Dept. of Health, Society, & Behavior

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

Health, Society & Behavior

Cynthia Lakon, PhD Interim Chair and Associate Professor

The 2020-2021 academic year saw the formation of the Department of Health, Society, & Behavior, whose faculty and students strive to address complex health issues at the local, global, regional, and national levels. Their activities include investigating the etiology of health behavior related processes and outcomes, the dynamics of marginalized populations, community-based research and practice, the creation of theoretically informed health interventions and their respective evaluation studies, health communication, and biobehavioral health. The Department of Health, Society, & Behavior has experienced tremendous growth since forming a year ago. Through the creation of a departmental committee on Black Thriving Research and Initiatives, faculty submitted numerous proposals for the UCI Black Thriving Initiative Faculty Cluster Hiring Program to promote diversity and inclusion in the UCI workforce. As a result of these efforts, departmental faculty were represented on the proposal that was ultimately awarded funding university-wide and in the area of environmental health disparities.

HIGHLIGHTS

Misinformation Adoption or Rejection in the Era of COVID-19

In a study that aimed to understand the effects of exposure to misinformation and the threats it presents, assistant professor of health, society, and behavior, Suellen Hopfer, PhD, helped develop a system that recognizes misinformation themes and concerns on the web.

Xenophobia as a Public Health Threat

In an installment of the UCI Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, "Bridging the Gap" series, Brittany Morey, PhD, assistant professor of health, society, and behavior, focused on health equity where she offered long-term solutions to counter the damaging health effects of racism on Asian Americans. A related editorial by Morey was also published in the OC Register. Morey also received a grant from the Summer 2021 Temporary Research Enhancement Support.

The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Project: A Short Film

FASD is more prevalent in the U.S. than Autism, Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida combined, yet has a fraction of the awareness or resources to support families living with this every day. Kristina Uban, PhD, recently served as a producer for the grassroots awareness movement, the FASD Project, and its short awareness film.

Bioethics scholar and professor joins faculty

Bioethics scholar and professor, Leigh Turner, PhD, started with the Program at the end of the academic year. Turner has dedicated his career to exploring the study of ethical issues related to medicine, health care, public health, and biotechnology. He believes that ethical issues in public health research, policy, and practice are just as important as they are to clinical settings. He aspires to develop a center at UCI that is supportive of students and faculty members interested in public health ethics and bioethics-related scholarship. The Department also welcomed Amanda Garcia-Hall as its new Department Administrator. The department looks forward to continued growth in the coming year and beyond. It currently has three ongoing recruitments including an associate or full-rank health policy faculty, adjunct associate professor, and in-residence associate professor.

The association between social ties and depression among Asian and Pacific Islander undocumented young adults

The mental health of Asian and Pacific Islander undocumented young adults has been understudied, despite an increasingly restrictive immigration climate that poses a risk to mental health. Research, led by Annie Ro, PhD, associate professor of health, society, and behavior, found that higher levels of social ties were associated with lower odds of depression, while social isolation was associated with higher odds of depression. Study appeared in the journal BMC Public Health and Ro was the corresponding author.

UCI Podcast: Did COVID-19 cause a mental health pandemic?

Tim Bruckner, PhD, professor of health, society, and behavior, sat down with the producers of the UCI Podcast to discuss whether the predictions of a follow-on mental health pandemic came true, how women’s careers have been affected by the pandemic, and how equity has been incorporated into California’s public health response. The discussion was partly based on a study that Bruckner co-authored, which appeared in the journal BMC Public Health. Titled: "Risk of stress/depression and functional impairment in Denmark immediately following a COVID-19 shutdown," the study aimed to investigate the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on risk for stress/depression among adults in Denmark, which had lower infection rates, and whether the impacts of lockdown varied across living situations. Results indicated that living with children at home may have, in the short term, buffered the potential mental health effects of the COVID-19 shutdown.