Zoua M. VangMeta Schroeder Beckner Outreach Professor, Ecology of Healthy Communities

My interdisciplinary scholarship lies at the intersection of sociology, epidemiology, and medicine. My research portfolio includes maternal and child health, international migration (including the healthy immigrant effect), Indigenous health, racism & discrimination as social determinants of wellness, and community-based approaches to health equity and cultural safety. I examine these issues in collaboration with underserved and marginalized populations such as immigrants/refugees, Indigenous communities, and racial/ethnic minorities in Canada and the United States. Trained as a mixed-method researcher, I employ both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and community-based participatory research frameworks in my projects.

My research and teaching are guided by social determinants of health, participatory research, racial equity, and social justice perspectives.

Recent Publications

Vang, Zoua M., Chau, Shirley, Kobayashi, Karen, Owen, Mary J., McKenzie-Sampson, Safyer,
Mayrand-Thibert, Jeanne, and Brass, Gregory. (2021). “Pain and functional Limitations among midlife and older Canadians: The role of discrimination, race and sense of belonging.” Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences, Advanced access.
https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab137

Kim, Il Ju and Vang, Zoua M. “Beyond political citizenship: Marriage migrant women’s voting practices in South Korea.” (2021). Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Online first. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1973390

Silver, Hilah, Sarmiento, Ivan, Pimentel, Juan-Pablo, Budgell, Richard, Cockcroft, Anne, Vang, Zoua M., & Andersson, Neil. (2022). “Childbirth evacuation among rural and remote Indigenous communities in Canada: A scoping review.” Women and Birth 35(1): 11-22.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2021.03.003