Dr. Chang’s research involves investigating the structural determinants that impact the health of unhoused people, focusing on the role of social policies (e.g. encampment sweeps) on unhoused people’s health outcomes. Recently, she has led mixed-methods studies which examine the soaring numbers of people dying while unhoused in Santa Clara County. Her lab developed the SCC Unhoused Death website, a research tool to track unhoused people’s deaths and increase public awareness.
Dr. Chang completed her Ph.D. in Medical Sociology at the University of California, San Francisco, along with post-doctoral research training in substance use treatment programs. She has conducted drug/alcohol treatment research with County Departments of Public Health, Veterans Affairs hospitals, hospitals/clinics, community-based organizations, and grassroots organizations throughout the Bay Area. In addition to investigating ways to improve housing and treatment for people experiencing homelessness, she has written on the overdose experiences of people who inject drugs, ethical factors in methadone maintenance, substance use stigma, and racial disparities in substance use treatment. She has also developed theories and methods (the docent method) that help advance community-driven approaches to public health research and practice.
