Monica Onyango
Profiles

Monica A Onyango, PhD

Clinical Associate Professor, Global Health - Boston University School of Public Health

617-358-2425
monyango@bu.edu
Crosstown Center - 304
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Biography

Monica Adhiambo Onyango, RN, MPH, MS, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). Dr Onyango is the current director of the Global Health Context Certificate. She is also a visiting Professor at the Department of Nursing Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi. Dr. Onyango has over 30 years in health care delivery, management, teaching and research. At BUSPH, she currently teaches courses in managing disasters and complex humanitarian emergencies, sexual and reproductive health in disaster settings, global reproductive and perinatal health, immigrant and refugee health in the United States, preventing sexual and intimate partner violence and individual community and populations health.

Dr Onyango’s research interests and publications focus on sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, the role of nurses and midwives in improving health status of populations globally and health care among populations forcibly displaced by natural disasters and war. Her recent research projects include: examining sexual and reproductive health and transactional sex among forcibly displaced populations in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey; exploring the role of resilience in mental wellbeing and utilization of health services among Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; engaging school stakeholders and communities to reduce HIV stigma and improve antiretroviral therapy adherence among adolescents in western Kenya and exploring the mental health challenges among African immigrants in Massachusetts, United States.

Dr. Onyango’s previous experiences before BUSPH include Kenya Ministry of Health for ten years as a nursing officer in management positions at two hospitals and as a lecturer at the Nairobi’s Medical Training College, School of Nursing. Dr. Onyango also worked as a health team leader with international non-governmental organizations in relief and development in South Sudan, Angola and a refugee camp in Kenya, where she led the design and implementation of community-based health services and maternal and child health programs for refugees and internally displaced populations.

Dr. Onyango co-founded the Global Nursing Caucus (GNC), whose mission is to advance the role of nursing in global health practice, education and policy through advocacy, collaboration, engagement and research, and Circle of Adolescent Health-Kenya to create environments where adolescents and young people lead a healthy life regardless of where they live. She holds a PhD in Nursing from Boston College, a Master of Science (nursing) degree from Boston College, a Master in Public Health degree from Boston University School of Public Health, Diploma in Advanced Nursing from Nairobi University, Diploma in general nursing and midwifery from Kenya Medical Training College, Nairobi. Dr Onyango is also a registered nurse by Massachusetts Board of Nursing.

Education

  • Boston College, PhD Field of Study: Nursing
  • Boston College, MS Field of Study: Nursing
  • Boston University, MPH Field of Study: International Health
  • Kenya Medical Training College, RN Field of Study: Nursing

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHGH755
  • SPHGH766
  • SPHGH881
  • SPHGH941
  • SPHMC786
  • SPHPH720
  • SPHSB753

Publications

  • Published on 3/14/2025

    Usta J, Janbek D, Abboud M, Antoun J, Al Ghrawi R, Onyango MA. Role of resilience in general health and mental wellbeing among Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon: a mixed methods study. Confl Health. 2025 Mar 14; 19(1):15. PMID: 40082988.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/22/2024

    Shirin Heidari Ryan Whitacre Jinan Usta Meric Caglar Thanasis Tyrovolas Aesha Rajan Monica A Onyango. Liminality and transactional sex among queer refugees: Insights from Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, and Switzerland. Journal of Refugee Studies. 2024; (Special Is):1-17.

     Read At: Custom
  • Published on 1/1/2024

    Erin K. Fortunato, Carol A. Dolan, Jennifer Beard, Jacob Bor, Nafisa Halim, Monica A. Onyango, Junenette L. Peters, Jennifer Schlezinger, Sophie Godley, . Balancing Faculty Autonomy with Collaboration,Course Updates, and Consistency in Core Courses: Recommendations for Teaching Teams and Administrators of Schools and Programs of Public Health. Pedagogy in Health Promotion. 2024; 00(0):1-9.

     Read At: Custom
  • Published on 10/31/2023

    Monica Adhiambo Onyango, Bukiwe Sihlongonyane and Nishita Patel. Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences (chapters in press). Humanitarian response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. 2023.

     Read At: Custom
  • Published on 6/19/2023

    Rockers PC, Kiragu ZW, Onyango MA, Laing RO, Wirtz VJ. Willingness to pay brand premiums for generic medicines in Kenya: A bidding game experiment. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2023 Sep; 38(5):1453-1463. PMID: 37337315.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/1/2022

    Stevens JR, Sabin LL, Onyango MA, Sarker M, Declercq E. Midwifery centers as enabled environments for midwifery: A quasi experimental design assessing women's birth experiences in three models of care in Bangladesh, before and during covid. PLoS One. 2022; 17(12):e0278336. PMID: 36454986.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/20/2022

    Kiragu ZW, Rockers PC, Onyango MA, Mungai J, Mboya J, Laing R, Wirtz VJ. Household access to non-communicable disease medicines during universal health care roll-out in Kenya: A time series analysis. PLoS One. 2022; 17(4):e0266715. PMID: 35443014.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/31/2021

    Monica A. Onyango, Houda Chergui, Lora L. Sabin, Lisa J. Messersmith, Natalya Sarkisova, Jane Oyombra, Perez Akello, Daniel O. Kwaro, and Juliana Otieno. School-level Barriers of Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence and Interventions to Overcome them Among Adolescents Living with HIV in Western Kenya: A Qualitative Study. The Open AIDS Journal. 2021; 15:93-107.
  • Published on 10/21/2021

    Wirtz VJ, Servan-Mori E, Mungai J, Mboya J, Rockers PC, Onyango MA, Kiragu ZW, Laing R. Probability and amount of medicines expenditure according to health insurance status in Kenya: A household survey in eight counties. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2022 Mar; 37(2):725-733. PMID: 34674309.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/22/2021

    Chynoweth SK, Onyango MA, Gallagher MC, Casey SE. Women's and children's health in conflict settings: build on existing efforts. Lancet. 2021 05 22; 397(10288):1879. PMID: 34022979.

     Read At: PubMed

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