Unethical Epidemic of Inequalities
The Syndemic of Inequalities and Mental Health Disorders
Dr Michael Y Ni
Clinical Associate Professor,
Division of Community Medicine and Public Health Practice, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong
Biography
Dr Michael Y Ni is Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Community Medicine and Public Health Practice at the School of Public Health of The University of Hong Kong (HKU). He trained in internal medicine at Queen Mary Hospital, pursued postgraduate studies at Harvard University, and obtained a higher doctorate by research in psychiatric epidemiology from HKU. Dr Ni is a specialist in public health medicine and has been conferred Fellowships by the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (Community Medicine), Hong Kong College of Community Medicine, and the United Kingdom’s Faculty of Public Health, and Membership of the Royal College of Physicians.
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As a public health physician, Dr Ni’s interdisciplinary research spans across different fields while maintaining a focus on population mental health. His primary area of research is in psychiatric epidemiology, and revolves around prevailing and emerging determinants of mental health.
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Dr Ni is the Programme Director for the FAMILY Cohort (n=46,000), a large population-based cohort study in Hong Kong. He serves as a Principal Investigator and on the Executive Committee of the State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Dr Ni is the Principal Investigator for the World Health Organization World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview-5 in Hong Kong. He is an elected member of the leadership for the World Psychiatric Association Epidemiology and Public Health Section. Dr Ni was awarded the Michele Tansella Award, World Psychiatric Association and the Outstanding Young Researcher Award, HKU. His research has been cited in BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, The Guardian, among others.
Abstract
Health inequalities encompass the uneven distribution of health, as well as the differential advancement across different domains of wellbeing. Hong Kong's journey to become the world's longest living population is a case in point for both instances: life expectancy gains in Hong Kong have followed a social gradient, and advancements in physical wellbeing have not been coupled with improvements in mental wellbeing on a population level. This disconnect between physical and mental wellbeing over time has motivated us to identify factors that could simultaneously enhance physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Our findings suggest that mental health is a potential “best buy” to comprehensively improve population health. Assessing the population determinants of mental health should therefore be a priority.
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Population determinants include the socioeconomic, political, and environmental forces that shape mental health. This includes epidemics and collective actions, which have long been part of human history. However, the mental health impact of these major population events has been sparsely documented until recently. Here, we examine the mental health consequences of collective actions and epidemics. Finally, we provide empirical support for the use of population mental health to help guide public policy before, during, and after population shocks.