Explore Our Key Issue Areas

The work of Global Health Policy & Practice centers around four key issue areas. These topics include, but are not limited to: global health science and practice, humanitarian responses, sexual and reproductive health policy, and community access to essential health services.

Global Health Science and Practice

  1. Lauren Carruth, (2016). “Peace in the clinic: rethinking ‘global health diplomacy’ in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.” Culture, Medicine, & Psychiatry.  40(2): 181-197.

  2. De Jesus M., Ramachandra, S.S., Jafflin, Z., et al. (2021). The environmental and social determinants of health matter in a pandemic: Predictors of COVID-19 case and death rates in New York City. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18:1-17.

  3. De Jesus, M. & Hernandes, C. (2019). Generalized Violence as a Threat to Health and Well-Being: A Qualitative Study of Youth Living in Urban Settings in Central America’s “Northern Triangle.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(18):3465-3482.

  4. De Jesus, M. & Xiao, C. (2013). Cross-border health care utilization among the Hispanic population in the United States: implications for closing the health care access gap. Ethnicity & Health, 18(3): 297-314.

  5. Walter Flores, Sullivan, A., Jerez, F. Rodriguez, D. (2024). The politics of health systems policies during COVID-19: reflections on experiences from Latin America and the CaribbeanInt J Equity Health 23, 228.

  6. Witter S, Regmi S, Raven J, Nzinga J, Merwe M, Walter Flores, D’Aumbrousio, L. (2024). Learning sites for health systems research: Reflections on five programs in Africa, Asia, and Central America. Learn Health Sys.

  7. Friedman, E. A., Gostin, L. O., Maleche, A., Nilo, A., Foguito, F., Rugege, U., Stevenson, S., Gitahi, G., Ruano, A. L., Barry, M., Hossain, S., Lucien, F., Rusike, I., Hevia, M., Alwan, A., Cameron, E., Farmer, P., Walter Flores, Hassim, A., Mburu, R., … Periago, M. R. (2020). Global Health in the Age of COVID-19: Responsive Health Systems Through a Right to Health Fund. Health and human rights22 (1), 199–207.

  8. Walter Flores, Samuel, J. (2019) Grassroots Organisations and the Sustainable Development Goals: No One Left Behind. British Medical Journal (365).

  9. Ooms, G., Beiersmann, C., Walter Flores, Hanefeld, J., Muller, O., Mulumba, M., Ottersen, T., Sarker, M., & Jahn, A. (2017) Synergies and Tensions Between Universal Health Coverage and Global Health Security: Why we Need a Second ‘Maximizing Positive Synergies’ Initiative. BMJ Global Health2(e000217) 1-4.

  10. Jennifer N. Brass, Wesley Longhofer, Rachel S. Robinson, and Allison Schnable. 2018. “NGOs and international development: A review of thirty-five years of scholarship.” World Development 112:136-49. 

  11. Gabrielle Nguyen, Megan Ivankovich, Thespina (Nina) Yamanis, Maia Johnstone, Stephanie Bishop*, Kaitlyn Patierno, and Lara Vaz. 2023. Learning From Health Systems Strengthening Responses to COVID-19: Documenting Country Experiences Across MOMENTUM: Evidence Synthesis Report. Washington, DC: USAID MOMENTUM Knowledge Accelerator.

  12. Thespina (Nina) Yamanis, Carlitz R, Gonyea O, Skaff S*, Kisanga N, and Mollel H. (2023). “Confronting 'chaos': A qualitative study assessing Tanzanian public health officials’ perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.” BMJ Open; 

  13. Thespina (Nina) Yamanis, Carlitz R, Mollel A. (2021). “Coping with denialism: how street-level bureaucrats adapted and responded to COVID-19 in Tanzania.” Journal of Health, Politics, Policy and Law; Dec 1;46(6):989-1017.

Humanitarian Response, Health, and Migration

  1. Lauren Carruth, (2021). Love and Liberation: Humanitarian Work in Ethiopia's Somali Region. Cornell University Press.  

  2. Lauren Carruth, Carlos Martinez, Lahra Smith, Katharine Donato, Carlos Piñones-Rivera, James Quesada, and Seth Holmes. (2022). “How Should Clinicians Express Solidarity With Asylum Seekers at the US-Mexico Border?” AMA Journal of Ethics. Apr 1;24(4):275-82.

  3. Lauren Carruth and Scott Freeman. (2020). “Aid or exploitation?: food-for-work, cash-for-work, and the production of ‘beneficiary-workers’ in Ethiopia and Haiti.” World Development.

  4. Lauren Carruth and Brandon Kohrt. (2020). “Syndemic effects in complex humanitarian emergencies: a framework for understanding political violence and improving multi-morbidity health outcomes.” Social Science & Medicine.

  5. Lauren Carruth, Mohamed Jama Ateye, Ahmed Nassir, Farah Mussa Hosh, and Emily Mendenhall. 2020. “Diabetes in a humanitarian crisis-affected population: atypical clinical presentations, and challenges to clinical- and community-based management.” Global Public Health. 15(6): 828-839.

  6. Lauren Carruth(2018). “Kinship, nomadism, and humanitarian aid among Somalis in Ethiopia.” 42(1): 149-168. Disasters.

  7. Lauren Carruth, (2014). “Camel Milk, Amoxicillin, and a Prayer: Medical Pluralism and Medical Humanitarian Aid in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.”  Special Issue on Medical Humanitarianism. Social Science & Medicine. 120:405-412.

  8. Maria De Jesus, Warnock, B., Moumni, Z., et al. (2024). Strategies of survival, livelihood, and resistance in transit: A narrative analysis of the migration trajectory of a Guinean asylum seeker in France. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 6.
  9. Maria De Jesus, Warnock, B., Moumni, Z., et al. (2023). The impact of social capital and social environmental factors on mental health and flourishing: the experiences of asylum-seekers in France. Conflict and Health, 17.
  10. Maria De Jesus, Moumni, Z., Sougui, Z.H., et al. (2022). “Living in confinement, stopped in time”: Migrant social vulnerability, coping, and health during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in France. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16):10084:1-15.
  11. Jeannie Samuel, Benilda Batzin, Rosaura Medina, Evaristo Caal, Karin Slowing, Esteban Sabbatasso, Walter Flores. (2024). Indigenous-led struggles for health justice in the context of the climate emergency: insights from Guatemala: BMJ Global Health.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy

  1. Maria De Jesus, Hendrickson, Z., Rivara, J. et al. (2024). Mobility paradoxes: disruptors, benefits, and agency among mobile female sex workers living with HIV in the Dominican Republic and Tanzania. BMC Global Public Health 2, 5.

  2. Maria De Jesus, Hendrickson, Z., Barrington, C. et al. (2024). “You know that we travel a lot”: Mobility narratives among female sex workers living with HIV in Tanzania and the Dominican Republic. PLOS Global Public Health, 4(7).

  3. Maria De Jesus, Ware, D., Meanley, S., et al. (2024). Disrupting the path from depression to loneliness: Multilevel resilience among older sexual minority men with and without HIV. AIDS and Behavior:3574-3586.

  4. Maria De Jesus, Ware D., Brown A.L et al. (2021). Social-environmental resiliencies protect against loneliness among HIV-positive and HIV-negative older men who have sex with men: Results from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). Social Science and Medicine, 272:1-30.

  5. Maria De Jesus, & Williams, D.R. (2018). The Care and Prevention in the United States Demonstration Project: A call for more focus on the social determinants of HIV/AIDS. Public Health Reports, 133(Supplement 2):28S-33S.

  6. Maria De JesusThespina (Nina) Yamanis, Palazzolo, S., Maguire-Marshall, M., & Barker, S. (2016). Documentation status as a contextual determinant of HIV risk among young transgender Latinas. LGBT Health, 3(2): 132-138.

  7.  Maria De Jesus, Sullivan N., Hopman, W., et al. (2023). Examining the role of quality of institutionalized healthcare on maternal mortality in the Dominican Republic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(14):6413:1-11.

  8. Maria De Jesus, Taylor, J., Maine, C., & Nalls, P. (2016). A one-size-fits-all HIV prevention and education approach: Interpreting divergent HIV risk perceptions between African American and East African immigrant women in Washington, DC using the proximate-determinants conceptual framework. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 43(2):78-83. 

  9. Maria De Jesus, Carrete, C., Maine, C., & Nalls, P. (2015). Attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors toward HIV testing among African American and East African immigrant women in Washington, D.C.: Implications for targeted HIV testing promotion and communication strategies. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 91(8):569-575.

  10. Maria De Jesus, Carrete, C., Maine, C., & Nalls, P. (2015). ‘Getting tested is almost like going to the Salem witch trials’: Discordant discourses between western public health messages and sociocultural expectations surrounding HIV testing among East African immigrant women. AIDS Care: Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, 27(5):604-611. 

  11. Maria De Jesus, Shelton, R.C., Snavely, A.C., Othus, M.D., & Allen, J.D. (2013). HPV vaccine decision making and acceptance: Does religion play a role? Journal of Religion and Health, 52(4):1120-1130.

  12. Maria De Jesus, Allen, J.D., Mars, D., Laura, T., Cloutier, L., & Shelton, R.C. (2012). Decision-making about the HPV vaccine among ethnically diverse parents: Implications for health communications. Journal of Oncology:1-5. 

  13. Maria De Jesus, Parast, L., Shelton, R.C., Kokkinogenis, K., Othus, M., Li, Y., & Allen, J.D. (2009). Actual versus preferred sources of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) information among Black, White, and Hispanic parents: implications for health care providers and parent education. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine: The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network, 163(11):1066-1067.

  14. Maria De Jesus, (2007). HIV/AIDS and immigrant Cape Verdean women: Contextualized perspectives of Cape Verdean community advocates. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39(1-2):121-131.

  15. Shannon Hader, Elliot Raizes, Deborah Birx. (2017) Erratum in: J Infect Dis. 2018 Jan 4;217(2):340.

  16. Shannon Hader, Mercy Shibemba, Junko Tanuma, Mark Lubkeman, María López, Cristina Yáñez, Laura Ragull. (2024) Going the extra mile to end the HIV epidemic. Gilead Sciences Inc.

  17. Rachel Sullivan Robinson, (2017). Intimate Interventions in Global Health: Family Planning and HIV Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press.

  18. Jeremy Shiffman, Michael ON Kunnuji, Rachel Sullivan Robinson, and Yusra Shawar. 2018. “International Norms and the Politics of Sexuality Education in Nigeria.”  Globalization and Health 14:63.

  19. Rachel Sullivan Robinson, Michael ON Kunnuji, Yusra Shawar, and Jeremy Shiffman. (2018). “Prioritizing Sexuality Education in Nigeria and Mississippi: The Importance of Local Actors, Political Opportunity, and Creative Strategy.” Global Public Health. 

Community Health and Access

  1. Lauren Carruth and Emily Mendenhall. (2019). “Wasting away: food insecurity, medical insecurity, and diabetes in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.” Social Science & Medicine. 288(May 2019):155-163.

  2. Lauren Carruth, A Roess, Yitagele T, Farah MH, M Salman. (2017). “Antimicrobial Resistance and Food Safety in Africa.” The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 17(6): 575-576.

  3. Maria De Jesus, Balamou, C., Rodrigue-Moulinie, C., Rahmani, S. (2023). Optimizing cancer screening rates in populations with low literacy in France: Results of a mixed-methods cancer educational intervention study. Cancer Research, Statistics, and Treatment 6(3):365-375.

  4. Maria De Jesus, Rodrigue, C., Rahmani, S., & Balamou C. (2021). Addressing cancer inequities by promoting cancer prevention knowledge, awareness, self-efficacy, and screening uptake among low-income and illiterate women in France. International Journal of Public Health, 66:1-12.

  5. Maria De Jesus, Ramachandra, S., De Silva, A., et al. (2021). A mobile health breast cancer educational and screening intervention tailored for low-income, uninsured Latina immigrants. Women’s Health Reports, 2.1: 325-336.

  6. Maria De Jesus, (2016). How religiosity shapes health perceptions and behaviors of Latina immigrants: Is it an enabling or prohibitive factor? Psychology, Health, and Medicine, 21(1):128-133.

  7. Maria De Jesus & Miller, E.B. (2015). Examining breast cancer screening barriers among Central American and Mexican immigrant women: Fatalistic beliefs or structural factors? Health Care for Women International, 36(5): 593-607.

  8. Maria De Jesus, & Xiao, C. (2014). Predicting health care utilization among Latinos: Health locus of control beliefs or access factors? Health Education & Behavior, 41(4):423-430.

  9. Maria De Jesus, & Earl, T. R. (2014). Perspectives on quality mental health care from Brazilian and Cape Verdean outpatients: Implications for effective patient-centered policies and models of care. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 9:228-239.

  10. Maria De Jesus, Greaney, M.L., et al. (2014). Designing audience-centered interactive voice response messages to promote cancer screenings among low-income Latinas. Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice, and Policy, 11:230-239.

  11. Maria De Jesus, (2013). The impact of mass media health communication on health decision-making and medical advice-seeking behavior of U.S. Hispanic population. Health Communication, 28(5):525-529.

  12. Maria De Jesus, (2012). Promoting culturally responsive health communication. Intercultural Management Quarterly, 13(2):9-11.

  13. Maria De Jesus, & Xiao, C. (2012). Predicting Internet use as a source of health information: a “language divide” among the Hispanic population in the United States. Policy and Internet, 4(2):1-11.

  14. Maria De Jesus, Puleo, E., Shelton, R.C., & Emmons, K.M. (2010). Factors associated with colorectal cancer screening among a low-income, multiethnic, highly insured population: Does provider’s understanding of the patient’s social context matter? Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 87(2):236-243.

  15. Maria De Jesus, Shelton, R., Puleo, E., & Emmons, K. (2010). Associations between perceived social environment and neighborhood safety: Health implications. Health & Place, 16(5):1007-1013.

  16. Maria De Jesus, (2010). Institutional barriers and strategies to health promotion: perspectives and experiences of Cape Verdean women health promoters. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 12(3): 398-407. 

  17. Maria De Jesus, (2009). Mutuality at the center: Health promotion with Cape Verdean immigrant women. Ethnicity & Health, 14(1):45-59.

  18. Maria De Jesus, (2009). The importance of social context in understanding and promoting low-income immigrant women’s health. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 20(1):90-97. 

  19. Landrum, K. R., Hall, B. J., Smith, E. R., Walter Flores, Lou-Meda, R., & Rice, H. E. (2022). Challenges with pediatric surgical financing and universal health coverage in Guatemala: A qualitative analysis. PLOS global public health2(9).

  20. Samuel, J., Walter Flores, & Frisancho, A. (2020). Social Exclusion and Universal Health Coverage: Health Care Rights and Citizen-led Accountability in Guatemala and Peru. International Journal for Equity in Health 19(216). 

  21. Wahedi, K., Walter Flores, Beiersmann, C., Bozorgmehr. K., & Jahn, A. (2018) Using Information Communication Technology to Identify Deficits in Rural Health Care: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation from Guatemala. Global Health Action 11(1).

  22. Schaaf, M., Chhabra, S., Walter Flores, Feruglio, F., Dasgupta, J., & Ruano, A.L. (2018) Does Information and Communication Technology Add Value to Citizen-Led Accountability Initiatives in Health? Experiences from India and Guatemala. Health and Human Rights 20(2), 169-184.

  23. Cerón A., Ruano, A.L., Sánchez, S., Chew, A.S., Diaz, D., Hernández, A., & Walter Flores, (2016) Abuse and Discrimination Towards Indigenous People in Public Health Care Facilities: Experiences from Rural Guatemala. International Journal for Equity in Health 15(77).

  24. Ruano, A.L., Sánchez, S., Jerez, F., & Walter Flores, (2015): Making the Post-MDG Global Health Goals Relevant for Highly Inequitable Societies: Findings from a Consultation with Marginalized Populations in Guatemala. International Journal for Equity in Health 13(57).