Academic Research

HealthServe welcomes students from tertiary academic institutions, both locally and overseas, to carry out research on vulnerable groups, communities and social structures with us. The attachment stretches between 3 – 6 months, depending on the nature of the research project.

Applied Research

The Health Community Service and Wellness Research project seeks to identify the state of health and well-being (including the physical and psychological aspects) of low-wage migrant workers (both male and female) living in a dormitory. Apart from evaluating the workers' responses to their health conditions, the research project also aims to understand the life-challenging areas that make workers turn to harmful habits such as drinking, gambling and seeking sexual services. The result of the study will serve as a foundation for HealthServe to design migrant health programmes that will facilitate better integration into Singapore.

We are looking for volunteers who can spend one or two evenings, 2-3 hours time slot, to conduct interviews with the dormitory residents.

Profile of a good interviewer:

a. Concern for migrant workers’ welfare

b. Ability to feel at ease and to put others at ease

c. Ability to project unconditional respect and acceptance of others

d. Ability to convey warmth and empathy

e. Good verbal (Mandarin, Tamil, Telegu, Bengali and Thai) and interpersonal skills

f. Good listening skills

g. Ability to project enthusiasm and genuine interest in others

h. Awareness of own non-verbal reactions, using body language to project positive response

i. Ability to interprete and explore what people say in light of the research problem, versus rote response

Suitable volunteers will be trained in interview skills in February 2009.