KENNETH CHUANG, MD

Community Psychiatry

Human Trafficking

Refugee/asylum work

Edelman Westside Mental Health Center (DMH)

kchuang1@me.com

Dr. Kenneth S. Chuang is an community psychiatrist at the Edelman Mental Health Center (LACDMH) and a Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA DGSOM. He completed his medical degree at Harvard and subsequently came to UCLA NPI for his Adult Psychiatry Residency and Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship. He joined the UCLA faculty in 2000 and has had extensive experience working in different LA County and non-profit clinical settings. At Edelman, Dr. Chuang provides psychiatric services to a safety net population with a high proportion of uninsured and/or homeless clients. He also has a particular interest in trauma care and founded specialty programs at Venice Family Clinic that served refugees, asylum applicants, and survivors of torture or human trafficking. Aside from direct clinical care, Dr. Chuang is active in developing health policy and training programs for anti-trafficking initiatives at the state and federal level. He previously served as California’s designated mental health expert on its state anti-trafficking task force and is currently collaborating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on a variety of trafficking projects.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/present/Staff_researchpapers/Susie_Baldwin_Articles/BaldwinHHR2011.pdf

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/resource/nhhtacadultscreening

AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTS FOR:

  • Clinical electives focusing on underserved populations (which may include refugees, asylum applicants, survivors of torture or trafficking)

  • Mentorship for any trainee interested in advanced training in psychopharmacology and/or topics related to community psychiatry

  • Opportunities for trainees to participate in anti-trafficking projects that are being developed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. State Department.

  • Current project (April 2018): Proposed Validation Study for a An Adult Human Trafficking Screening Tool and Guide: As a part of a nationwide initiative to address human trafficking the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has just released a simple screening questionnaire intended to assist healthcare providers who may by trying to identify potentially trafficked clients during the course of their regular clinical work. Recent research suggests that a surprisingly high proportion of trafficked individuals do seek medical care, but the vast majority are not initially identified or referred to the appropriate resources. This study will attempt to validate the use of the DHHS screening tool and will involve clinical sites UCLA, LA County and Mass General Hospital. The instrument may be accessed at the DHHS website at: Adult Human Trafficking Screening Toolkit and Guide | Office on Trafficking in Persons | ACF