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Researcher Directory Library

Linda Kahn

Research Associate Professor, University at Buffalo SUNY

As a medical anthropologist and health services researcher, Linda Kahn leverages quantitative and qualitative data to learn more about social, cultural, economic and political factors that influence health care delivery. She focuses her research generally on patient self-management and provider management of chronic, complex conditions such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes. She is especially interested in the interaction and overlap between chronic physical and mental health conditions, and she explores whether treating mental health conditions, such as depression, improves patients’ physical health. Her current research investigates the behaviors, attitudes and beliefs that inform how low-income and minority patients with chronic medical and/or mental illnesses manage their conditions and navigate the healthcare system. She is also conducting a pilot study on individuals with mental illness and comorbid chronic illness who are involved in the justice system.