University of Wisconsin–Madison
Closeup of purple lilac blossoms

Research & Projects

Active Projects

Community Mental Health Needs & Assets Assessment

This is the newest upcoming research project in the ANEW lab. We hope to begin data collection in Summer 2026. As psychological stressors heighten in U.S. im/migrant access to health care services to address the mental health consequences of these stressors has narrowed. Following an intervention mapping approach, this project will a) map mental health needs and community assets among immigrant communities in South-Central Wisconsin; b) cultivate partnerships between four key groups of interest holders (migrant-serving health care systems, local migrant community members, migrant-serving organizations, and community leaders) and c) begin to identify possible interventions that meet current care gaps. Findings from the needs and assets assessment will lay the foundation for subsequent work focused on co-design of community-based mental health interventions tailored to local needs.

Reducing Perinatal Mental Health Inequities Through Screening and Engagement

This mixed methods study is conducted in partnership with our colleagues at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medial Center (BMC) (PI Maithri Ameresekere, MD). The study focuses on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), which affect one in five birthing people in the U.S. BIPOC pregnant people experience disproportionately higher rates of PMADs but are less frequently screened compared to White patients. This project aims to understand differences in perinatal behavioral health screening and referral practices amongst patients seen in the ambulatory obstetrics department at BMC, where 77% identify as BIPOC, 32% speak a primary language other than English, and 50% were born outside the US. The project includes two studies:

Single Session Consultation: The Mental Health Check Up Project


This qualitative study is conducted in partnership with the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center at Boston Medical Center. Using content analysis of clinician consultation notes, this project examines the structure, content, and function of a “mental health check up” session, conceptualized as a single-session psychotherapeutic intervention for immigrant and refugee patients.

  • Collaborator: Josi Hwang, PhD (Co-PI)

Reducing Perinatal Mental Health Inequities Through Screening and Engagement

  • Quantitative analysis of electronic medical records (EMR) to assess screening rates, referral practices, and treatment engagement across demographic groups
  • Qualitative interviews with patients (English, Spanish, Haitian Creole) and focus groups with clinical staff to identify barriers and facilitators

The goal of this project is to inform targeted healthcare interventions to improve equitable perinatal mental health care.

  • Collaborators: Maithri Ameresekere (PI), Kala Jennissen
  • Funder: Massachusetts Life Sciences Health Equity Accelerator

Recent Projects

Projects completed further back (or as a co-investigator) are available on the publications and presentations tabs

Implementing Measurement-Based Care for Refugee Mental Health

In partnership with colleagues at Boston Medical Center’s Immigrant and Refugee Health Center, we are currently writing up a manuscript concerning the design and implementation of a measurement-based care program disseminated in 19 languages for immigrant and refugee patients engaged in ongoing behavioral health care.

  • Collaborators: Audrey Montgomery, Katy Price, Marie Nzeyimana, Andrew Wrede, Resham Gellatly

Phenomenological Study of Patient Experiences Receiving a Severe Mental Illness Diagnosis through Therapeutic Assessment

This study used in-depth qualitative interviews and interpretive phenomenological analysis to investigate the impact and clinical utility of therapeutic assessment for patients with severe mental illness.

  • Collaborators: Abi Martin, Sohenga Depestre, Niharika Brungi, Saarika Virkar, Nuha Alshabani
  • Funder: Gennaro Acampora Junior Investigator Pilot Award (Boston Medical Center)

Psychometric Study: Testing the Refugee Health Screener- 15 Item (RHS-15) as a Measure of Symptom Change

The Refugee Health Screener-15 item is a commonly used mental health screening measure for forcibly displaced migrants. It is recommended for use by the CDC during the domestic medical exam for newly arrived refugees and has broad uptake in humanitarian settings and resettlement contexts globally. While well validated for its use as a mental health screener, to date it has not been tested as a symptom monitoring measure. Using two comparator measures, this psychometric study tested whether the RHS-15 can detect symptom change over time. We found the RHS-15 was able to detect both reliable change and clinically significant change over time. We are currently writing up the results of thisstudy. Validation of the RHS-15 as a measure of symptom change and treatment responsiveness widely expands its potential for use in clinical and research settings.

  • Collaborators: Asra Ahmed, Katy Price, Nuha Alshabani, Lin Piwowarczyk
  • Funder: Support for this research was provided by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

Racialized Harms of Family Separation Studies

Qualitative Study: The qualitative study, led by Co-PI Dr. Resham Gellatly involved qualitative interviews (English and Haitian Creole) with Black Asylum Seekers concerning the experiences of prolonged family separation from children in the country of origin. Our aim is to use the study’s findings to inform the co-design of a mental health intervention that would address this form of ambiguous loss and the associated mental health consequences identified by our parent participants.

Quantitative Study: The quantitative study used healthcare data to compare mental health symptoms, healthcare utilization, and social determinant of health outcomes amongst three groups: asylum seeking parents experiencing family separation, asylum seeking parents not experiencing family separation, and a demographically matched voluntary immigrant cohort. Our results support the depressive symptom and SDOH burden associated with asylum seeking status and characterized the distinct health care utilization needs associated with family separation.

Policy Analysis: The policy analysis paper conducted in partnership with our legal colleagues reviewed and provided multi-level recommendations to address the negative impacts of less visible forms of prolonged family separation implicit in U.S. Immigration policy (i.e., the asylum case backlog, the inability for people with Temporary Protective Status to reunite with children abroad).

  • Collaborators: Resham Gellatly (Co-PI), Nuha Alshabani, Jessica Chicco, Lin Piwowarczyk, Jacqueline Kelley, Carmen Rosa Noroña, Ivys Fernandez-Pastrana, Rudra Darai, Katy Price, Luz Lopez, Chloe Mak, Andrew Lenart, Husna Majid
  • Funder: Boston University Center for Antiracist Research: Research & Policy Grant