IPUR is awarding two new seed grant projects to support the institute’s ongoing efforts to achieve translational impact. The award encourages high-quality competition for future grant calls as well as providing input to refine the scope of future grant calls.
The first project led by Asst Prof Seow Wei Jie from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, aims to understand the cardiorespiratory health impact of secondhand smoke exposure in multi-unit housing in Singapore. Titled “Cardiorespiratory Health Impact of Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Residents’ Knowledge, Attitude and Belief on Smoke-free Policy in Multiunit Housing in Singapore”, this study will be the foundational work to push for a smoke-free policy in MUH in Singapore, especially in housing estates with vulnerable members of the population such as the elderly.
The second project focuses on how patients’ financial constraints affect their decision-making about medical treatments, namely preference between an aggressive treatment and a conservative treatment. It is led by Prof Leonard Lee and collaborators from the University of Melbourne. This research aims to examine the psychological biases involved in a treatment decision and to help financially vulnerable individuals make more judicious medical decisions. The research also aims to understand why financially vulnerable populations tend to opt for aggressive treatments.
