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Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness

The mission of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness is to build a rigorous and interdisciplinary science of positive health, happiness, and well-being with a focus on health equity, and to translate the science to influence practice and policy.

Location

Kresge Building 6th Floor
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

book

Publications

Center scholars and affiliate scientists are continuously investigating the complex interrelationships between physical, social, and mental health and designing and evaluating interventions for the improvement of overall well-being across the globe. Besides the connections between these three realms of health, key areas of focus include health equity, social media, loneliness, resilience, and positive psychology.

Research by Center Scholars and Affiliates 2024-5

Duncan, D.T., Kawachi, I., and Morse, S.S. (2024). The Social Epidemiology of the COVID-19 PandemicOxford University Press  

Kawachi, I. (2024). Income Inequality and COVID-19, in Duncan, D., Kawachi, I., and Morse, S. (2024). The Social Epidemiology of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Oxford University Press, USA

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2024). Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science. (Viswanath, K., Taylor, T., and Rhodes, H., Eds.) Washington, DC: The National Academies Press

Cajita, M., Dunn, S., Hernandez, R., & Doorenbos, A. (2024). Abstract 4123509: The Intersection of Race and Ethnicity, Social Determinants of Health, and Hypertension Prevalence: A Community-Level Analysis. Circulation, 150

Grodstein, F., et al. (2024). Everyday Discrimination is Associated with Higher Odds of Hospitalizations among Older African Americans. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A  

Lawrence, J., Hsu, Y., Cory, H., & Kawachi, I. (2024). Racial discrimination and cognitive function: An instrumental variable analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 363

Mateo, C.M., Furtado, K., Plaisime, M.V., and Williams, D.R. (2024). The Sociopolitical Context of the Unequal Treatment Report: Then and Now. Urban Institute  

Mbewu, A., Williams, D.R., Moletsane, R., and Reddy, P. (2024). Striking racial inequities in health persist in South Africa. BMJ, 385, q834

Peters, S.E., Wagner, G.R., et al. (2024). Adding injury to insult: Unfair treatment at work and occupational injury among hospital patient-care workers. American Journal of Industrial Medicine

Qureshi, F., Denckla, C., and Boehm, J.K. (2024). Positive epidemiology, revisited: The case for centering human rights and economic justice. American Journal of Epidemiology

Williams, D.R., et al. (2024). Addressing Structural Racism Through Public Policy Advocacy: A Policy Statement From the American Heart AssociationAmerican Heart Association Journal

Cowden, R.G., et al. (2024). Do Forgiveness Campaign Activities Improve Forgiveness, Mental Health, and Flourishing? International Journal of Public Health, 69

Kim, E.S., et al. (2024). The silent epidemic of loneliness: identifying the antecedents of loneliness using a lagged exposure-wide approachPsychological Medicine, 1–14

Yoshida, K., Honda, K., Goto, A., and Kawachi, I. (2024). Collateral Health Effects of Loneliness Care in Japan. Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology

Choi, K., et al. (2024). Genetic architecture and socio-environmental risk factors for major depressive disorder in Nepal. Psychological Medicine, 54 (11)

Choi, K., et al. (2024). Time Trends in Adolescent Diagnoses of Major Depressive Disorder and Co-occurring Psychiatric Conditions in Electronic Health Records. Research Square 

Kawachi, I., et al. (2024). Pre-disaster income inequality and post-disaster mental health: A natural experiment from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami . Health & Place, 90

Patel, V., et al. (2024). Adapting and deploying a digital program for training non-specialist providers on a brief psychological intervention for depression in rural Gujarat, India. PLOS Global Public Health

Patel, V., et al. (2024). Depression Diagnosis, Treatment, and Remission Among Adults in India. JAMA Psychiatry

Patel, V., et al. (2024). Remote coaching for supporting the implementation of treatment for depression in primary care in Madhya Pradesh, India: protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Health Services

Patel, V., et al. (2024). Adolescent engagement in a stepped care, transdiagnostic mental health intervention delivered in Indian schools. Discover Psychology, 4:43

Patel, V., et al. (2024). The Effects of Mental Health Interventions on Labor Market Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. National Bureau of Economic Research

Patel, V., et al. (2024). International Representation in Psychiatric Literature: Has the Trend Changed? Review of 11 Leading Psychiatric Journals. Archives of Psychiatry Research, 60:1

Côté, A., Miquelon, P., and Trudel-Fitzgerald, C. (2024). Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, and Psychosocial Functioning among Adults with Cancer: A Scoping ReviewInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(2), 225

Hernandez, R., et al. (2024). Depressive Symptoms, Antidepressants, and Clinical Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease: Findings from the CRIC StudyKidney Medicine, 6(4)

Kim, E.S., Wilkinson, R., Okuzono, S.S., Chen, Y., Shiba, K., Cowden, R.G., and VanderWeele, T.J. (2024). Positive affect during adolescence and health and well-being in adulthood: An outcome-wide longitudinal approach. PLOS Medicine

Kivimäki, M., & Kawachi, I. (2025). Work stress and health. In N. Schneiderman, T. W. Smith, N. B. Anderson, M. H. Antoni, F. J. Penedo, T. A. Revenson, & A. F. Abraído-Lanza (Eds.), APA handbook of health psychology, Vol. 1. Foundations and context of health psychology (pp. 611–637). American Psychological Association.

Koenen, K., et al. (2024). Identifying Genetically Inferred Effects Linking Posttraumatic Stress Disorder to Women’s Health, Lipid Disorders, and Malaria Medications. American Journal of Psychiatry, 181(12)

Koenen, K., et al. (2024). No association of posttraumatic stress disorder with epigenetic aging in women at mid-life: A longitudinal cohort study. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 123, 672-680

Patel, V., et al. (2024). Conditional cash transfers and mortality in people hospitalised with psychiatric disorders: A cohort study of the Brazilian Bolsa Família Programme. PLOS Medicine

Patel, V., et al. (2024). Effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and positive externalities of integrated chronic care for adults with major depressive disorder in Malawi (IC3D): a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised, controlled trial . The Lancet, 404(10465)

Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., et al. (2024). Understanding mental health in breast cancer from screening to Survivorship: an integrative phasic Model and tool. Psychology, Health, & Medicine

Joss, D., Teicher, M.H., and Lazar, S.W. (2024). Beneficial effects of mindfulness-based intervention on hippocampal volumes and episodic memory for childhood adversity survivorsJournal of Affective Disorders Reports, 16  

Lazar, S.W., et al. (2024). ENIGMA-Meditation: Worldwide consortium for neuroscientific investigations of meditation practices  

Lazar, S., et al. (2024). Neural correlates of reduction in self-judgment after mindful self-compassion training: A pilot study with resting state fMRI. Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, 9

Luberto, C., Crute, S., Wang, A., Li, R., Yeh, G., Huffman, J., Celano, C., Victorson, D., Hoeppner, B., & Park, E. (2024). Needs and Preferences for Remote-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Patients After Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Qualitative Study. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health, 13, 1-10

Wayne, P.M., Yeh, G.Y., and Mehta, D.H. (2024). Through the Looking Glass: Psychedelics As a Window into Mindfulness and Mind–Body HealthJournal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 30: 1

Chen, Y., Nakamura, S., Kim, E., Kubzansky, L., & VanderWeele, T. (2024). Changes in optimism and subsequent health and wellbeing outcomes in older adults: an outcome-wide analysis.  Aging & Mental Health

Huffman, J.C., et al. (2024). Gratitude, optimism, and satisfaction with life and patient-reported outcomes in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantationPsycho-Oncology, 33 (2)

Koga, H.K., Grodstein, F., Williams, D.R., et al. (2024). Longitudinal Associations Between Optimism and Objective Measures of Physical Functioning in WomenJAMA Psychiatry

Oh, J., Tetreau, E., Purol, M., Kim, E., & Chopik, W. (2024). Optimism and pessimism were prospectively associated with adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Research in Personality, 113

Huffman, J.C., et al. (2024). Gratitude, optimism, and satisfaction with life and patient-reported outcomes in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantationPsycho-Oncology, 33 (2)  

Koga, H.K., Grodstein, F., Williams, D.R., et al. (2024). Longitudinal Associations Between Optimism and Objective Measures of Physical Functioning in WomenJAMA Psychiatry  

Krentzman, A., Hoeppner, S., Hoeppner, B., Barnett, N.P. (2024). A randomized feasibility study of a positive psychology journaling intervention to support recovery from substance-use disorders. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment

Waldinger, R.J., et al. (2024). More organized white matter is associated with positivity bias in older adultsBrain Imaging and Behavior

Kim, E., et al. (2024). Measuring meaning in life by combining philosophical and psychological distinctions: Psychometric properties of the Comprehensive Measure of Meaning. The Journal of Positive Psychology

Koga, H.K., Grodstein, F., Williams, D.R., Buchman, A.S., and Kubzansky, L.D. (2024). Purpose in life and its association to ParkinsonismThe Journals of Gerontology: Series B

Liu, Y., & Marciano, L. (2024). Appnome analysis reveals small or no associations between social media app-specific usage and adolescent well-being. Scientific Reports, 14 (30836)

Marciano, L., Dubicka, B., Magis-Weinberg, L., Morese, R., Viswanath, K., & Weber, R. (2024). Digital Media, Cognition, and Brain Development in Adolescence. In D. A. Christakis, L. Hale (eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens, (21-29). Springer

Marciano, L., et al. (2024). User-Donated Screenshots Analysis: Feasibility of a New Approach to Collect Objective Social Media App Usage in Adolescents. In: Thomson, R., et al. Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Modeling,14972, 80-89. Springer

Marciano, L., Jindal, S., & Viswanath, K. (2024). Digital Detox and Well-Being. Pediatrics, 154 (4)

Marciano, L., et al. (2024). Safeguarding young users on social media through academic oversight. Nature Reviews Psychology

Mendez, S., Munoz-Najar, S., Emmons, K., & Viswanath, K. (2024). Journal of Medical Internet Research – US State Public Health Agencies’ Use of Twitter From 2012 to 2022: Observational Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27

Long, K., Wilkinson, R., Cowden, R.G., Chen, Y., and VanderWeele, T.J. (2024). Hope in adolescence and subsequent health and well-being in adulthood: An outcome-wide longitudinal studySocial Science & Medicine, 347

Wu, C., & Kawachi, I. (2024). A triple trust penalty? The majority-minority gap in subjective wellbeing. Social Science & Medicine