Interdisciplinary Research on Healthcare and Social Service: Chinese and Cross-cultural Perspectives

Research on healthcare and social service including professional social work is inherently an international subject. Each nation has a story of coping with the recent pandemic in the context of its political economy and cultural-historical settings. A study of various (especially non-Western) cases is essential to an adequate understanding of the undertaking.

China is undoubtedly an important case with one of the largest populations on earth. It’s unique in view of so-called Chinese characteristics/style/model, sometimes fundamentally different from Western societies. Any lessons learned from the Chinese experiences would help with a better understanding of healthcare and social welfare provisions on a global scale.

The book is written by a scholarly team who are experts in healthcare, social work, and related fields. Its primary audiences are scholars and students in Health/Mental Health, Social Work/Welfare/Services, Public/Social Policy, Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations, International/Cross-Cultural Studies, and Chinese/China research.

Professor Sheying Chen received his Ph.D. & MSW from the University of California at Los Angeles (School of Public Policy & Social Research), and is currently a tenured professor of Public Administration/Social & Health Policy at Pace University in New York. He is the founding director of the Centers for Social Work Study and Healthcare Administration at top-ranked Tsinghua University, where he served as a senior visiting scholar and senior research fellow of Sino-American Relations etc. He was Associate Provost for Academic Affairs (2010-2012) at Pace and previously Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of Sociology at Indiana University (Southeast). Prior to IU, Dr. Chen was Professor and Dean at the University of Guam (UOG), overseeing the Colleges/Schools of: Business & Public Administration; Education; Nursing, Health Sciences & Social Work. He held tenure as Professor and Chair at the City University of New York (Staten Island) where he headed a large unit housing psychology, sociology, anthropology, social work, aging, disability studies, women's studies, and a number of interdisciplinary initiatives. He was a permanent faculty member of Sun Yat-sen University at Guangzhou from 1986 to 1992, where he served as a coordinator for graduate studies and functioned as a forerunner of China's rebuilt social work & policy education and research. A former Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and one of the most influential scholars in Chinese social sciences, Professor Chen is the EIC for Springer Book Series of International Perspectives on Social Policy, Administration, & Practice and Co-EIC for International Perspectives on Aging.

Professor WEI Leidong, Ph.D., is former Dean of the School of Social Affairs at Henan Normal University. He also served as Director of Henan Province Social Work and Social Governance Soft Science Research Base, President of Henan Youth Research Association, Vice President of Henan Social Work Education Association, and an expert in the evaluation and appraisal of national social science fund projects. A member of Henan Province Professional Degree Graduate Education Steering Committee, Professor Wei served as Secretary-General of the Philosophy and Sociology Teaching Steering Committee of Henan Provincial Colleges and Universities. He was a member of the Academic Committee of Henan Normal University and an editorial board member of the Journal of Henan Normal University (Social Science Edition). An expert of Henan Youth Research Think Tank, Professor Wei is engaged in the research of social ethics and social governance as well as sociology of youth research.