Virginia W Chang

Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Professional overview

Virginia W. Chang, MD, PhD is Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at NYU School of Global Public Health, Associate Professor of Population Health at NYU School of Medicine, and Affiliated Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at NYU. Dr. Chang is a graduate of the Inteflex Program at the University of Michigan, where she received her BS and MD degrees.  She then completed a residency in internal medicine, fellowship training with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, and a PhD in sociology, all at the University of Chicago. Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Chang was in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a staff physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center.

As a physician and sociologist, Dr. Chang integrates perspectives from medicine, epidemiology, sociology, and demography in her research. Much of her work has focused on obesity and health disparities, engaging topics such as the influence of socially structured context (e.g., racial segregation, income inequality, neighborhood social/physical disorder) on obesity; the relationship of obesity to mortality and disability; the influence of weight status on the quality of medical care; socioeconomic disparities in health and mortality; and the inter-relationships between health, medical technologies, and stratification.

Her research program has been funded by the NICHD, NHLBI, and NIA of the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Health Administration, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Measy Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, and the Russell Sage Foundation.  She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Society of General Internal Medicine Award for Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year and the Marjorie A. Bowman Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for achievement in the health evaluation sciences. Dr. Chang is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Chang’s publications span a variety of disciplines, including journals such as JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Epidemiology, Journal of Health & Social Behavior, Social Science & Medicine, Demography, and Social Forces.  She was recently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Health & Social Behavior.

Education

BS, Biomedical Sciences and Philosophy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

MD, Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

MA, Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

PhD, Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

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Fellow, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Resident, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Intern, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

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Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine

Licensed Medical Physician, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Honors and awards

Majorie A. Bowman Research Award, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2010)

Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year, Society of General Internal Medicine (2008)

Robert Austrian Faculty Award for Health Evaluation Reserach, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2008)

Physician Faculty Scholars Award, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2007)

Finalist, Hamolsky Junior Facutly Award, Society of General Internal Medicine (2004)

Finalist, Richard Saller Prize for Best Dissertation in the Division of the Social Sciences, University of Chicago (2003)

Graduate University Fellowship, University of Chicago (2001)

Eli G. Rochelson Memorial Award for Excellence in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School (1994)

Biomedical Research Program Scholarship, University of Michigan Medical School (1991)

James B. Angell Scholar, University of Michigan (1988)

William J. Branstrom Freshman Prize, University of Michigan (1986)

Areas of research and study

Global Health

Health Disparities

Internal Medicine

Obesity

Population Health

Social Behaviors

Publications

Publications

Racial and ethnic differences in place of death : United States, 1993

Iwashyna, T. J., & Chang, V. W. (n.d.).

Publication year

2002

Journal title

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Volume

50

Issue

6

Page(s)

1113-1117

10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50269.x

Abstract

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine racial and ethnic differences in place of death, adjusting for likely confounders. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. SETTING: United States in 1993. PARTICIPANTS: A nationally representative sample of 22,658 deaths in 1993 from the National Mortality Followback Survey. MEASUREMENTS: Place of death as determined on the death certificate, with controls for age, sex, income, education, and cause of death. The outcomes of interest were death in a hospital during an inpatient stay, death in a nursing home, death in a private residence, or death in some other place. RESULTS: After adjustment, 43% of whites die after an inpatient hospital stay, as do 50% of blacks and 56% of Mexican Americans. Twenty percent of whites, 22% of Mexican Americans, and 14% of blacks die in nursing homes. Twenty-two percent of whites, 18% of blacks, and 9% of Mexicans die in a private residence. CONCLUSIONS: There are substantial differences between whites, blacks, and Mexican Americans in place of death that cannot be explained by differences in age, sex, income, education, and causes of death between the groups.

The lack of effect of market structure on hospice use

Iwashyna, T. J., Chang, V. W., Zhang, J. X., & Christakis, N. A. (n.d.).

Publication year

2002

Journal title

Health Services Research

Volume

37

Issue

6

Page(s)

1531-1551

10.1111/1475-6773.10562

Abstract

Abstract

Objective. To describe the relative importance of health care market structure and county-level demographics in determining rates of hospice use. Data Sources. Medicare claims data for a cohort of elderly patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer, colon cancer, stroke, or heart attack in 1993, followed for up to five years, and linked to Census and Area Resource File data. Study Design. Variation between markets in rates of hospice use by patients with serious illness was examined after taking into account differences in individual-level data using hierarchical linear models. The relative explanatory power of market-level structure and local demographic variables was compared. Data Collection Methods. The cohort was defined within the Medicare hospital claims data using validated algorithms to detect incident cases of disease with a three-year lookback. Use of hospice was determined by linkage at an individual level to the Standard Analytic Files for Hospice through 1997. Individual-level data was linked to the Area Resource File using county identifiers present in the Medicare claims. Principal Findings. There is substantial variation in hospice use across markets. This variation is not explained by differences in the major components of health care infrastructure: the availability of hospital, nursing home, or skilled nursing facilities, nor by the availability of HMOs, doctors, or generalists. Conclusions. Intercounty heterogeneity in hospice use is substantial, and may not be related to the set-up of the medical care system. The important local factors may be local preferences, differences in the particular mix of services provided by local hospices, or differences in community leadership on end of life-issues; many of these differences may be amenable to educational efforts.

Extent and determinants of discrepancy between self-evaluations of weight status and clinical standards

Chang, V. W., & Christakis, N. A. (n.d.).

Publication year

2001

Journal title

Journal of general internal medicine

Volume

16

Issue

8

Page(s)

538-543

10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016008538.x

Abstract

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the extent and type of discordance between personal and medical classifications of weight status, and to examine the influence of sociodemographic factors on the misclassification of weight status. DESIGN/SETTING: The 1991 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of the U.S. population. PARTICIPANTS: Adults 18 years and older (N = 41,676). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Respondents' self-evaluations of weight status were compared to classification of their body mass index (BMI) by medical standards. Twenty-nine percent of respondents incorrectly classified their weight status relative to medical standards, and the nature of this error was variable. While 27.4% of overweight persons judged their weight to be "just about right," of those who did judge themselves to be overweight, 23.9% were in fact normal or underweight according to their BMI. Overall, 16.6% of persons underassessed their weight category, and 12.4% overassessed their weight category. Multivariate analysis revealed that sex, age, race, income, education, and occupation influenced the misclassification of weight status. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of Americans deviate from medical standards in their self-evaluations of weight appropriateness, and this lack of correspondence may reflect the normative judgments of various population subgroups. Clinical and public health programs that employ a uniform strategy or approach to the population may not be efficacious.

Substance P innervation of the lumbar spine facet joint

Beaman, D. N., Graziano, G. P., Glover, R. A., Wojtys, E. M., & Chang, V. W. (n.d.).

Publication year

1993

Journal title

Spine

Volume

18

Issue

8

Page(s)

1044-1049

Abstract

Abstract

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Substance P innervation of the lumbar spine facet joint

Beaman, D. N., Graziano, G. P., Glover, R. A., Wojtys, E. M., & Chang, V. W. (n.d.).

Publication year

1992

Journal title

Orthopaedic Transactions

Volume

16

Issue

2

Page(s)

430-431

Abstract

Abstract

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