Bio
Juan Chen received her BA and MA (in Political Science) from Peking University, and her MSW and PhD (in Social Work and Political Science) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Research Interests
Prof. Chen’s research centers on migration, urbanization, and urban governance; health, mental health, and well-being; help seeking and service use; and social policy and social service system. The key issues she addresses are the ways in which structural disadvantages contribute to individual disparities and the means by which such disadvantages can be eliminated through policy and practice interventions.
Prof. Chen has been developing a research program on migration and urbanization in Mainland China since 2007. The projects follow a rigorous and innovative methodology, and have yielded rich material for the analysis of the Chinese migration and urbanization process, which, in turn, sheds new light on hukou and other policy issues. Her recent research project focuses on the impact of local government policies and practices on the ‘in-situ’ urbanization process, which affects the general well-being of formerly rural residents as well as their integration into the various facets of urban life in Mainland China.
Prof. Chen has also been conducting research on mental health help seeking and service use in the US, Mainland China, and Hong Kong. With survey and interview data, she has analyzed Chinese patterns of help seeking for emotional and mental problems, and identified the structural and cultural barriers that limit the use of professional mental health or medical services.
Prof. Chen has received research funding from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, the Victor and William Fung Foundation, etc. Her work has appeared in Social Science & Medicine, China Quarterly, Habitat International, Cities, Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, Transcultural Psychiatry, Children and Youth Services Review, Health & Social Care in the Community, among others. She is a recipient of the Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme awarded by RGC in 2023/24.