Cheng Chow

This study examines how immigrant-serving NGOs in Hong Kong connect social service provision and civic advocacy, and how practitioners understand that work as supporting the political incorporation of mainland Chinese newcomers. Drawing on 18 interviews and participant observation across 12 organizations, the research shows how NGOs operate as hybrid actors, combining care and advocacy roles to expand civic opportunities in constrained political environments. Social workers in these organizations serve as civic intermediaries, translating everyday service encounters into opportunities for empowerment, rights awareness, and community participation. Findings reveal three domains of NGO engagement: (1) empowerment and political socialization; (2) community engagement and destigmatization; and (3) institutional negotiation and advocacy. Practices also differed across social service, faith-based, and advocacy-oriented NGOs. This article contributes to nonprofit and social work scholarship by illustrating how NGOs integrate civic learning into service provision, contest stigmatizing narratives, and negotiate institutional barriers under constrained political conditions.

The health benefits of social participation are well-documented in the general population, yet its relevance for internal migrants, a growing global demographic, remains less understood. Guided by the framework of migration as a social determinant of health, this cross-sectional study examines the relationship between social participation and self-rated health (SRH) among migrants, focusing on the mediating role of health education. Using nationally representative data from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey ( N = 126,717), we conducted path analysis among internal migrants. We distinguished two forms of social participation: social membership and voluntary activities. Social membership was positively associated with SRH (β = 0.025, p < .001), both directly and indirectly through higher exposure to health education (β = 0.012, p < .001). Voluntary activities showed a small positive indirect effect through health education (β = 0.006, p < .001) but an overall negative association with SRH (β = −0.052, p < .001), suggesting that the demands or stress of volunteering may offset its informational benefits. These results reveal the unequal health returns of different forms of social participation among internal migrants and highlight the need for culturally tailored health education embedded within migrants’ workplace and community networks.

Financial strain is a well-established risk factor for poor sleep, yet few studies have examined whether this association varies by race-ethnicity, particu

The rapid expansion of digital health during COVID-19 transformed healthcare delivery, offering new opportunities for remote care. However, health access remains inequitable, with barriers such as technology access, language barriers, and financial constraints disproportionately affecting immigrants and marginalized populations. This study applied an intersectional approach to examine digital health utilization trends by immigration status and key sociodemographic factors. This study analyzed nationally representative data from the 2021–2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for adults (N = 83,116). Immigration status was cross-classified with race/ethnicity, gender, marital status, education, income, health insurance, chronic conditions, and rural residency. Weighted logistic regression models examined disparities and moderation effects. While digital health utilization generally declined post-pandemic with increased access to in-person care, disparities across populations persisted. While naturalized immigrants had similar odds of digital health use compared to U.S.-born individuals, noncitizen immigrants had significantly lower odds. The findings also reveal noncitizen immigrants, particularly those with lower income, no insurance, and living in rural areas, face significant barriers in accessing digital health services. These disparities highlight the need for targeted policies to ensure equitable access to digital health resources for immigrant populations.

Financial strain is a major social stressor that adversely affects well-being, yet few studies have comprehensively examined whether its association differs by race/ethnicity. This study investigates whether the relationship between financial strain and two key outcomes—mental health and life satisfaction—varies across racial/ethnic groups using longitudinal data. Drawing on 13 waves of the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS), spanning 2009–2010 to 2021–2022 and comprising 58,029 individuals and 417,766 person-years, we apply fixed-effects regression models to assess within-individual changes over time. Results show that financial strain is consistently associated with poorer mental health and lower life satisfaction. However, racial/ethnic variation emerges only in relation to mental health. Specifically, Black adults experience a stronger adverse association between financial strain and mental health compared to White adults. Subgroup analyses reveal further nuance: relative to White adults, African adults exhibit a more pronounced adverse association, whereas the association is not significant among Caribbean adults. Among Asian adults, financial strain is more strongly associated with poorer mental health for Indian individuals but less so for Chinese individuals. These findings highlight the need for tailored financial and mental health support initiatives that account for differences across both broad and specific racial/ethnic groups relative to the majority population. Targeted interventions may help mitigate the unequal burden of perceived financial stress and promote more equitable well-being outcomes.

Introduction: Social workers play a critical role in healthcare settings by addressing both medical and nonmedical needs. Trained in human behavior and social environments, they are best suited to screen for social determinants of health (SDOH) and connect patients with resources paving the way for optimal health and well-being. Methods: This narrative review synthesizes the existing literature on SDOH screening practices within healthcare settings, emphasizing the role of social workers. A systematic search was conducted across multiple databases. A total of 26 studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed using a qualitative narrative synthesis approach. Results: This review reveals variability in SDOH screening domains, tools, and implementation strategies across healthcare settings. Facilitators and barriers to implementation were identified, including workflow integration, interprofessional collaboration, and contextual readiness. Social workers emerged as key professionals in addressing health-related social risks, leveraging their expertise in patient engagement, assessment, and system navigation. We further introduced the integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework to suggest the effective integration of SDOH screenings, emphasizing innovation, recipient engagement, contextual readiness, and facilitation. Conclusion: The effective integration of SDOH screenings requires structured workflows, interdisciplinary collaboration, and policy support. The review provides practice models of workflows for SDOH screenings and implications within two different healthcare settings: hospitals and outpatient clinics, offering insights into best practices and areas for future research. Strengthening the role of social workers in SDOH screenings can improve patient outcomes and promote health equity.

Despite the prevalence of global migration flows from more developed to less developed areas, few studies have been conducted on this phenomenon. This research utilizes data recently collected in 2020 regarding migration intentions among residents of Hong Kong considering moving from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland. Our study aims to understand the role of social networks and perceptions of destinations in migration intentions. The results suggest that social networks, perceptions of governance quality, and perceived knowledge of the overall development plan for destinations are significantly related to the intention to migrate from more developed to less developed areas. The analysis further indicates an indirect relationship where strong social networks enhance the perception of governance quality and the understanding of development plans to reinforce migration intentions. These findings underscore the complexity of migration dynamics and highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of migration drivers beyond economic factors.

This article examines the understudied intersection between migration and contentious politics, focusing specifically on immigrant participation in social movements within their host societies. Drawing upon data from the Anti‐Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti‐ELAB) Movement in Hong Kong, it illuminates the process through which Chinese immigrants become politicized, evolve collective identities, and mobilize against civil dominance. Further, it underscores the transformative potential of social movements in facilitating immigrant political incorporation. However, it also recognizes the unilateral acceptance determined by mainstream society, which often leaves immigrants sidelined in discussions regarding their qualifications for unconventional political participation. To address civil inequality, immigrants establish their civil identities, challenge dominance, and amass political capital for future incorporation. This study extends the migration and social movements literature by shedding light on the political dynamics of immigrant participation and the hurdles they encounter during their journey toward political incorporation. It also underscores the significant role of progressive social movements in fostering immigrant political participation. Furthermore, the research highlights the unique immigrant political identity that emerges and evolves through participation in social movements, contesting exclusion and monopolistic dominance over democratic realization.

Do children with migrant parents or migrant family members have a greater likelihood of migration as they reach adulthood? Three possible patterns of youth migration are examined in this study: (1) network migration, when families migrating first pave the way for subsequent generations to follow; (2) gendered migration, where the gender of migrant parents and left-behind children influences the probability of youth migration; and (3) relay migration, which involves transgenerational migration switching within a family. We use data collected from Thailand in 2008/2010 (Wave 1) and tracked in 2019 (Wave 2) to understand how the migration of parents and other family members influenced youth migration in 2019. Within the network effect, household migration was one of the driving forces behind youth migration, while mother-involved migration appeared to be strongly associated with youth labor migration, especially among males. There is, however, no evidence that return migration, whether parental or non-parental in the same household, was associated with an increased likelihood of youth labor migration. This study demonstrates the relative strength of network effects of household migration when compared to relay migration on youth migration. The findings also highlight the complexity of gender-based migration in the Thai context. This research contributes to the larger field of left-behind children and youth migration by establishing the transition between these two roles and illustrating different reasons for migration in sending countries.