Health Disparities

Rectifying Core Gaps in Equitable Care

SJSU researchers partner with local and national organizations to address the impacts of health disparities through intervention work in mental health, developing indexing tools for the county health department around the impacts of disparities, cataloging the enduring legacy of access to care disparities, and more. Below is a rotating selection of our standout investigators in these areas.

   ○ Recent News and Highlights
   ○ Related Strength: Evolved Caregiving
   ○ Related Strength: Mental and Behavioral Health

• Selected Publications

  • Berkowitz, R., Kan, P., et al. (2023). Assessing the Relationship between Census Tract Rurality and Severe Maternal Morbidity in California (1997‐2018). The Journal of Rural Health.

    Brown, S., Shillington, A., (2017). Childhood adversity and the risk of substance use and delinquency: The role of protective adult relationships. Child Abuse & Neglect, 63.

    García, M., and Harris, A. (2017). PrEP awareness and decision-making for Latino MSM in San Antonio, Texas. PloS one, 12(9).

    Grzywacz, J., Marks, N. (2000). Reconceptualizing the work–family interface: An ecological perspective on the correlates of positive and negative spillover between work and family. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.

    Han, M., et al., (2022). Service utilization, self-efficacy, positive attitude and well-being among Asian American family caregivers of  persons with serious mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 58.

    Park, C., Zabala, P., & Trisnadi, A. (2023). COVID-19 vaccine or booster hesitancy among children aged 6 month-5 years, 5-11 years, and 12-17 years in the United States: An analytic cross- sectional study. Preventive Medicine Reports, 102436.

    Sen, S., Agroia, H., Ponce, J., (2022). Manifestation of HIV-related Stigma among Service Providers. The International Journal of Health, Wellness, and Society, 2(12).

• Award Highlights

  • Gomez, Berkowitz, “Health Science and Recreation Santa Clara County Health Equity Agenda Qualitative Research Project” — Community Health Partnership, $50,000 - 2022

    Garcia, "Social Work Unidos en Salud: Multi-Disease HIV Testing Hubs for Latinx Immigrant Communities in San Francisco" — UCSF – $41,993, 2024

    Park, “Support for Research Excellence - First Independent Research Award” — NIH, 2023

• Affiliates

  • CSU Social Science Research and Instructional Center

    Healthy Development Community Clinic

Featured Faculty

Rachel Berkowitz
Assistant Professor of Public Health
Structural and Social Determinants of Health, Place-Based Community Transformation, Health Equity, Applied Research, Community-Engaged Research
ORCID: 0000-0001-7643-7717

Marcelle Dougan
Associate Professor of Public Health 
COVID-19, Vaccination, Student Health, Vaccine Hesitancy, Social Determinants of Health, Digital Health, Breast Cancer Survivorship, Racial Discrimination
ORCID: 0000-0003-0538-8887

Moctezuma Garcia
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Health Inequities, Intersectionality, Infectious Diseases, Immigrants, Sexual and Gender Minorities
ORCID: 0000-0002-8703-4929

Joseph Grzywacz
Associate Dean for Research and Faculty, College of Health and Human Sciences
Work and Family, Health Inequities, Immigrant Health, Aging and Adult Development
ORCID: 0000-0002-2308-7781

Meekyung Han
Professor of Social Work
Asian American Mental Health; Culturally Humble Practice; Intersectionality Between Child Welfare and Mental Health
ORCID: 0000-0002-6573-1811

Chulwoo 'Charles' Park
Assistant Professor of Public Health
Global Health, Epidemiology, Health Equity, Immigrant and Minority Health, and Social and Behavioral Health
ORCID: 0000-0003-0667-6549

Soma Sen
Professor of Social Work
Health Disparities, HIV, Global Social Work, Theoretical Explorations in Social Work
ORCID: 0000-0002-9127-8694

Audrey Shillington
Dean, College of Health and Human Sciences
Substance Use, Effects of Substance Use, Prevention and Intervention, Adolescents, Young Adults
ORCID: 0000-0003-3638-7051

Lois Takahashi
Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Success, College of Social Sciences
Health Disparities, HIV Prevention, Spatial Determinants of Health, Unstable Housing
ORCID: 0000-0001-5974-3456

Potential collaborators and members of the media may contact us at officeofresearch@sjsu.edu.