Tse-Chuan Yang

Professor, Sociology Link

Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies

CAPS Biography:

My research has focused on substance use, especially opioid use disorder, among older adults and the relationship between early-life exposure to neighborhood factors and later–life health outcomes. These research interests contribute to the health and well-being signature theme of CAPS and all three cross-cutting themes, policy, place, and specific populations. To be specific, I investigate the factors for the rapidly increasing trend in opioid use disorder among older adults and how and why the prevalence of opioid use disorder differs by race/ethnicity, gender, and rural/urban residence. In much of my work, I use Medicare claims data (maintained by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) and collaborate with scholars from other disciplines, such as epidemiology, statistics, and behavioral health. Regarding the pilot project supported by CAPS, I helped the research team to first assemble a unique dataset using American Community Survey, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and National Longitudinal Land Use Survey, and then examined whether zoning density policies, a proxy for institutional discrimination, affect racial/ethnic disparities in health (e.g., self-rated health and mental health).