NHS Professor Speaks On Mental Health

Z. Jennifer Huang, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of International Health at NHS, is participating in a discussion on "Mental Health Issues in Children and Adolescents of Asian Immigrant Families."

The event will take place at Hope Chinese School in Fairfax on Sunday, May 20, from 2-4 p.m. The school is located at 4700 Medford Drive in Annandale, Va.

Huang will be joined by Paramjit Joshi, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Children's National Medical Center.

The two will address questions such as:

• How can parents identify mental health problems in children?

• When should they consult a mental health professional?

• How can cross-generational communications be improved?

• How common are mental health problems in the Asian-American community?

• What factors can put children at risk?

• What can be done to improve a family’s access to mental health services?

During her research career, Huang has published approximately 30 peer-reviewed articles and served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on three funded grants totaling more than $4 million.

In 2006, two of her publications on health care access and delivery for immigrant children appeared in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH).