Sasha Zhou (hg0267)

Public Health

Dr. Zhou is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at Wayne State's CLAS. Her research uses mixed methods to understand and address the mental health needs of emerging adults and college student populations with particular focus on underserved populations, including students of color, international students, and sexual and gender minorities. Dr. Zhou’s broader research portfolio combines varied methodological approaches to identify the mechanisms that perpetuate mental health disparities, including in-depth qualitative work and large-scale epidemiological surveys. 

Dr. Zhou is also a co-investigator of the Healthy Minds Network, a research-to-practice network dedicated to improving the mental and emotional wellbeing of young people through innovative, multidisciplinary scholarship. She received her Ph.D. in Health Services Organization and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where she was a Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health (CRECH) Scholar.

Mental health and help-seeking behavior among emerging and young adults

Health disparities

Mixed methods

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

• Health Equity Scholars for Action 2022-2024
• $249,983
• Project: Conducting a critical analysis of existing research methods and an exploration of promising new approaches to the study of structural racism
• Role: PI

• Latest study shows depression among college students trending downward
• Wayne State expert champions federal aid to address mental health crisis in higher education

• Zhou, S., Babatope, O., & Raj, M. (2024). Evaluating mental health outcomes of immigrant and US born caregivers: An analysis of the California Health Interview Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 114, 189-199
• Abuelezam, N., Lipson, S., Zhou, S., Abelson, S., Awad, G., Eisenberg, D., & Galea, S. (2023). Mental health service utilization among Arab and Middle Eastern American college students. Journal of American College Student Psychotherapy, DOI: 10.1080/87568225.2023.2220093
• Thulin, E., Lipson, S., Heinze, J., & Zhou, S., (2023). Suicidal Ideation in American Indian and Alaska Native College Attending Students. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 65(2), 307-312
• Zhou, S., Banawa, R., & Oh, H. (2023). Stop Asian Hate: The Mental Health Impact of Racial Discrimination Among Asian Pacific Islander Young and Emerging Adults during COVID-19. Journal of Affective Disorders, 325, 346-353
• Cohen, K., Manikandan, D., Jirsa, M., Gatto, A., & Zhou, S. (2023). Mental healthcare on college campuses during COVID-19: Comparing Telehealth, In-person, and Hybrid modes of delivery. Journal of American College Health, 3, 1-9
• Tran, D., Oh, H., Zhou, S., & Pedersen, E. (2022). Depression and perceptions of social norms and harms for electronic and combustible cigarette use: Associations with tobacco use in college students. Psychiatry Research Communications, 2(3), 100053
• Halladay, J., Freibott, C., Lipson, S., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2022). Trends in the co-occurrence of substance use and mental health symptomatology in a national sample of US post-secondary students from 2009-2019. Journal of American College Health, 1-14
• Lipson, S., Zhou, S., Abelson, S.,...Eisenberg, D. (2022). Trends in college student mental health and help-seeking by race/ethnicity: Findings from the national Healthy Minds Study, 2013-2020. Journal of Affective Disorders (in press)
• Zhou, S., Banawa, R., & Oh, H. (2021). The mental health impact of COVID-19 racial and ethnic discrimination against Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Frontiers of Psychiatry (in press)
• Raj, M., Zhou, S., Yi, S.S., and Kwon, S. Caregiving across cultures: Priority areas for research, policy and practice to support family caregivers of older Asian immigrants. (2021). American Journal of Public Health, 111(11), 1920-1922
• Oh, H., Zhou, S., & Banawa, R. (2021). The mental health consequences of discrimination against Asian American/Pacific Islanders. Psychiatric Services, 72(11), 1359
• Devylder, J., Zhou, S., & Oh, H. (2021). Suicide attempts among college students hospitalized for COVID-19. Journal of Affective Disorders, 294, 241-244
• Lederer, A., Hoban, M., Lipson, S., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2021). More than inconvenienced: The unique needs of U.S. college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Education & Behavior, 48(1), 14-19
• Zhou, S. (2020, June 24). Breaking the Silence: Asian Pacific Islander American Mental Health in the COVID-19 Era. National Center for Institutional Diversity (via Medium)
• Abelson, S., Lipson, S., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2020). Young Adult Mental Health in the United State Before and After the 2016 Presidential Election: Unique Effects on Muslim Students. JAMA Pediatrics (in press)
• Goodwill, J., & Zhou, S. (2019). Association between perceived public stigma and suicidal behaviors among college students of color in the U.S. Journal of Affective Disorders, 262, 1-7
• Zhou, S., Stojanovski, K., & King, E. (2018). Self concealment, discrimination, and mental health in Macedonia: Disparities experienced by sexual gender minorities. Global Public Health, 8, 1075-1086

• Google Scholar

Dr. Zhou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health at Wayne State's CLAS. Her research uses mixed methods to understand and address the mental health needs of emerging adults and college student populations with particular focus on underserved populations, including students of color, international students, and sexual and gender minorities. Dr. Zhou’s broader research portfolio combines varied methodological approaches to identify the mechanisms that perpetuate mental health disparities, including in-depth qualitative work and large-scale epidemiological surveys.

Dr. Zhou is also a co-investigator of the Healthy Minds Network, a research-to-practice network dedicated to improving the mental and emotional wellbeing of young people through innovative, multidisciplinary scholarship. She received her Ph.D. in Health Services Organization and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where she was a Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health (CRECH) Scholar.

Ph.D., Health Services Organization and Policy (Sociology Cognate), University of Michigan, 2020
M.P.H., Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, 2013
M.H.S.A., Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, 2013

Mental health and help-seeking behavior among emerging and young adults

Health disparities

Mixed methods

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Health Equity Scholars for Action 2022-2024
$249,983
Project: Conducting a critical analysis of existing research methods and an exploration of promising new approaches to the study of structural racism
Role: PI

Selected Publications

Zhou, S., Babatope, O., & Raj, M. (2024). Evaluating mental health outcomes of immigrant and US born caregivers: An analysis of the California Health Interview Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 114, 189-199.

Abuelezam, N., Lipson, S., Zhou, S., Abelson, S., Awad, G., Eisenberg, D., & Galea, S. (2023). Mental health service utilization among Arab and Middle Eastern American college students. Journal of American College Student Psychotherapy, DOI: 10.1080/87568225.2023.2220093

Thulin, E., Lipson, S., Heinze, J., & Zhou, S., (2023). Suicidal Ideation in American Indian and Alaska Native College Attending Students. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 65(2), 307-312.

Zhou, S., Banawa, R., & Oh, H. (2023). Stop Asian Hate: The Mental Health Impact of Racial Discrimination Among Asian Pacific Islander Young and Emerging Adults during COVID-19. Journal of Affective Disorders, 325, 346-353.

Cohen, K., Manikandan, D., Jirsa, M., Gatto, A., & Zhou, S. (2023). Mental healthcare on college campuses during COVID-19: Comparing Telehealth, In-person, and Hybrid modes of delivery. Journal of American College Health, 3, 1-9.

Tran, D., Oh, H., Zhou, S., & Pedersen, E. (2022). Depression and perceptions of social norms and harms for electronic and combustible cigarette use: Associations with tobacco use in college students. Psychiatry Research Communications, 2(3), 100053.

Halladay, J., Freibott, C., Lipson, S., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2022). Trends in the co-occurrence of substance use and mental health symptomatology in a national sample of US post-secondary students from 2009-2019. Journal of American College Health, 1-14.

Lipson, S., Zhou, S., Abelson, S.,...Eisenberg, D. (2022). Trends in college student mental health and help-seeking by race/ethnicity: Findings from the national Healthy Minds Study, 2013-2020. Journal of Affective Disorders (in press).

Zhou, S., Banawa, R., & Oh, H. (2021). The mental health impact of COVID-19 racial and ethnic discrimination against Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Frontiers of Psychiatry (in press).

Raj, M., Zhou, S., Yi, S.S., and Kwon, S. Caregiving across cultures: Priority areas for research, policy and practice to support family caregivers of older Asian immigrants. (2021). American Journal of Public Health, 111(11), 1920-1922.

Oh, H., Zhou, S., & Banawa, R. (2021). The mental health consequences of discrimination against Asian American/Pacific Islanders. Psychiatric Services, 72(11), 1359.

Devylder, J., Zhou, S., & Oh, H. (2021). Suicide attempts among college students hospitalized for COVID-19. Journal of Affective Disorders, 294, 241-244.

Lederer, A., Hoban, M., Lipson, S., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2021). More than inconvenienced: The unique needs of U.S. college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Education & Behavior, 48(1), 14-19.

Zhou, S. (2020, June 24). Breaking the Silence: Asian Pacific Islander American Mental Health in the COVID-19 Era. National Center for Institutional Diversity (via Medium).

Abelson, S., Lipson, S., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2020). Young Adult Mental Health in the United State Before and After the 2016 Presidential Election: Unique Effects on Muslim Students. JAMA Pediatrics (in press).

Goodwill, J., & Zhou, S. (2019). Association between perceived public stigma and suicidal behaviors among college students of color in the U.S. Journal of Affective Disorders, 262, 1-7.

Zhou, S., Stojanovski, K., & King, E. (2018). Self concealment, discrimination, and mental health in Macedonia: Disparities experienced by sexual gender minorities. Global Public Health, 8, 1075-1086.