Study of Immigrant Health Funded by $3 Million Grant
Kinesiology and Public Health Professor Marilyn Tseng received a $3.3 million grant to study health trajectories among Chinese immigrants. Funded by the National Institutes on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the study includes the development of appropriate interventions to reduce cardiometabolic risk and health disparities in these communities. Carolyn Fang at the Fox Chase Cancer Center is a co-investigator on the grant, and the two will be collaborating with investigators at Dartmouth and Drexel.
Many immigrants arrive in the U.S. from countries with a lower prevalence of obesity and related chronic diseases. Researchers will follow Chinese immigrants in Philadelphia to study immigrant health trajectories and how adapting to new cultures affects health outcomes. Investigators are hoping the findings will help them better develop and direct public health programs for immigrants.
“There’s a belief that immigrant enclaves are good for immigrants because it provides social support and familiar cultural resources, but this isn’t actually based on good evidence. We’ll be looking at whether this is supported, and what are the characteristics of the neighborhood (for example, Chinatown in Philadelphia) that make it good or bad for health,” Tseng said.
Data will be collected in Philadelphia, and Cal Poly students will help Tseng locally with data projects.
Marilyn Tseng (pictured above), a Kinesiology and Public Health professor and Center affiliate, received a $3 million grant to study immigrant health.
