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Jie Chen
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Jie Chen

Professor, Health Policy and Management

Dr. Chen’s research fields include health care disparities, health care delivery system and policy, behavioral health, aging and economic evaluation. She directs the Hospital And Public health interdisciPlinarY research (HAPPY) Lab which uses a multidisciplinary perspective and involves collaboration with clinical leaders, community partners and organizational decision-makers. Her current research focuses on the integration of healthcare organizations, promoting behavioral health of vulnerable populations and mental health among older adults.

Contact

jichen@umd.edu

SPH | Room 3310E

(301) 405-9053

Departments/Units

Areas of Interest

Health Care Delivery System; Care Coordination and System Integration; Public Health System; Health Disparities; Mental Health; Aging Health; Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

Dr. Chen is a health economist and health services researcher. She is the founder and the director of the Hospital And Public health interdisciPlinarY research (HAPPY) Lab. The mission of the lab is to improve multi-sector health care coordination for people with multiple chronic conditions.

Dr. Chen is leading the projects to estimate the impact of public health-integrated health care on health care access (R21MH106813, PI) and identify effective care coordination practices between health care and communities for minority patients with mental illness (R01MD011523, PI) and the aging population with ADRD (R01AG062315, PI). Her research suggested that community collaboration and the Accountable Care Organization that using team-based approaches and financial incentives to promote care coordination have the potential to improve health care quality and reduce disparities.

She is also among the first researchers to estimate the impact of the Affordable Care Act on health care disparities and apply economic decomposition methods to health disparity research to better isolate and quantify the importance of selected factors in explaining the racial and ethnic disparities in health care. She has published over 100 publications to evaluate health care access (e.g., access to primary care) and utilization (e.g., preventive care, mental health care, etc.) among vulnerable populations.

Dr. Chen has 17 years of research experience working with large secondary data sets and claims data and developing, refining, and applying analytical methods. She has been working closely with local health departments, hospitals, and community partners to design, develop and evaluate community interventions.

PhD, 2008

State University of New York, Stony Brook

HLSA711 Health Economics

HLSA712 Advanced Health Economics

2021                           The Leda Amick Wilson Mentoring Award, School of Public Health, University of Maryland

2021                           Outstanding Reviewer for Health Services Research

2019                           40 Under Forty Alumni Honoree, Stony Brook University

2015-2017, 2019        Honoree, University of Maryland Tenth Annual Celebration of Scholarship and Research

2017 - 2019                Nominee, UMD Graduate School’s Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award

2017                           Research and Development Award, School of Public Health, University of Maryland

  1. Chen J, Benjenk I*, Anderson A*, Barath D*, Reynold C. Disparities in Preventable Hospitalization Among Patients With Alzheimer Diseases. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2021; 60(5):595-604.
  2. Chen J, Amaize A*, Barath D*. Evaluating Telehealth Adoption and Related Barriers Among Hospitals Located in Rural and Urban Areas. Journal of Rural Health. First published: 12 November 2020. 
  3. Park S, Chen J. Racial and Ethnic Patterns and Differences in Health Care Expenditures among Medicare Beneficiaries with and without Cognitive Limitation or Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: A Retrospective Cohort Study. BMC Geriatrics. 20, Article number: 482. 2020. 
  4. Novak P, Sanmartin M, Ali M, Chen J. Individuals with Serious Mental Illness are more Likely to have Health Conditions Associated with Severe Illness from COVID-19. Psychiatric Services. Published Online:19 Nov 2020 
  5. Chu*, Benjenk I*, Chen J. Incremental Medical Expenditures of the Spouses of Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2020 Sep 30 doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.09.020 [Epub ahead of print].
  6. Wang N*, Amaize A*, and Chen J. Hospital ACO Affiliation and Urban/Rural Disparities in Preventable ED Rates for Patients with ADRD. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2020 Oct 7.
  7. Benjenk I*, Chen J. Trends in Self-Payment for Outpatient Psychiatrist Visits. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online July 15, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.2072.
  8. Wang N*, Albaroudi A*, Chen J. Decomposing Urban and Rural Disparities of Preventable ED Visits among Community-dwelling Patients' with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias --- Evidence of the Availability of Health Care Resources. Journal of Rural Health. First published: 02 July 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12465.
  9. Benjenk I*, Shields M, Chen J. Measures of Care Coordination at Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities and the Medicare 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Rate. Psychiatric Services. Published Online: 25 Aug 2020. 
  10. Barath D*, Amaize A*, Chen J. Racial and Ethnic Disparities of Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations among Patients with Depression – Evidence on Accountable Care Organizations and Care Coordination. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. April 2020.
  11. Benjenk I*, Franzini L, Chen J. Evidence of the Linkage between Hospital-based Care Coordination Strategies and Hospital Overall (Star) Ratings. Medical Care. 2020; 58(1):18-26.
  12. Park S, Chen J, Roby D, Ortega A. Differences in Health Care Expenditures Among Non-Latino Whites and Asian Subgroups Vary Along the Distribution of the Expenditures. Medical Care Research and Review. 2019;1077558719874212. doi:10.1177/1077558719874212.
  13. Barath D*, Chen J. Integrating Local Health Departments to Reduce Suicide-Related Emergency Department Visits Among People with Substance Use Disorders. Preventive Medicine. 2019 Dec;129:105825. 
  14. Novak P*, Chu J*, Ali M, Chen J. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Serious Psychological Distress among those with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2019 Aug 15. pii: S1064-7481(19)30473-7. 
  15. Anderson A*, Chen J. ACO Affiliated Hospitals Increase Implementation of Care Coordination Strategies. Medical Care. 2019;57(4):300-304.
  16. Benjenk I*, Chen J. Variation of Follow-Up Rate after Psychiatric Hospitalization by Hospital Characteristics and Social Determinants of Health. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2019; 27(2):138-148. 
  17. Novak P*, Bloodworth R*, Green K, Chen J. Local Health Department Activities to Reduce Emergency Department Visits for Substance Use Disorders. Journal for Healthcare Quality. 2019; 41(3): 134-145.
  18. Chen J, DuGoff E, Novak P*, Wang M. Variation of Hospital-Based Adoption of Care Coordination Services by Community-Level Social Determinants of Health. Health Care Management Review. 2018 Nov 27. 
  19. Novak P*, Anderson A*, Chen J. Changes in Health Insurance Coverage and Barriers to Health Care Access among Individuals with Serious Psychological Distress following the Affordable Care Act. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2018; 45(6): 924-932.
  20. Chen J, Novak P*, Goldman H. Public Health System Delivered Mental Health Preventive Care Links to Significant Reduction of Health Care Costs.  Population Health Management. 2018; 21(6): 462-468.
  21. Chen J, Novak P*, Barath D*, Goldman H, Mortenson K. Local Health Departments' Promotion of Mental Health Care and Reductions in 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Rates in Maryland. Medical Care. 2018; 56(2):153-161.
  22. Chen J, Bloodworth R*, Novak P*, Cook B, Goldman H, Rendall M, Thomas S, and Reynolds C. Reducing Preventable Hospitalization and Disparity: Association with LHD Mental Health Promotion Activities. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2018; 54(1):103-112.
  23. Chen J, Vargas-Bustamante A, Novak P*. Reducing Young Adults’ Health Care Spending through the ACA Expansion of Dependent Coverage. Health Services Research. 2017; 52(5): 1835-1857.
  24. Chen J, Vargas-Bustamante A, Mortensen K, Ortega A. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care Access and Utilization under the Affordable Care Act. Medical Care. 2016; 54(2):140-146.
  25. Chen J, Mullins D, Novak P*, Thomas S. Personalized Strategies to Activate and Empower Patients in Health Care and Reduce Health Disparities. Health Education & Behavior. 2016; 43(1): 25-34.