Keith Chan

Keith Chan, PhD, LMSW, is Associate Professor and Chair of Social Welfare Policy at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York. As a social worker, scholar and educator, his research focuses on the social determinants of physical and mental health for vulnerable populations, in particular for Asian Americans, immigrants and older adults, as well as the impact of the opioid epidemic across the lifespan. His research has been funded by the Minority Fellowship Program, the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, the National Institute of Aging, and the John A. Hartford Foundation. He currently serves as co-Investigator of the NIMHD-funded Rutgers-NYU Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity (CAHPE), Community Engagement Core, and co-Investigator of the NIA-funded Resource Center for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research in Asian and Pacific Americans (RCASIA). Since 2020, he has provided his research expertise as Congressional Fellow to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Health, Democratic Staff, on issues related to mental health, disability, and population health data. 

Dr. Chan’s social work practice experience is primarily with persons diagnosed with serious mental illness within minority and immigrant populations. Since 2018, he was appointed by the Office of the Governor of New York to serve as a Council Member of the New York State Interagency Geriatric Mental Health and Chemical Dependence Planning Council. He teaches Social Work Research, Clinical Practice for Older Adults, and Social Welfare Policy to MSW students at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York. 

Description of Study: 

“The Golden Tea Program: Examining the Feasibility of a Culturally-Informed, Mindfulness Intervention for Chinese Older Adults in NYC” is a collaborative project of Hunter College in partnership with Tea Arts & Culture and Hamilton-Madison House. The Golden Tea Program is a 7-week culturally-based mindfulness intervention that aims to improve overall mental health, reduce loneliness, delay cognitive decline, and strengthen a sense of cultural connectedness among a community-based sample of Chinese older adults in New York City. The intervention is rooted in the study and appreciation of tea by creating the space and time to slow down with intention and experience the beauty of everyday interactions. Drinking tea is a sensory experience that can be appreciated through a multicultural and multigenerational lens. The overall goal of this study is to: 1) Determine the feasibility of this culturally-informed mindfulness intervention rooted in tea culture with Chinese older adults, 2) Test the influence of this program to reduce social isolation and loneliness, increase social connections, strengthen cultural identity, delay cognitive decline and improve overall cardiometabolic and mental health, and 3) Conduct a careful mixed methods evaluation of the proposed intervention using a CBPR framework. This pilot study can serve as a demonstration of a feasible, low-risk and low-cost community-based program for Chinese older adults.