Shirley Chau, BSW, MSW, PhD

(She, Her, Hers)

Associate Professor

Social Work

Office: Somewhere in Arts Bldg
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: shirley.chau@ubc.ca

Research Summary

Dr. Chau also conducts research with individuals and communities in transition that experience social exclusion due to race and ethnicity, racialized identities, and racism, class (e.g., homeless populations), and other factors that influence their access to services in the health and social care systems in “large”, “midsized”, and “small” cities in Canada.

Courses & Teaching

SOCW 553: Research and Knowledge for Evidence Informed Practice in Clinical Social Work (3)
SOCW 531: Anti-Racist, Anti-Oppressive Practice for Clinical Social Work (3)

Previously taught: the above and SOCW 512: Theories of Direct Practice, SOCW 518: Integration Seminar, and Directed Studies Courses

Biography

Dr. Shirley Chau is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Work Faculty of Health and Social Development at UBC Okanagan, which is situated on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation.

Dr. Chau’s academic credentials include a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology (Hons.) from Simon Fraser University, a Bachelor of Social Work at UBC Vancouver, and a Master of Social Work and Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Work from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Chau’s academic training was focused on the transdisciplinary approach to social problems. Her record of research includes immigration and resettlement as a function of health care access and health functioning in the life course, intimate partner violence, organizational response to psychological distress in the workplace, and the Chinese diaspora in Canada. Collectively, Dr. Chau’s research interests are in the broad area of equity and social justice in systems of care, such as the health care system, social services, and other public systems designed to support and maintain human rights and quality of life. Her current research and service interests have intersected to examine the matter of anti-racism task forces in higher education and their outcomes, a SSHRC-funded study. Her expertise in anti-racist EDI practices and organization dynamics has led to new areas of theorizing for practice for work-life balance at the individual level and for organizational change. An emerging research area is anti-racism, equity and inclusion in sport.

Dr. Chau is highly engaged in service at multiple levels. Currently, she is serving as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive as the Treasurer at the Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE). She is also the Chair of the Equity Committee at UBC Faculty Association. Dr. Chau has served several terms as a member-at-large on the Executive of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), and she is currently a member of the Equity Committee of CAUT. In addition to service at these levels, Dr. Chau provides service on editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals. She provides pro bono service to the local community to help build capacity for research and development at service agencies and evidence-informed practice on the frontlines. Lastly, she is a member of the BC Provincial Anti-Racism Data Committee (ARDC) with the task of advising the government on race-based data collection.

Dr. Chau’s teaching interests are close to her research and service engagements. She teaches the only course on anti-racist practice for clinical social work to master students of social work at UBCO, and she teaches graduate-level, evidence-informed practice from an approach that leans into the Social Determinants of Health framework and Critical Race Theory. She is fascinated by the potential of transdisciplinary approaches to equity and social justice, and is accepting students for graduate supervision.

Keywords: Anti-racism and Inclusion in Sport, Social Work and Sport, Immigration & Settlement, Health Care Access, Homelessness and Health, ‘At-Risk’ Populations, Social Work Practice & Ethics, Diversity, Mental Wellbeing, Antiracism, Antioppression, Decolonization, Race/Racialization/Racism, Critical Social Work, Evidence-Informed Practice, Violence. Discrimination and Organized Hate, Emotional Labour

Degrees

Ph.D. (Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 2006)
M.S.W. (Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 1997)
B.S.W. (School of Social Work, University of British Columbia (Vancouver), 1996)
B.A. (Hons.) (Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, 1993)

Research Interests & Projects

1. Project: Remembering and Commemorating Trauma.

PIs: B. Le Normand (History, Irving K. Barber School, UBCO) & M. Tamez (Indigenous Studies, Irving K. Barber School, UBCO), Co-Is: B. Buffam (Sociology), S. Chau (Social Work, FHSD), A. Hargreaves (English), C. Higgs (History), V. Magnat (FCCS), S. Porter (Psychology), and M. Ungureanu (Philosophy)

Funder & Funding Amount: University of British Columbia,  Vice President Research, Grants for Catalyzing Research Clusters: Social Sciences & Humanities, $11,000 (2016-2017)

2. A community-based intervention to support belonging among the South Indian Canadian diaspora.

PI: C. S.Caxaj (Nursing, UBCO)

Co-Is: South Okanagan Immigrant Community Services Society, Lower Similkameen Community Services Society, S. Chau (SOWK, UBCO), N. Gill, A. Dhaliwal (Women’s Organizing Committee)

Funder & Funding Amount: Vancouver Foundation, $9,985 (2015-2016)

3. Queer(y)ing Campus Space: Experiences of Queer, Indigenous, and/or Students of Colour at UBCO.

PI: C.S. Caxaj (Nursing, UBCO)Studies, UBCO

Co-Is: R. Lee (FCCS, UBCO), I. Parkins (Gender & Women Studies, UBCO), S. Chau (SOWK, UBCO)

Funder & Funding Amount: UBC Hampton Endowment Fund, $23,740 (2013-2016)

4. Experiences of social cohesion, cross-cultural understanding as indicators of community-wide mental health promotion.

PI: C.S. Caxaj (Nursing, UBCO), Co-Is: Chau, S., McDonald, M., Pauly, B., Clark, N., Jakubec, S., O’Mahony, J., Damoon, R. & Leipert, B.

Funder & Funding Amount: Rural Health Services Research Network Team Building Award, $5000.00 (2013-2014)

5. Project: Understanding the process of building social capital in the economic integration of recent and long-term Chinese immigrants
PI: S. Chau, Co-Is: D. Lai, University of Calgary, M. Cheung, University of Manitoba, & J. Hughes, University of Manitoba
Funder & Funding Amount: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Insight Grant, $146,260 (3-Year Funding, 2012-2015)

6. Project: Building knowledge on the determinants of health of immigrants in smaller cities: a photovoice study
PI: S. Chau, Co-Is: C. Teixeira, UBC Okanagan Campus, D. Lai, University of Calgary, & J. Hughes, University of Manitoba
Funder & Funding Amount: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Operating Grant, $238,762 (3-Year Funding, 2011-2014)

7. Project: Developing knowledge about the determinants of health and wellbeing of immigrants in Kelowna, BC (A Survey).

PI: S. Chau, Co-Is: C. Teixeira, UBC Okanagan Campus
Funder & Funding Amount: UBC Okangan Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Grant, $10,000 (1-Year, Jan. 2012 – Dec. 2012)

Selected Publications & Presentations

*Hughes, J., & Chau, S. (2013). Making complex decisions: Child protection workers’ practices and interventions with families experiencing intimate partner violence.  Children and Youth Services Review, Online DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.01.003.

*Yan, M.C., Chau, S., & Sangha, D. (2012).  An exploratory study of how multiculturalism policies are implemented at the grassroots level.  Canadian Ethnic Studies, 41-41 (2009-2010) (3-1), 49-75.

*Hughes, J., & Chau, S. (2012).  Children’s best interests and intimate partner violence in the Canadian Family Law and Child Protection Systems.  Critical Social Policy, 32(4), 677-695.  DOI: 10.1177/0261018311435025

Gray, D., Chau, S., Huerta, T., & Frankish, J.  (2011).  Interventions to enhance cultural competence of service systems and reduce health inequities: a multi-disciplinary perspective.  Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, Vol. XX, 1&2, 75-93.

*Hughes, J. Chau, S., & Poff, D. (2011).  “They’re not my favourite people”: What mothers who have experienced intimate partner violence say about involvement in the child protection system.  Children and Youth Services Review, 33 (7), 1084.1089.  DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.01.015

*Chau, S. & Lai, D. (2011).  The size of an ethno-cultural community as a social determinant of health for Chinese seniors.  Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 13(6), 1090-1098.  DOI: 10.1007/S10903-010-9374-0. (First published online on August 4, 2010 at http://www.springerlink.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/content/r728q541n5367lt1/fulltext.pdf

*Lai, D.W.L., Tsang, K.T., Chappell, N., Lai, D.C.Y., & Chau, S.B.Y. (2007) Relationships between culture and health status: A multi-site study of the older Chinese in Canada.  Canadian Journal on Aging,  26 (3) : 171 – 184.

*Lai, D., & Chau, S. (2007). Effects of service barriers on health status of elderly Chinese immigrants in Canada. Social Work, 52, 261-269.

*Lai, D.W.L., & Chau, S. (2007). Predictors of health service barriers for older Chinese immigrants in Canada. Health & Social Work, 32(1), 57-65.

Regehr, C, Leslie, B., Howe, P., & Chau, S. (2005). Stress, Trauma, and Support in Child Welfare Practice. The APSAC Advisor, 17(2), 12 – 18.

Regehr, C., Hemsworth, D., Leslie, B., Howe, P., & Chau, S. (2004). Predictors of post-traumatic distress in child welfare workers: A linear structural equation model. Children and Youth Services Review, 26, 331 – 346.

Tsang, K.T., Irving, H., Alaggia, R., Chau, S., & Benjamin, M. (2003). Negotiating Ethnic Identity. Youth & Society Journal, 34(3), 359 – 384.

Regehr, C., Chau, S., Leslie, B., & Howe, P. (2002). Inquiries into the deaths of children: Impacts on child welfare workers and their organizations. Children and Youth Services Review, 24, pp. 885 – 902.

Regehr, C., Chau, S., Leslie, B., & Howe, P. (2002). An exploration of supervisors’ and managers’ response to child welfare reform. Administration in Social Work, 26 (3), 17 – 36.

Alaggia, R., Chau, S., and Tsang, K. T. (2001). Astronaut Asian families: Impact of migration on family structure from the perspective of the youth. Journal of Social Work Evaluation and Research: An International Journal, 2(2), 295 – 306.

Presentations:
Chau, S., Lai, D., & Tong, H. (2012).  The role of social exclusion in the perception and experience of health and wellbeing of aging Chinese immigrants in Canada.  Presented at the 41st Canadian Association of Gerontology (CAG) conference, Vancouver, BC, October 21, 2012.

Chau, S., Lai, D., & Tsang, K. T.  (2012).  Social capital in the Canadian context: Relevance and implications to working with aging Chinese immigrants.  Presented at the Knowledge Mobilization Symposium: Social Work with Chinese Communities: Integration of Research and Professional Practice in a Global Context, Vancouver, BC, October 2, 2012.

Chau, S. (2012).  “It’s a piece of cake to conduct research on immigrants, isn’t it?”  Presented at Metropolis National Conference (For theme of Housing & Health among immigrants), Toronto, Ontario, March 2, 2012.

Chau, S., Lai, D., & Tong, H. (2011).  Social exclusion in aging immigrants: Perspectives of aging Chinese immigrants in Canada. Presented at 40th Canadian Association of Gerontology (CAG) conference, Toronto, Ontario, October 23, 2011.

Hughes, J., & Chau, S. (2011).  Women’s experiences as evidence to improve social workers’ responses to intimate partner violence in the child welfare.  Presented at the International Conference of Violence Against Women: Complex Realities and New Issues in a Changing World, Montreal, QC, May 31, 2011.

Chau, S., & Lai, D. (2010).  Cultural influences in the physical and mental health status of aging Chinese adults in the Canadian context.  Presented at the 39th Canadian Association of Gerontology (CAG) conference, Montreal, QC, Dec. 4, 2010.

Selected Grants & Awards

Under Construction. Updates coming soon.

Professional Services/Affiliations/Committees

Under Construction