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Programme Speakers

Breakout Session 1 | Social Prescribing as an Innovative Care Model

David Robinson.png
​ Prof David ROBINSON
 Consultant Geriatrician,
 St James's Hospital, Ireland & 
 Clinical Associate Professor,
 Trinity
College Dublin

Professor David ROBINSON is a consultant physician at St James's Hospital where he is Director of the Memory Clinic. He is a clinical associate professor in the department of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College, Dublin. He is co-chair of the All Ireland Social Prescribing Network, and with colleagues at St James's Hospital founded LAMP - the Local Asset Mapping Project. This is Ireland's first hospital-based social prescribing project with a link worker supported by a community-generated online census of assets for enhanced digital signposting. LAMP supports clinics for older people and many of the clients have dementia.

Professor Robinson has been an invited speaker to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Law Society of Ireland and Bealtaine, an annual festival celebrating creativity as we age. 

Topic 1 | Social Prescribing in a Hospital Setting - the Local Asset Mapping Project (LAMP)



  Dr KAO Sovandara
  Department of Psychology,
  Faculty of Social Science
  and Humanities,
  Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP)










  Dr KHANN Sareth
  Department of Psychology,
  Faculty of Social Science
  and Humanities,
  Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP)

Dr KAO Sovandara is a faculty member at Psychology Deparment of the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Internationally, he has been appointed as a presenter in the international conference in South Africa and Thailand, Hong Kong as well as international exchange program with SINO-AMERICAN FAMILY THERAPY INSTITUTE in Shanghai, China.

Since 2010, Dr Kao has worked with various national and international organizations, including department of Psychology, GIZ (Cambodia). Unicef Cambodia, and World Health Organization (WHO). In the recent years, Dr. Kao was actively involved in several quantitative research projects and provided technical advice for national and international NGOs. His research has been funded by UNICEF Cambodia, Nuffic Nederland, GIZ, United board, Marrynol, SEATCA and WHO Cambodia.

In these recent years, Dr Kao's academic papers have been published in international journals including the International Journal Mental Health, Asia Journal of Public Health, The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, Transcultural Psychiatry.


Dr KHANN Sareth is a Master Program Coordinator in Clinical and Counselling Psychology at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He is a full-time faculty member in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Department of Psychology and a Lecturer of Psychology.

Doctor Khann Sareth has been involved in research, education and clinical treatment related to mental distress for over 20 years.

He has published several articles related clinical psychology in in the international journals. His published works focus on mental health with current projects exploring the relationship among culturally specific syndromes, depression, anxiety, PTSD and functional impairment in Cambodian young adults.

Topic 2 | Implementing Social Prescribing in Cambodia 











  Prof TAN 
Maw Pin
  Consultant Geriatrician, 
  Department of Medicine, 
  University of Malaya
 Medical Centre

Professor TAN Maw Pin is Professor in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Malaya. She received her undergraduate and basic postgraduate training in Nottingham, United Kingdom and her geriatric medicine training in Newcastle upon Tyne. She worked briefly as a consultant geriatrician at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and Freeman Hospital before returning home to Malaysia. She is the Principal Investigator of the Transforming Cognitive Frailty into Later Life Self-Sufficiency (AGELESS) programme which is funded by a Ministry of Higher Education Long Term Research Grant Scheme. 

Prof Tan is also the President of the Malaysian Society of Geriatric Medicine and the Honorary General Secretary of the College of Physicians of Malaysia. She is founding director the University of Malaya spin-off, ACT4Health Pte Ltd Bhd, and as Medical Director of the Genting Dementia Day Care Centre and Managed Care Services Sdn Bhd. Professor Tan works closely with local community groups in her research has been involved in the establishment of a local Social Connect Group through participatory action research. 

Topic 3 | Establishing Partnerships with Community – A Malaysian Perspective


  Ms Siân SLADE
  Nossal Institute for Global  Health, 
  Melbourne School of Population 
  and Global Health,
  University of  Melbourne, Australia 

​Ms Siân SLADE is a UK-trained pharmacist, MPH, MBA, GAICD qualified. With a passion for enabling patient-centred health systems globally, Siân is researching the mechanisms enabling patients to navigate their healthcare engaged as part of an international doctoral thesis at the Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne. Siân is co-travelling her research with national and international policy and advocacy work in navigation "Mind the Gap: #NavigatingHealth".

With formative career years in retail and hospital pharmacy, Siân joined the pharmaceutical industry in the 1990s and has spent the past 25 years in leadership roles in research, development and commercialisation based out of the UK, France, the USA and Australia. Recent roles include leading global teams to design, develop and deliver regional and global capabilities in content, knowledge and medical information. Siân has written in public and academic literature on health navigation and social prescribing as well as a book chapter on knowledge velocity based on leading change globally in the pharmaceutical industry. Siân is a Director of the Leukaemia Foundation of Australia, a Director of LiverWELL and past Chair of the Precision Health Community of Practice at the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, Globally, Siân sits on the Global Social Prescribing Network. 

Topic 4 | The Australian Experience in Social Prescribing



 Prof Naoki KONDO
 MD, PhD, Social Epidemiology,
 Graduate School of Medicine and
 School of Public Health, Kyoto University




Naoki KONDO has been Professor of Social Epidemiology at the Department of Social Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Kyoto University, since September 2020. His primary research themes are social determinants of health (SDH) and the measures to address SDH-related issues of health inequality. He is the vice chief investigator of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) Initiative, which has led a cohort study following up more than 200,000 older adults nationwide in Japan.

JAGES initiative has investigated the community and social environments that promote healthy and equitable longevity. His recent studies focus on how to address health inequality in community settings, conducting intervention studies with local and central governments, as well as private companies and healthcare institutions.

He is a leading researcher and advocate of social prescribing in Japan and has spoken out as a government commissioner and researcher. Professor Kondo ISAE member of Clinical Consortium on Health Ageing and a core member of the Global Network on Long-term Care, World Health Organization. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as the Lancet, BMJ, Int J Epidemiology, etc. Currently he is the deputy Editor-in Chielf of the Journal of Epidemiology.

Topic 5 | Sustainability of Social Prescribing Actions in Japan

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  Dr Michael WONG
  Group Director,
  Regional Health System, SingHealth

Dr Michael WONG is the Group Director of the Regional Health System, SingHealth, overseeing the population health strategic direction of SingHealth RHS with its various sites, domains and enabler directors.

Dr Wong practices Family Medicine in Punggol Polyclinic, and has interest in Chronic Disease Management, Diabetes Care, Community Geriatric Care and Preventive Health.

Dr Wong has been active in policy planning and execution in regional health and community space. He is fully committed to building Communities of Care in SingHealth RHS, translating policies to programmes and services, impacting families and helping individuals to Keep Well, Get Well and Live Well.

Topic 6 | Social Prescribing in Healthier SG - The SingHealth Regional Health System Approach

Breakout Session 2 | Beyond Prescriptions - Health and Social Integration


  Mrs Rebecca CHOY YUNG
  Founder & Chair,
  Golden Age Foundation, Hong Kong 


Mrs Rebecca CHOY YUNG is a business entrepreneur turned serial social entrepreneur. Rebecca was a pioneer of the convention and exhibition industry in Hong Kong, China, Asia and Europe since the early 1980s. Since changing her career path over a decade ago, Rebecca has devoted her full effort to promoting social innovation and social entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and Greater China, especially in orchestrating movements with social missions to bring about positive change.

Rebecca is the Founder and Chair of Golden Age Foundation, a multi-sector platform that using social and business innovations to address the challenges posed by the ageing population, fostering the development of smart ageing cities and empowering Golden Agers (people 45+) as a new force of social change.

Rebecca is also the Chair of Social Enterprise Summit; Co-Founder & Vice-Chair of Education for Good; Co-Founder & Convener of Ednovators, Co-Founder of Dream Impact Hong Kong and B Lab (HK & Macau). She acts as Advisor and Executive Members of a number of NGOs and social enterprises, including Our Hong Kong Foundation, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Active Ageing Institute), etc. She is also a writer and a radio programme host. She was awarded the GBA Outstanding Caring Women Entrepreneur Award 2022 and Hong Kong Outstanding Active Ageing Women Award in 2021.

Topic 1 | Ageing Well in the Community



  Dr CHONG Poh Heng
  Medical Director,
  HCA Hospice Limited

Dr CHONG Poh Heng is the Medical Director of HCA Hospice Limited and Vice Chair of the Singapore Hospice Council. He is dually trained in adult and paediatric palliative medicine. His professional interests include advocacy for equitable access to palliative care for all. He was the adult category winner of the Leader of Good award at the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards ceremony in 2021. His research areas include health service design and evaluation as well as holistic care of children and young adults with life shortening illness. 

Topic 2 | Patient Engagement at the End-of-Life




  Ms LONG Chey May
  Director, Professional Practice    Development, Office Of The Director-    General Of Social Welfare (ODGSW), 
  Ministry of Social
  and Family Development


Ms LONG Chey May is currently the Director, Professional Practice Development at the Office of the Director-General of Social Welfare, Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). The Office oversees the professional capabilities of social service professionals.  Chey May has more than 35 years of experience in the social and health sectors and has been supportive of professional activities such as the Social Work Accreditation and Advisory Board (SWAAB). Chey May is a Master Trainer for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and was the co-chairperson of the National Social Work Competency Steering Committee (2015) and contributed to the Social Service SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce (STT) and Skills Framework development for Social Services.

Chey May started her career as a Counsellor in the Singapore Armed Forces and moved on to be the Head of the Medical Social Services Department / Senior Principal Medical Social Worker in the Singapore General Hospital.  She was the Group Chief Patient Officer at NUHS prior to her appointment at MSF. 

Chey May is well known in the social work community, having served as President of the Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) from 2017 to 2021.  She was awarded the Outstanding Social Worker Award in 2008.

Topic 3 Integrating Social Prescribing into Community Care Programmes


   A/Prof LEE Kheng Hock
  Deputy CEO (Education and
  Community Partnership),
  SingHealth Community Hospitals


Associate Professor LEE Kheng Hock set up the first hospital-based family medicine department in Singapore in 2006. He is working towards creating a sustainable healthcare system for a rapidly ageing population. His work is validated by two landmark randomised control studies that proved the effectiveness of transitional care services in reducing unnecessary hospital utilisation.

In 2011, he was also appointed as the Medical Director of Bright Vision Hospital and had led the team to transform the hospital into Singapore’s first dedicated COVID-19 community isolation facility. 

Assoc Prof Lee also teaches Family Medicine at the Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore. He incorporates patient-centred care and care integration into the Family Medicine curriculum. In 2022, Assoc Prof Lee was appointed as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Education and Community Partnerships), SingHealth Community Hospitals and he currently oversees the clinical training of three community hospitals.


 Dr Yusrina Yusoff
 Associate Consultant,
 SingHealth Polyclinics

Dr Yusrina Yusoff graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine National University of Singapore and is an alumnus of the SingHealth Family Medicine Residency program. She is an Associate Consultant Family Physician with SingHealth Polyclinics, caring for patients in the primary care setting and a Clinical Instructor with Duke-NUS Medical School involved with education.

Topic 4 | Implementing Social Prescribing in SingHealth – Inpatient and Outpatient Settings

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 Dr Wong Loong Mun

 Chief, Care Integration &
 Operations Division &
 Customer Experience Department,
 Agency For Integrated Care

Dr Wong Loong Mun is the Chief, Care Integration and Operations Division & Customer Experience Department at Agency for Integrated Care.

Dr Wong Loong Mun holds a doctorate in social psychology. Under his portfolio, he oversees the referral management team, case management team and customer experience team. He has been in aged care field more than 19 years, having set up this new national referral management programme in 2001, previously known as Integrated Care Services (ICS).

Topic 5 | Challenges in Adapting Social Prescribing for Community Partners


Breakout Session 3
 | Competency Building and Workforce Optimisation

 Dr Justina TAN
 Director, Learning & Professional               Development, Institute for Adult 
 Learning (IAL), 
Singapore University
 of  Social Sciences (SUSS)


​Dr Justina TAN is the Director of the Learning and Professional Division in the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL), Singapore University of Social Sciences. She holds Doctor of Education (EdD) degrees from University College London, Institute of Education and Nanyang Technological University. She also has a MA from Columbia University, Teachers College, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University and Bachelor of Communication Studies (Hons) from Nanyang Technological University. 

Justina leads the teams in helping enterprises deepen workplace learning and engage in employee-driven innovation. She specialises in mentoring and coaching and done extensive work with organisations. She is also recognised for her mentoring and coaching expertise particularly in the education realm. She has also extensive experience in consulting and teaching in countries such as US, China, Bahrain, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Topic 1 | Building Competencies in the Intermediate and Long Term Care Sector through Adult Learning Principles



  Ms Alyssa Marion CHUA
  Medical Student,
  Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore


  Ms Michelle KO
  Medical Student,
  Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore


  Ms Pal SHAH
  Medical Student,
  Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore

​Ms Alyssa CHUA is a third-year medical student pursuing her M.D. at Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore. She completed her Bachelor of Arts (Architecture) with Honours at the National University of Singapore. She has a deep interest in health services research and integrated care delivery models with a unique passion for integrating elements of the Built environment with Medicine. 

Alyssa has been an active participant in student initiatives and research for social prescribing in Singapore and is dedicated to improving the lives of patients by championing their needs.





Ms Michelle KO is a final year student at Duke-NUS Medical School. She was President for the Population Health Student Interest Group from 2020 to 2022 and has previously been involved in international social prescribing initiatives such as the International Social Prescribing Student Framework Launch in 2021. 

Over the past decade, Michelle has gained much experience through her work with various communities like the elderly, terminally ill, persons with intellectual disability and migrant workers. Recognition for such initiatives have led to her being awarded the NUS Community Service Club colours award and long service award, as well as the Raffles Diploma for Community and Citizenship.
 

Ms Pal SHAH is a third-year medical student at Duke-NUS Medical School. She has a master’s in Global Health from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and a bachelor’s in Integrative Biology and Physiology from UCLA. She has served on the Population Health student interest group executive committee at the medical school and has been an active student participant in social prescribing activities since 2021. 

Pal's past research work has included the commercial and social determinants of metabolic disease and she remains passionate about addressing upstream social factors that lead to a decline in the quality of life. 



Mr ONG Wei Jie
Medical Student,
Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore


Mr Ong ​Wei Jie is currently a 4th year medical student at Duke-NUS medical school. He was on the exco of the Population Health Student Interest Group and is passionate about preventive health and community health, as well as care of young children.

Topic 2 | Advocacy of Social Prescribing in Medical Students

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 Ms Amy CHAN Lai Kwan
 Patient Activity Coordinator, 
 Sengkang Community Hospital 



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  Ms Caral GOH
  Patient Activity Coordinator, 
  Sengkang Community Hospital


​Ms Amy CHAN was awarded with Certificate of Health and Social Care Coordinator Cohort 2 Program by SingHealth and Ngee Ann Polytechnics in October 2022. She has completed the practicum in Sengkang Community Hospital in September 2022 covering Social Determinants of Health (SDOH ), PERMA,  Community Asset Mapping and Social Prescribing. She has also completed the Higher Certificate in Caregiving for Elderly and Disabilities by Singapore Caregiver Training Ltd with 3 months practicum in Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital. She is working as a Volunteer in Sengkang Community Hospital, Assisi Hospice and Covenant Evangelical Free Church. 



Ms Caral GOH has been an active volunteer with Bright Vision Community Hospital since 2014. Before Covid-19 situation, she spent about 3 days a week helping patients. One of her milestones includes introducing Rummi-0, a mind-stimulating and sensorial activity, which was subsequently introduced into two other Community Hospitals - Sengkang and Outram. She has recently completed her course and practicum on Health and Social Care. Currently, she is a Patient Activity Coordinator in Sengkang Community Hospital. 

Topic 3 | Our Learning Journey in Community Asset Mapping

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  Prof Janet Prvu BETTGER
  Professor and Chair,
  Department of Health and
  Rehabilitation Sciences,
  Temple University College
  of Public Health


​Professor Janet Prvu BETTGER is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in the College of Public Health and a Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, USA. She is the Director of Evidence to Impact in Aging Research and the Duke Roybal Center on Translational Research in Aging. For more than 20 years Dr. Bettger has been leading real world research aimed to integrate health care settings and health and social care. She has published extensively with clinical trials and implementation research in several countries all with an emphasis on improved access to high-value services that impact health, well-being and community participation. She is a Fellow of the American Heart Association and on the editorial boards for the journals, Stroke and Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Topic 4 | Rethinking workforce models to ensure equity, quality and sustainability for addressing unmet social needs


 Dr Felix GRADINGER

 Researcher-in-Residence 
 (Integrated Care), Plymouth Institute   of Health and Care Research (PIHR)   
 (Faculty of Health), University of   Plymouth, UK

Dr Felix GRADINGER is a Social Scientist at the University of Plymouth, UK, and a Researcher-in-Residence (RiR), permanently embedded from 2016-2022 in the Integrated Care System for Devon, where he and his fellow RiR Dr Julian Elston were co-producing with system-wide stakeholders, evaluation and research evidence around person-centered, coordinated care. This included implementation research on horizontal and vertical integration across the system and exploring impact of intermediate care services including social prescribing (link-workers and wellbeing coordinators, as part of multidisciplinary teams in community settings).

Felix is currently involved in five ongoing research, evaluation, and improvement projects across primary, acute, mental health, public health, children and adult social care settings. He has extensive experience in patient and public involvement, conducting action-based, participatory, ethnographic and mixed methods research. His most recent social prescribing article was recognised as 'Outstanding Paper' in the 2021 Emerald Literati Award, and he helped one of his Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners winning 'The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service' in 2021 (equivalent to an MBE, the highest awards given for life, to local voluntary groups in the UK).

Topic 5 | What is the impact of link workers or wellbeing coordinators on healthcare (within an Integrated Care System in the UK)