elizabeth onyango

PhD, MPH, BSc. Env

Assistant Professor, Healthy and Sustainable Communities,

School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Canada

Principal Researcher

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Research

Food insecurity, nutrition and wellbeing

Intersections of gender, gender-based violence and household food security

Social inequality and health and wellbeing of immigrants

Community engagement and community-based health research

Mixed methods research - Afrocentric sharing circles, photovoice, and survey methodologies

Teaching

Community-based and health promotion research methods

Leadership and professional skills in public health

Dr. Elizabeth Onyango is an Assistant Professor of Healthy and Sustainable Communities in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.

She holds a PhD in Health Geography of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and a Master's of Public Health, Epidemiology and Population Health of Maseno University in Kenya. Current teaching and research focuses on healthy and sustainable communities, community-based and health promotion research, community engagement in food security initiatives, and leadership and professional skills in public health practice.

Dr. Onyango's research work is grounded in eco-social framework, Afrocentrism, critical theory, community engagement and community-based participatory research approaches. She employs mixed methods approaches including both qualitative (interviews, focus groups, Afrocentric sharing circles, photovoice, and document reviews) and quantitative (survey methodologies) techniques. She has done research in Kenya, Ecuador, South Africa, and Canada and her work has been published in a variety of peer reviewed journals including Social Sciences & Medicine, PLos One, Wellbeing, Space & Society, Environments, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Public Health Nutrition, and Journal of Maternal & Child Nutrition.

Dr. Onyango’s research interests include explorative studies of what matters to communities/populations with a focus on food security and nutrition of populations and social inequalities in health and wellbeing. Her work also extends into intersections of gender, gender-based violence and household food security and the associated health outcomes in women, children, and youth.

She/her

community engagement and service

Dr. Onyango is passionate about community engagement and service and has worked in different capacities within the academic and non-academic communities.

She is currently:

Associate member of the Women & Children's Health Research Institute at the University of Alberta;
Associate member of the Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Ryerson University;
Board member of the African Community Wellness Initiative in Waterloo Region;
A member of the Edmonton Food Council; and
A member of the board of directors of Pamoja Community-Based Organization (CBO), Kisumu, Kenya.

featured publications

Traversing the geographies of displacement, livelihoods, and embodied health and wellbeing of senior women in Kenya.Onyango, E. O., & Elliott, S. J.Wellbeing, Space & Society Journal. 2022 October; 3 (100110) 10.1016/j.wss.2022.100110

Preparing for COVID-19: Household food insecurity and vulnerability to shocks in Nairobi, Kenya.Onyango, E. O., Crush, J., & Owuor, S.Plos one. 2021 October; 16 (11)

Migration, Rural–Urban Connectivity, and Food Remittances in KenyaOnyango, E. O., Crush, J., & Owuor, S.Environments. 2021 August; 8 (9):92

Bleeding Bodies, Untrustworthy Bodies: A Social Constructionist Approach to Health and Wellbeing of Young People in KenyaOnyango, E. O., & Elliott, S. J.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020 October; 72 (20):7555 10.3390/ijerph17207555

Wellbeing in Place.Onyango E. O. & Kangmennaang, J.International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. 2020 March; 14 10.1016/B978-0-08-102295-5.10443-3

Effectiveness of zinc-fortified water on zinc intake, status, and morbidity in Kenyan pre-school children: a randomized controlled trial.Kujinga, P., Galetti, V., Onyango, E. O., Jakab, V., Buerkli, S., Andang’o, P., Brouwer, I.D., Zimmerman, M.B. and Moretti, D.Public Nealth Nutrition. 2018 May; 21 (15):2855–2865 10.1017/S1368980018001441

The next Sub-Saharan African epidemic? A case study of the determinants of cervical cancer knowledge and screening in Kenya.Kangmennaang, J., Onyango, E. O., Luginaah, I., & Elliott, S. J. (2018). The next Sub Saharan African epidemic? A case study of the determinants of cervical cancer knowledge and screening in Kenya. Social Science & Medicine, 197, 203-212.Social Science & Medicine. . 2018 April; 197 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.013

Combining food-based dietary recommendations using Optifood with zinc fortified water potentially improves nutrient adequacy among 4- to 6-year-old children in Kisumu West district, Kenya.ujunga, P., Borgonjen-van den Berg, K.J., Superchi, C., Ten Hove, H.J., Onyango, E.O., Andang'o, P., Galetti, V., Zimmerman, M.B., Morettie, D., Brouwer, I.D.Maternal & child nutrition. 2017 December; 14 (2): e12515

Factors in the management of feeding in nursery school children as perceived by their mothers in rural Bondo County, Kenya Allan R Were, Felix N Kioli, Kennedy Onkware, Elizabeth O Onyango, Sussy Gumo and Ouma C.BMC International Health and Human Rights. 2013 June; 13 (47)

Factors associated with non-adherence to Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) to malaria in a rural population from holoendemic region of western Kenya Onyango E.O., George A., Watsierah C.A., Were T., Okumu W., Anyona S.B., Raballah E., Orinda G.O. and Ouma C.BMC Infectious Diseases. 2012 August; 12 (143)