Centre for Health, Culture and Society (CHCS)

The Centre for Health, Culture and Society is a new interdisciplinary hub that brings together the humanities, arts, social sciences, design, and health practitioners to explore how people understand and experience health, illness, care, and wellbeing. Our mission is to improve health outcomes by integrating cultural insight, creativity, and evidence-based interdisciplinary research.

CHCS is grounded in the concept of the lifeworld, which recognises that people experience health and illness within social, cultural, and historical contexts. We step beyond biomedical models to study the stories, beliefs, practices, and environments that shape how communities think about health and how care is given and received.

CHCS will establish NTU as a regional leader in non-clinical, culturally informed health research. We aim to enhance the human experience of health and care through rigorous scholarship, creativity, cultural understanding, and powerful cross-sector partnerships.


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A. Four Pillars of the Centre

The Centre advances four major commitments:

  • Bridges: Building strong collaborations with hospitals, arts organisations, patient advocacy groups, and regional partners.
  • Testbeds: Encouraging intellectual risk-taking and innovative research methods, including the responsible use of artificial intelligence and digital tools.
  • Region: Developing reciprocal relationships across Asia to highlight underrepresented narratives of health and sickness.
  • People: Sustaining long-term career development for students, researchers, healthcare partners, and early-career scholars.

B. Scholarly Themes

CHCS supports both disciplinary excellence and genuinely cross-sector research. Our thematic strengths include:

  • Medical humanities
  • Health communication
  • Psychology and mental health
  • Creative arts and health
  • Disability studies
  • Medical sociology
  • Health economics
  • Information studies
  • Religion, spirituality, and wellness

The Centre has identified six rotating research focus areas: Digital, Pluralism, Public, System, Care, and Disability. Each focus area encourages collaborations across Schools and with hospitals, community partners, and arts institutions.


C. Programmes

CHCS is developing two major educational initiatives:

  1. Undergraduate Minor in Health, Culture and Society
    2. An enhanced version of the current Minor in Health and Society. Students will learn through interdisciplinary modules, collaborative projects, and partnerships with external organisations.

  2. Postgraduate Master of Arts in Medical Humanities
    3. A cross-disciplinary programme that prepares students and mid-career professionals for roles across Singapore’s growing care economy. The programme emphasises ethical reasoning, cultural competence, narrative analysis, and applied research.

D. Activities and Networks

  • Annual Medical Humanities Conference
  • Satellite conference at the Singapore Health and Biomedical Congress
  • Roundtables with the National Library Board
  • Seminars featuring international scholars and clinicians
  • Workshops for doctors and allied health professionals on communication, narrative medicine, and creative practice