health beliefs and behaviours in vulnerable populations. 

Professor Ng collaborates widely with researchers, clinicians and non-governmental organisations to explore population and patient needs and develop tailored interventions that cover cancer (breast and prostate cancers), palliative care, rehabilitation medicine (spinal cord injuries), chronic diseases (diabetes), and infectious diseases (HIV and leprosy). He uses technology to reach out to populations who are inaccessible to healthcare and developed a COVID-19 monitoring system (CoSMoS) during the initial phase of the pandemic to monitor patients’ symptoms remotely. 

Currently, Professor Ng is evaluating the implementation of a programme (PACE-It) targeting patients with complex health and social needs. The programme will be delivered by a team of primary care professionals (doctors, nurses, social workers) and community care workers (community nurses, voluntary welfare organisations). This study aims to improve patients’ health outcomes and healthcare utilisation. It also seeks to explore how the team can work together to support patients and caregivers with high needs and care burdens. His study will ensure seamless integration of care across settings using technology.