New Faculty Member Focuses on Health Equity
Sicong Sun examines how lack of access to financial resources impacts health and wellbeing
Social workers see some of the most difficult challenges facing society. But instead of being discouraged by these complex societal problems, Sicong (Summer) Sun is optimistic about the future because of what they encounter every day in the KU School of Social Welfare: students who are ready and excited to help bring about positive change.
“They are the next generation of social work leaders, practitioners and researchers, and I am very hopeful as I listen to what they are passionate about. They all have interests that center around social, racial and economic justice,” says Sun, Ph.D., assistant professor and faculty affiliate with the school’s Toni Johnson Center for Racial and Social Justice.
Sun shares their passion for social, racial and economic justice. In fact, it’s what drew them into social welfare and guides their work as a researcher, teacher and mentor.
Sun’s lived experience as a first-generation Chinese immigrant, a first-generation college student and a member of the LGBTQ community has shown them how a person’s many identities can impact their ability to access the resources they need to live a healthy life. Those with marginalized identities, such as people who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) or part of the LGBTQ community, for example, often face greater systemic barriers in accessing resources like health care and financial assets.
“I realized how racism, cis-heteropatriarchy and your socio-economic background impact your access to resources,” they explain. Through their research and teaching, Sun is tackling this problem head on, focusing on addressing the systemic “root causes” to improve the health and wellbeing of the most marginalized people in society in the U.S. and around the world.
After earning their M.S.W. and Ph.D. in social welfare from Washington University in St. Louis, Sun joined the KU faculty for the 2022–2023 academic year. Their research focuses on social determinants of health and health equity; asset building and financial capability; and poverty, inequity and social mobility.
“I love social work as a profession because it’s very applied and evidence-based,” Sun says. “Applied evidence-based research can inform positive social impact.”
Sun’s most recent research found that a person’s financial capability can predict their health outcomes. In a study published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Sun and their co-author, Yu-Chih Chen of the University of Hong Kong, found that people with higher financial capability — the combination of financial literacy and financial access — had better health outcomes. In another recent study published in SSM-Population Health, Sun and colleagues examined racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between wealth and health during young adulthood. The findings could inform asset-based policies to advance racial, socioeconomic, and health equity.
At KU, Sun will continue studying the relationship between racism and wealth, and how structural racism and wealth inequities act as fundamental determinants of health and wellbeing for individuals and families.
“I’m working on how we can expand financial access for marginalized communities,” Sun explains. “In the U.S., asset policies are upside down: More middle- and high-income households tend to take advantage of asset-building policies, such as home mortgage interest deductions and other tax -related benefits, that marginalized communities are excluded from.”
Sun points to research that found that nearly 80% of the benefits of the four largest asset-building tax incentives (home ownership, financial investment, retirement savings and education) have gone to households in the top 20% of income.
“My work informs how we can make asset building and financial capability programs to be more inclusive and progressive. It is important for everyone to have a basic level of financial capability to secure health and wellbeing,” they say.
I n addition to research and teaching, Sun will be working with the Toni Johnson Center for Racial and Social Justice to support students and develop scholarship.
“The Toni Johnson Center is a great interactive space to support and uplift scholarship and the voices of BIPOC communities,” Sun says. “My work is very interdisciplinary, so I’m excited to collaborate with colleagues from other departments and foster global connections as well.”
Sun believes social welfare researchers and practitioners have a tremendous opportunity to help bring about positive change in society.
“I love social work as a profession because it is very applied,” Sun shares. “We are not just describing the problems, but also take actions to make some changes and make the world a better place. What are the actionable and feasible steps to move forward? We focus on interventions. We see the injustices and inequities and ask how we can intervene and make changes.”
