Eng Kiong Yeoh is Professor of Public Health, Head of Division of Health System, Policy and Management, and Director of Centre for Health Systems and Policy Research at the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (School) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He was Director of the School from 2014 to 2020. His research is in health systems, services, and policy with an interest in applying systems thinking in studying how the complex components of health systems interact and interrelate to improve health.
He has a vast experience and knowledge in health systems research and in social and elderly services. Prof. Yeoh is currently the principal investigator of two commissioned studies (i) to investigate Hong Kong’s early detection, assessment, and response system to COVID-19 and (ii) to evaluate a new primary care initiative—an innovative district health system in Hong Kong. He is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Social Science Research Group on COVID-19 and is leading a study of government responses in the Western Pacific Region. He also completed a study to evaluate the impact of a government elderly healthcare voucher schemes on healthcare utilization and a study to review, develop, and pilot integrated health service models for an aging population. He has been commissioned by the Social Welfare Department to evaluate two pilot projects on (i) Residential Care Service Vouchers for the Elderly and (ii) Support for Elderly Persons Discharged from Public Hospitals after Treatment with an aim to enhance residential care and transitional care services for the elderly. He has just completed a commissioned study by the Macao Health Bureau to assess their population healthcare needs so as to inform the planning of services and resources necessary to meet the changing health needs of Macao population. In addition, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has funded him to conduct research to promote intergenerational cohesion and population health by launching theoretical- and evidence-based intergenerational programs with the collaboration of NGOS in the community. In the aspect of regulation, he is the principal investigator of two projects regarding the regulation of healthcare professions. He has developed and piloted the first accredited registers scheme for unregulated healthcare professionals in Hong Kong. Currently, he is developing criteria for assessing the healthcare professions to recommend appropriate regulatory oversight. These projects can provide insight in developing the regulatory framework for healthcare professionals in Hong Kong to enable better quality of care and improve patient safety in society. He is a member of the Research Council of Our Hong Kong Foundation and led two health policy research projects for the Foundation, namely An Investment for the Celebration of Aging and Fit for Purpose: A Health System for the 21st Century.
Internationally, he is involved in collaborative work with research networks such as the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, and the Asia-Pacific Network for Health Systems Strengthening (ANHSS) in studies on health systems and training for policy. He was Chairman of the ANHSS from July 2009 to June 2014 and serves as Cluster Leader for Knowledge Events. He also supports the work in health system of the Western Pacific Region of the WHO, undertaking commissioned research and acting as Temporary Advisor to provide technical support for strengthening health systems. He has provided consultancy reports on governance and hospital planning. He was President of the International Hospital Federation and has been a member of the International Advisory Board of the National University of Singapore Initiative to improve health in Asia, which seeks to contribute to thinking and policy formulation in public health and health systems development in Asia.
Prof. Yeoh was Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region between 1999 and 2004. From 1990 to 1999, he was head and the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority.