Environments

How does the presence of disability enable more inclusive health research environments?

A wide ramp with tactile floor markers at an accessible overhead bridge along the Ayer Rajah Expressway in Singapore. The ramp leads to a lift that goes up and down the overhead bridge. Attached to the ramp's railing are a sign prohibiting riding, and another sign showing a wheelchair-user with an arrow pointing down the ramp. In the image background are the staircase of the overhead bridge and a bus stop.
A wide ramp with tactile floor markers at an accessible overhead bridge along the Ayer Rajah Expressway in Singapore.
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Leads: Meng Ee Wong and Kerri Heng (National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Prof Meng Ee Wong and Kerri Heng are researching according to the project Phase on Environments, with a focus on the university environment as an introductory examination on the presence of disability and health in higher education. This provides an opportunity to understand the extent of disability representation, participation and support. 
 
We begin this investigation first by analysing Singapore's six autonomous university websites and their related documents for disability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Next, we seek to analyze the job advertisements put out by these universities for mentions of DEI to understand how far higher education institutions include DEI practices as a means to gauge inclusion of disability and health. Following, we will review the literature on Singapore's disability and health research landscape. 
 
With a clearer understanding of where Singapore is positioned in terms of DEI, disability, and health, we will examine the partner countries to understand the broader context through qualitative interviews across the five countries, studying the experiences of academic and non-academic university stakeholders.
 

Phase 4 Environments Project Update

Prof Meng Ee Wong and Kerri Heng are researching according to the Singapore project (Phase 4) on Environments, with their primary research focus centered on disability and research environments, and a secondary emphasis on health & health research. The team is addressing the research question: How does the presence of disability enable more inclusive (health) research environments?

Manuscripts in progress

The team is currently working on three desktop research manuscripts in the following order: 1) How disability, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are reflected on the websites of Singapore's six autonomous universities, 2) How disability and DEI are reflected on the job advertisements posted on the websites of Singapore's six autonomous universities, and 3) A critical literature review of Singapore's disability and health research landscape. Data collection (documentation of webpages and job advertisements) for the two DEI manuscripts was completed between May and August 2025. The team is currently in the analysis and manuscript writing stages for these two papers, with the manuscript on DEI as reflected on local autonomous university websites being actively written and targeted for submission to a journal with a focus on diversity or disability in higher education. Concurrently, they are reading journal articles and academic books for the Critical Literature Review and planning to organise the paper according to the models of disability adopted by various papers and books in the literature discussing disability and health in Singapore.

Ethics Application and Data Collection Plans

On top of working on the three aforementioned manuscripts, the team has submitted the Institutional Review Board (IRB) application to gain approval for starting in-depth interviews in answer to the research question for Phase 4 on Environments; targeting to commence these in-depth interviews in January 2026. The study intends to conduct up to 300 online in-depth interviews with a) academic or non-academic staff working in universities, and/or b) researchers with disabilities working in academia or the community. 

Conference Presentations and Knowledge Exchange

The team has maintained an active presence at national and international conferences in the second half of 2025. 

Prof Wong delivered keynote addresses and presentations at multiple venues including: 

  • Vision Rehabilitation Conference 2025 organized by the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped in August on the topic: Stigma Against the Blind and how to Overcome it.
  • Re: Define Success Conference 2025 co-organized by the Singapore University of Social Sciences and University of Leeds in September on the topic: Rethinking Merit through the Lens of Disabled Persons Navigating VUCA Environments
  • Education Exchange Series organized by the National Library Board and National Institute of Education in November on the topic: No Learner Left Behind: Growing an Inclusive Singapore Together.  
  • NUS SSR-TOUCH Conference on Sustained Well-Being in Future-Ready Communities in November with the topic: Layering Technology to Reframe Merit: A Disability-Inclusive Vision for Future-Ready Communities.
  • Moderated public forum entitled: Tech Talks: Using Technology to Create Inclusive Spaces at the Singapore Writer's Festival in conjunction with Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology. 

In October, together with Singapore disability scholar Assistant Professor Rachel Chen from Linguistics and Multilingual Studies at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Kerri presented at the Singapore Health & Biomedical Congress 2025. This presentation, titled "Communicating with Patients with Disabilities," was part of the NTU Medical Humanities Satellite Conference and received positive audience engagement. In September and October, Kerri also gave guest lectures at an NTU Sociology Deviance and Society module, and the National University of Singapore’s Master’s in Urban Planning (NUS MUP) module Qualitative Research for Urban Planning. In these guest lectures, she shared about her Bachelor’s and Master’s research on disability, identity, employment, and education, and also offered insights into improving NUS MUP students’ final research projects on urban planning and Singapore society. 

Looking ahead, the team plans to submit abstracts for the National Institute of Education Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference 2026.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The project benefits from extensive collaborative networks both locally and internationally. Prof Wong is collaborating with Prof Victor Zhuang and colleagues on research examining the visually impaired community in Singapore, with data collection scheduled to begin in 2026, as well as on understanding disability through Singapore census data analysis. Kerri is working with the Disability Matters Research Associates and Sandeep Singh on a joint position paper on disability and Open Data – she will be writing about the impact of Artificial Intelligence on Open Data. Kerri is also working with disability scholars Rachel Chen from Singapore and Oriane Pierres from Switzerland on research and contributions to Disability Dialogues. 

The team has held a productive meeting with Max Soh from the Disabled People's Association (DPA) and will explore opportunities for deeper collaborations.

Future collaborations under consideration include Prof Wong potentially working to publish two book chapters with Rainbow Centre Singapore on vocational preparation for persons with developmental disabilities as well as with Prof Mika Kataoka from the University of Kagoshima on self-advocacy training for students with developmental disabilities.

Upcoming Major Events

Together with Dan Goodley and Rebecca Lawthom, Prof Wong and Kerri will also be hosting the Disability Matters Spring Institute 2026 in Singapore. Prof Wong and Kerri are also excited to contribute as part of the planning committee for the first Disability Matters international conference, which will be held in Singapore from 28 September to 2 October 2026. 

Recent Appointment

Prof Wong was recently appointed as Special Educational Needs-Accessibility Coordinator at NIE, NTU. He will oversee the needs of students with SEN.

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