Serious Illness Conversations Programme

The Serious Illness Conversations Programme aims to improve the lives of persons with serious illness, by engaging them in early, frequent and better conversations on their goals, values and priorities. This programme, originally developed by Ariadne Labs, Boston USA, is being localised and championed by Lien Centre for Palliative Care (LCPC) in Singapore and Asia.

The three main goals of this program are:

1. Adapting the Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG), a structured communication framework for healthcare practitioners (HCPs) to the Singapore setting
2. Providing Serious Illness Conversation (SIC) communication training for HCPs
3. Developing system-level tools for HCPs to document and integrate serious illness conversations into their usual work

SIC Roadmap in Singapore

Impact thus far (from November 2021 till 30 June 2026)

• Total number of workshops held in Singapore and regionally: 33
• Total number of healthcare professionals trained: 1370
• Total number of organisations trained: 178
• Countries where our overseas participants came from: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong (SAR China), India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, USA
• Total number of overseas participants: 180

Publications

• Lee AS, Tang SN, Phua GLG, Yee AC, Neo SH. Adaptation of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide to Singapore's Multicultural Setting for Patients With Heart Failure, Renal Failure, or Cancer. Palliative Medicine Reports 5, no. 1 (2024): 122–26. https://doi.org/10.1089/pmr.2023.0086
• Ramakrishnan C, Lee AS, Malhotra C, Phua GLG, Yee A, Neo SH. Adaptation of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide to a Multicultural Context in Singapore: A Qualitative Study. BMJ Open 15, no. 10 (2025): e098264. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-098264
• Ng A, Yeo SM, Neo SH. Patient Readiness for Serious Illness Conversations: Identifying Psycho-Emotional Barriers Through a Phenomenological Lens. Psycho-Oncology 34, no. 11 (2025): e70317. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.70317
• Ng A, Phua GLG, Neo SH. Iterative Adaptation and Acceptability Testing of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide for use with Mandarin-speaking Patients. Palliative Medicine Reports.
• Ng A, Sivasamy V, Neo SH. Cultural Adaptation of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide for Caregivers of Persons with Dementia in Singapore. BMC Geriatrics.
• Ng A, Yeo S, Neo SH. Adapting and implementing the Serious Illness Care Programme for outpatient oncology, cardiology and palliative medicine clinics: a mixed-methods feasibility study. BMJ Open 2026;16:e108573. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-108573
• Hummel E, Tan JYT, Neo SH. Understanding the Facilitators and Barriers to Serious Illness Conversations With Older Adults: A Qualitative Analysis using the Socio-Ecological Framework. Sage Open Aging. 2026;12:30495334261429789. Published 2026 Mar 4. doi: 10.1177/30495334261429789
• Ng A, Yeo SM, Tan WM, Chua B, Erina R, Neo SH. Acceptability and Feasibility of a Patient Support Coordinator (PSC) model to facilitate Serious Illness Communication in Outpatient Oncology. BMC Palliative Care.
• Phua LG, Das R, Lee AS, Sinnathamby AS, Balachandran P, Tang SN, Yee AC, Neo HS. Adapting the serious illness conversation communication training workshop from the western to an Asian context in Singapore. BMC Med Educ. 2026 May 25.
• Ng A, Yeo SM, Neo HS. What makes serious illness conversations acceptable? A mixed-methods study of patient and caregiver experiences in oncology and cardiology. Palliative Care and Social Practice. 2026.

Partnership

Partner with us to drive Serious Illness Conversations in your healthcare organisation. We can collaborate for customised training workshops for HCPs and tools for implementation of SIC in your group.

For Research: Principal Investigator, Clinical Assistant Professor Shirlyn Neo, shirlyn.neo.h.s@duke-nus.edu.sg 

For Education: lcpc@duke-nus.edu.sg