October 2022

CHAS eNews

Policy Briefs

Parental Socialization of Mental Health in Chinese American Families

A 2022 study conducted by CHAS colleagues, Miwa Yasui (CHAS Fellow and Associate Professor at Crown Family School), Yoonsun Choi (Professor at Crown Family School), Marshall Chin (Richard Parrillo Family Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Medicine), and Gina Samuels (CHAS Fellow and Associate Professor at Crown Family School), explores youth-reported parental socialization of mental health within Chinese American families. After conducting surveys of Chinese American youth populations, it was revealed that the youth’s parents and/or guardians held significantly differing notions of mental distress than the youth surveyed. Often, the parents dismiss or minimize their youths’ conceptualization of mental health and mental distress. This study finds that the gap between parental messages about mental health and youth's interpretation of these messages reveals a critical target for intervention. Chinese American youth engage in cultural brokering, by bridging different explanatory models of mental distress, to increase parental responsiveness to distress, to enhance the mental health literacy of Chinese American families, and to improve engagement in mental health services.

Estimating the Impact of Medicaid Expansion and Federal Funding Cuts on FQHC Staffing and Patient Capacity

Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows for the expansion of the Medicaid program to include adults younger than 65 years with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level. Medicaid expansion has raised concerns about the financial sustainability of the program and the availability of health care providers to see the newly insured. To improve access to care for the medically underserved, including the newly insured, the ACA also called for $11 billion in funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Several research faculty members and investigators, including some from the CHAS-affiliated Medicaid Working Group (MWG), analyzed Medicaid claims data sets in a study funded under a contract to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). In this study of fee-for-service adult Medicaid enrollees across 13 states, the research team found that patients who received the majority of their primary care in health centers had lower total health care use and spending than did matched patients who receive primary care in other settings. To read more about the patterns of utilization and costs for health center patients in Medicaid expanded states, please view the study publication link below.

Online Autumn 2022 Michael M. Davis webinars begin next week! Click the links below to register.

10/11/2022 @ 12:30pm CDT

“Beating the Stigma of Behavioral Health”

Patrick Corrigan, Psy.D.

University Distinguished Professor of Psychology

National consortium for Stigma and Empowerment

Illinois Institute of Technology

10/18/2022

No webinar/lecture

10/25/2022 @ 12:30pm CDT

“Navigating Rough Waters: How Health Care Providers Work to Address Patients’ Social Needs”

Valerie A. Lewis, Ph.D.

Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

11/01/2022 @ 12:30pm CDT

“Stopping Stigma: Integrating Opioid Use Disorder Care into the Work of a Generalist”

Mim Ari, M.D.

Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, UChicago Medicine

11/08/2022 @ 12:30pm CDT

“Where Do Clients Receive Methadone Treatment? Disparities in Driving Times, Choice of Facilities, and Treatment Plan Completion”

Abdullah Alibrahim, Ph.D.

Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, Kuwait University

11/15/2022 @ 12:30pm CDT

“Policy Challenges in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities”

Harold Pollack, Ph.D.

Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, The University of Chicago

2022 Michael M. Davis eLecture Series Begins Next Week!

Each academic quarter, CHAS sponsors the Michael M. Davis Lecture Series, which brings renowned policy experts, researchers, and commentators to the University to explore the intersection of health policy and the broad needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations. The Autumn 2022 series will run from October 11th through November 15th and all lectures will be held online via Zoom.