Social Determinants of Health and Illness

Social Determinants and Qualitative Methods

Being a recipient of The Courage Fund Infectious Disease (PhD) scholarship has spurred my interest in understanding the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases, beyond HIV and other STI, from a socio-behavioral perspective. Thanks to my colleagues and the institutions that I have been affiliated with, I have had the opportunity to work on other infectious diseases and respiratory infections such as COVID-19 and Tuberculosis. I draw on my research on stigma, and a social determinants of health lens to better understand the spread of infectious diseases.

I am also passionate about qualitative research, and the application of sociological approaches to generating insight about phenomena in health. To this end, I have taught and engaged in ethnographic and observational approaches in public health, and provided expertise on projects that have involved mixed-methods approaches and qualitative in-depth interviews or focus group discussions.

Ongoing/Upcoming Projects:

  • The use of WhatsApp Focus Groups for COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes and perceptions among Singaporeans (Co-Investigator)

  • Community-based participatory research Sex worker risks and vulnerabilities in Singapore: A natural experiment to establish frameworks for HIV/STIs prevention in a post-COVID-19 era

Photo by Diogo Nunes on Unsplash

Relevant Publications in Peer Reviewed Journals

  1. Lim M. J.*, Neo P. H., Ong S.E., Tan R. K. J. (In press). A qualitative study: Who is responsible for social responsibility in a pandemic? Journal of Health and Social Sciences.

  2. Tan R. K. J.*, Phua K., Tan A., Gan D. C. G., Ho L. P., Ong E. J., See M. T. (2021). Exploring the role of trauma in underpinning sexualised drug use (‘chemsex’) among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in Singapore. International Journal of Drug Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103333

  3. Tan R. K. J.*, Ho V., Sherqueshaa S., Dee W., Lim M. J., Lo J. J., Teo A. K. J., O’Hara C. A., Ong C., Ching A. H., Wong M. L. (In press). The Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the Health and Social Needs of Sex Workers in Singapore. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-01951-8

  4. Wai K. S., Khine K. W. Y., Lim J. M., Neo P. H. M., Tan R. K. J., Ong S. E.* (2021). Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore: common threads, divergences, and lessons learned in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2021.1875693

  5. Tan Y.*, Kaur N., Ye A. J., Zhang Y., Zheng J. L. X., Tan R. K. J., Ho L. P., Chen M. I., Wong M. L., Wong C. S., Yap P. (2021). Perceptions of a HIV self-testing intervention and its potential role in addressing the barriers to HIV testing amongst at-risk heterosexual men: a qualitative analysis from Singapore. Sexually Transmitted Infections. https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2020-054773

  6. Tan R. K. J.*, Chan Y. Y., Ibrahim M. A., Ho L. P., Lim O., Choong B., Chio M. T., Chen M. I., Wong C. S. (2020). Potential interactions between the pathways to diagnosis of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV self-testing: Insights from a qualitative study of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Sexually Transmitted Infections. https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2020-054623

  7. Teo, A. K. J.*, Tan R. K. J., Prem K. (2020). Concealment of potential exposure to COVID-19 and its impact on outbreak control: lessons from the HIV response. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0449

  8. Teo A. K. J.*, Tan R. K. J., Smyth C., Soltan V., Eng S., Ork C., Sok N., Tuot S., Hsu L. Y., Yi S. (2020). Characterizing and measuring tuberculosis stigma in the community: a mixed-methods study in Cambodia. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofaa422.

  9. Lim M. J., Tan R. K. J., Chan J. K. W. (2020). “Do I need to or do I want to?” A typology of HIV status disclosure among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. AIDS Care: AIDS Impact 2019 Special Issue. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2020.1742865.

  10. Tan R. K. J.*, Kaur N., Chen M. I., Wong C. S. (2020). Individual, interpersonal, and situational factors influencing HIV and other STI risk perception among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: a qualitative study. AIDS Care. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2020.1734176.

  11. Tan R. K. J.*, Lim M. J., Chan J. K. W. (2020). “Not a walking piece of meat with disease”: meanings of becoming undetectable among HIV-positive gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in the U=U era. AIDS Care. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2019.1668534.

  12. Tan R. K. J., Kaur N., Chen M. I.*, Wong C. S. (2019). Developing a typology of HIV/STI testing patterns among gay, bisexual, and queer men: a framework to guide interventions. Qualitative Health Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319870174        

  13. Tan R. K. J.*, Wong C. S. (2019). Mobilizing civil society for the HIV treatment cascade: a global analysis on democracy and its association with people living with HIV who know their status. Journal of the International AIDS Society. https://doi.org/10.1002/jia2.25374

  14. Tan R. K. J.*, Kaur N., P. A. Kumar, Tay E., Leong A., Wong C. S. (2019). Clinics as spaces of costly disclosure: HIV/STI testing and anticipated stigma among gay, bisexual and queer men. Culture, Health and Sexuality. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2019.1596313

  15. Wong C. S.*, Kumar P. A., Wong C. M., Choong B. C. H., Lim O., Chan Y. Y., Ibrahim M. A., Chio M. T., Tan R. K. J., Chen M. I. (2019). Acceptability of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and opinions on PrEP service delivery among men who have sex with men in Singapore: a qualitative study. AIDS Education and Prevention. https://doi.org/10.1521/aeap.2019.31.2.152

  16. Tan R. K. J., Wong C. M., Chen M. I.*, Chan Y. Y., Ibrahim M. A., Lim O. Z., Chio M. T., Wong C. S., Chan R. K. W., Chua L. J., Choong B. C. H. (2018). Chemsex among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Singapore and the challenges ahead: a qualitative study. International Journal of Drug Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.10.002

*Corresponding Author