Dr. Sameera Shukanta Nayak
Assistant Professor · Tenure-Track
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health
College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
She/Her/Hers/Herself
About
Dr. Sameera Nayak is a mixed methods public health researcher who investigates the association between social conditions and health inequities to better understand the health and experiences of marginalized and oppressed populations worldwide. Her research is cross-cutting, and her work has spanned immigrant health, legal status, social, political, and structural determinants of health, and women’s health. She has an additional program of research on developing, implementing, and evaluating equitable health service delivery models globally and in the U.S.
Research interests
Immigrant health; Legal status; Political and political determinants of health; Social epidemiology; Mental health; Reproductive health; Undocumented Asian immigrants
Teaching interests
Epidemiology; Social determinants of health; Migration and health; Health and human rights
Education
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Ph D, Population Health
— Northeastern University (2022) Legal status stratification and immigration policy: Impacts on the violence experiences and pregnancy outcomes of immigrants in the United States
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MA, Clinical Psychology
— Columbia University (2017) Panic Disorder and Suicide Risk in Trauma-Exposed Youth: Findings from Sierra Leone and Liberia
- BA, Psychology & Minor in French & Francophone Studies — University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (2014)
Publications
- Intimate Partner Violence and Time to Making an Abortion Appointment in the United States 2025
- Abortion and Immigration are at the forefront of Trump’s plans for his second term: What does this mean for immigrants’ reproductive access? 2025
- Alignment of state-level policies and public attitudes towards abortion legality and government restrictions on abortion in the United States 2023
- Implementing integrated early childhood mental health services in primary care: Relationships, vision, and sustainability 2023
- Predictors of Service Utilization of Young Children and Families Enrolled in a Pediatric Primary Care Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Program 2022
- Engaging and Supporting Young Children and their Families in Early Childhood Mental Health Services: The Role of the Family Partner 2022
- Movement and Solidarity: Community Mobilization to Mitigate the Adverse Impact of COVID-19 on Families with Young Children Receiving Care from Early Childhood Systems 2021
- Is divisive politics making Americans sick? Associations of perceived partisan polarization with physical and mental health outcomes among adults in the United States 2021
- Reducing parental trauma and stress in neonatal intensive care: systematic review and meta-analysis of hospital interventions. 2019
- Trauma Alleviation Treatment for unaccompanied children after the Rwandan Genocide: A cautionary tale 2019
- Stigma-related mental health knowledge and attitudes among primary health workers and community health volunteers in rural Kenya 2017
- Quality of life of depressed and suicidal patients seeking services from traditional and faith healers in rural Kenya 2017
- Insufficient: A scoping review of structural racism and intimate partner violence in US- based immigrant communities of color
- Health care use and uninsurance among non-U.S. citizens during 2019-2022 public charge rule changes
- "No safe spaces”: The retraumatization and dehumanization of immigrant survivors of domestic violence in the United States
Presentations
- Intimate partner violence and delays in scheduling abortion services 2024
- Navigating Intersectional Barriers: Abortion Access and Family Planning for Immigrants in the Current Legal Landscape 2024
Grants and Contracts
- Beyond the Binary: Immigrant Health and Well-Being Across the Status Continuum 2023
- Structural Racism and Intimate Partner Violence in Immigrant communities: A Conceptual Model 2023
- Associations between the U.S. Immigration Policy Climate and Domestic Violence Survivors and Systems: A Mixed–Methods Study 2021
Courses Taught
- Soc Bases:Publ/Comm Hlth