Prof. Duan-Rung Chen

Duan-Rung Chen is a professor and director of institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences in the College of Public Health at National Taiwan University. She is also the director of Research Center for Population and Gender Studies at National Taiwan University. Dr. Chen has a background in medical sociology and extensive research experiences using multilevel models, network analysis, propensity score matching and GIS spatial models. Her primary research interest has focused on Community/Neighborhood aspects of Health Inequality, Sociology of Obesity, and Social Networks Dynamics. She conducts research on issues related to health inequality across different social groups and communities, particularly focusing on issues related to obesity. Her research focus on the social determinants and social network mechanisms that explain how health behaviors/and knowledge are formed, copied and transmitted, and how social capital can be developed through co-production activities in community. She currently works on the issues related to weight discrimination across different life course and contexts, and social determinants/inequality of active ageing and dying. Dr. Chen has published more than 50 articles on sociology of health and population health in peer-reviewed journals such as Social Science and Medicine, Health and Place, Applied Geography, Geospatial Health, Journal of School Health, Journal of Public Health, Journal of Management, Taiwanese Journal of Sociology, and Taiwan Journal of Public Health.

POSITION HELD

2008/01-present

Associate Editor, Taiwan Journal of Public Health, Taiwan Public Health Association

2015/08-present

Director/Professor, Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, National Taiwan University

2016/08-present

Director of Research Center for Population and Gender Studies, National Taiwan University

2016/08-present

Editor, Population Studies

PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS

1. Medical Sociology, Inequality of Health, Obesity-related health behaviors and issues

2. Health Behavior Transmission and Social Networks

3. Social Capital through Co-Production Design in Community Development