Dr. Ezinne Nwankwo

Dr. Ezinne Nwankwo is ERI’s National Equity Atlas Postdoctoral Scholar. She is a recent graduate of UCLA with her doctorate in Community Health Sciences.  Ezinne’s research interests center on the migration and immigrant experiences of black and African populations. In the U.S., this group of immigrants is seldom the focus of public health research, and their immigrant experience is rarely the center of public debate. Ezinne believes that her research will shed light on the challenges that immigrants face to integrating into U.S. society, and the impact that these barriers have on health and well-being. She expects that this research will help to identify opportunities for effective immigrant integration policies and programs.

Ezinne’s experiences as an immigrant from Nigeria have helped to shape her interests in migration and immigrant health. Over the years, Ezinne has worked with teams on various health-related research projects and programs. She is now excited to focus her work on a topic and population that represent her experiences and those of people in her community. Her dissertation is a national study that examines how residential contexts, especially ethnic enclaves, shape preterm births among Latina mothers in the U.S.

Research topics:
Structural racism; social, economic, and geographic determinants of health; immigration policies; immigrant health

Publications:

Nwankwo E and Wallace SP. Duration of United States residence and self-reported health among African-born immigrant adults. J Immigr Minor Health. 2020:1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-020-01073-8.

Nwankwo E and Govia IO. Migration and the health of left-behind family: Findings from the Jamaica Return(ed) Migrants Study. J Immigr Minor Health. 2022;24(3):689-704. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01239-y.

Sudhinaraset M, Nwankwo E, Choi HY. Immigration enforcement exposures and COVID-19 vaccine intentions among undocumented immigrants in California. Preventive Medicine Reports. 2022;27:101808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101808.

Conference presentations:
Nwankwo E, Sudhinaraset M (2022). Application of an ethnic enclave typology to preterm births among Latina mothers in the U.S. American Public Health Association, Annual Meeting and Expo, Boston, MA. https://apha.confex.com/apha/2022/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/516891

Nwankwo E (2020). “An alternative story: The West Africa Ebola epidemic and strategies for effective healthcare volunteerism,” panel: “Critiques of Western Paternalism on Global Health Outcomes,” Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Research, Minneapolis, MN.  https://sickindividualssickpopulations.blubrry.net/2020/11/16/3-iaphs2020-session-critiques-of-western-paternalism-on-global-health-outcomes/

Grants and awards:
Health Policy Research Scholar, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
https://healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org/scholars/ezinne-nwankwo/

Dissertation Award, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation