PhD Fellows

Kunshan Goh

Beneficiary Placement:

Amsterdam University Medical Centres

PhD Topic:

Evidence-based co-creation of the urban environment together with youth

Bio:

I was born in Singapore and have lived in Belgium since 2016. I remember being curious and interested in health-related books since a child, which I often picked off the family bookshelf to read. Unsurprisingly, I chose to enter the field of healthcare and pursued occupational therapy (BSc), a profession which stresses on viewing health as holistic and multi-dimensional, criss-crossing biomedicine and social science. Having practiced as an OT for almost 10 years in Singapore, I am indebted to countless individuals who helped me grow as a person by allowing me to be part of their recovery journeys, and past colleagues who mentored me.

The desire to broaden my worldview led to my move to Europe, where I completed a MSc in Social-cultural anthropology at KU Leuven and an advanced MSc in Global health at Ghent University. Health continued to be central to my pursuits as I sharpened my research skills on the topics of disability culture and sexual reproductive health of young persons. I believe in the importance of trans-disciplinarity, stakeholders involvement, and using innovative methods when solving complex health issues.

From September 2021, I will join Amsterdam University Medical Centers’ Child & Adolescent Public Health research group as a PhD fellow.

I am absolutely delighted for this opportunity to be part of Health CASCADE, and am especially excited by the upcoming prospect of deep-diving into the concepts and methods of co-creation for public health. As a participatory approach, I regard co-creation not only as a collaborative tool, but also as a means of empowering people to exercise agency in shaping determinants affecting their health. My role in this project is to apply evidence-based methods and principles of co-creation into designing activity-friendly urban environments with youth and other stakeholders in Amsterdam. This aspect of working with diverse groups energizes me, and I anticipate rewarding exchanges and collaborations with young people, urban planners, architects, academics and local NGOs.

I also look forward to meeting and working closely with the other 14 early stage researchers (ESRs) in the coming years, as well as playing an active part in this vibrant and supportive co-creation for health research network. I am confident that our common goal of developing and evidencing this innovative research method of co-creation in health will eventually positively transform primary health and promote equitable research partnerships.

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