The field of global public health is broad, and by necessity, the Center will also have a broad focus to serve as the home of Global Public Health at NYU Shanghai. The following are key areas of our work.
Implementation Science.
Foci: The design, adaptation, and rigorous evaluation of digital, scalable, and community-based interventions to reduce the population burden of non-communicable diseases, mental health, and infectious disease, and their comorbidities, among the general population, and among those most disadvantaged and marginalized in China and the region. Implementation science approaches will be employed to ensure maintenance and long-term impact of intervention programs.
Selected publications:
Sit, H. F., Hong, L.W., Burchert, S., Sou, E.K.L., Wong, M., Chen, W., Lam, A.I.F., & Hall, B. J. (2022). A feasibility study of the WHO digital mental health intervention Step-by-Step to address depression among Chinese young adults. Frontiers in Psychiatry, Digital Mental Health, 12:812667. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.812667.
Liem, A. Natari, R.B., Jimmy, & Hall, B. J. (2021). Digital health applications in mental health care for immigrants and refugees: A rapid review. Telemedicine and e-Health, 27, 1, 3-16. doi: https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2020.0012
Sit, H.F., Ling, R., Lam, A.I.F., Chen, W., Latkin, C., & Hall, B. J. (2020). The cultural adaptation of Step-by-Step: An intervention to address depression among Chinese young adults. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 650. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00650
Migration and Occupational Health.
Foci: Research that specifically aims to improve the health of diverse migrant populations (e.g., rural to urban) in China and the region, including international and humanitarian migrant populations.
Selected publications:
Greene, C. M., Kane, J. C., Bolton, P., Murray, L., Wainberg, M. L., Yi, G., Sim, A., Puffer, E., Ismael, A., & Hall, B. J. (2021). Assessing trauma related distress in refugee youth and their caregivers: Should we be concerned about iatrogenic effects? European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 1437-1447. doi: 10.1007/s00787-020-01635-z
Wang, S., Sit, H.F., Garabiles, M., Blum, D.J., Hannam, K., Armour, C., & Hall, B. J. (2021). A network analysis investigation of the comorbidity between sleep dysfunction and PTSD symptomatology among Filipino domestic workers in Macao (SAR) China. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 140, 337-345. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.05.040
Liem, A., Cheng, W., Dong, C., Lam, A.I.F, Latkin, C., & Hall, B. J. (2021). Knowledge and awareness of COVID-19 among Indonesian migrant workers in the Greater China region. Public Health, 197, 28-35. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.05.029
Wu, S., Renzaho, A.M.N., Hall, B. J., Shi, L., Ling, L., & Chen, W. (2021). Time-varying risks of trauma and post migration stressors in refugees’ mental health during resettlement: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Lancet Psychiatry, 8, 36-47. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30422-3
Global Mental Health.
Foci: Address the substantial comorbidity between non-communicable and infectious diseases and mental health, develop culturally appropriate concepts and interventions, epidemiological studies on the population burden of mental disorders and addiction, and inform the development of mental health policy in China and the region.
Selected publications:
Chu, Q., Cheong, I.H., Phong, P.T., Yang, L., Wang, H., & Hall, B. J. (2021). The unaddressed mental health burden among Chinese cancer patients: a call to action. Lancet Psychiatry, 8, 646-647. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00180-2.
Yuan, G., Shi, W., Elhai, J., Montag, C., Chang, K., Jackson, T., & Hall, B. J. (2022). Gaming to cope: Applying network analysis to understand the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and internet gaming disorder symptoms among disaster-exposed Chinese young adults. Addictive Behaviors, 124, 107096.
Sit, H.F., Huang, L., Chang, K., Chau, W.I., Hall, B. J. (2020). Caregiving burden among informal caregivers of people with disability. British Journal of Health Psychology, 25, 790-813. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12434
Shi, W., Shen, R. Z., Wang., S. Y., & Hall, B. J. (2020). Barriers to professional mental health help-seeking among Chinese adults: A systematic review, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11:442. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00442
Urban and Environmental Health.
Foci: With more than 50% of the world's population living in urban areas, our research agenda is to estimate the effects of the built environment and living and working conditions on the health of populations. A broader focus of our work is to understand the connections between environment and health, and how issues including global warming, pollution, and toxicant exposure undermine the public’s health. Our work will inform the development of localized and policy-level interventions to improve urban health in China and the region.
Selected publications:
Hall, B. J., Leong, T.I., & Chen, W. (2019). Rapid urbanization in China. Eds. Galea, Ettman, Valhov. Urban Health. Oxford University Press.
Hall, B. J., Huang, L., Yi, G., Latkin, C. (2021). Fast Food Restaurant Density and Weight Status: A Spatial Analysis among Female Filipino Migrant Workers in Macao, (SAR), People’s Republic of China. Social Science and Medicine, 269, 113192.
Guan, C.H., Tan, J., Hall, B. J., Liu, C., Li, Y., & Cai, Z. (2022). The effect of the built environment on the COVID-19 pandemic at the initial stage: A country-level study of the USA. Sustainability, 14, 3417. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su14063417
Trauma and adversity.
Foci: Through the conduct of culturally informed research, we will quantify and intervene on the health consequences of exposure to potentially traumatic events across the life course. This will include studies of exposure to disasters, child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and other forms of gender-based violence.
Selected publications:
Yuan, G., Shi, W., Lowe, S., Chang, K., Jackson, T., & Hall, B. J. (2021). Associations between posttraumatic stress symptoms, perceived social support and psychological distress among disaster-exposed Chinese young adults: A three-wave longitudinal mediation model. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 137, 491-497. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.03.036
Fu, M., Hall, B. J., Xi, J., & Guo, J. (2021). Gender differences in trajectories of mental health symptoms among Chinese earthquake survivors. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 142, 117-124. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.07.034.