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Elizabeth Onyango is an Assistant Professor of Healthy and Sustainable Communities in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. She is a critical interdisciplinary and community-based health researcher with interests in explorative studies of what matters to populations, food security and nutrition, as well as social inequalities in the health and wellbeing of migrants. Her work also extends into intersections of gender, gender-based violence, household food security and associated health outcomes in minority populations. Elizabeth has published extensively on these topics.
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Pandemic precarity and food insecurity in urban Ghana during COVID-19 University of Alberta Publication 2023-04-01 Integrating digital solutions into national health data systems through public-private collaboration: An early experience of the SPICE platform in Kenya University of Alberta Publication 2023-10-03 The food (in)security and mental health nexus in high-risk immigrant populations in middle- and high-income countries: A scoping review TRS1 1.2 University of Alberta Publication 2025-01-01 TRS1 1.2 Exploring neighborhood transformations and community gardens to meet the cultural food needs of immigrants and refugees: A scoping review TRS3 1.3 University of Alberta Publication 2025-01-01 TRS3 1.3 Food security and mental health nexus: The experiences of high-risk immigrant youth in Canada TRS1 1.2 University of Alberta, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of British Columbia Activity 2025-05-08 Odhiambo, S. ,
Akateh, D. ,
Wong, J. ,
Yohani, S. ,
Saewyc, E. ,
Onyango, E. TRS1 1.2 Growing roots: the role of collective community gardening in cultural food insecurity and social integration of African immigrants in Alberta, Canada In western countries such as Canada, immigrants are experiencing cultural food insecurity - that is the inability to acquire, afford, and access one' ethnic foods and community gardens have emerged as potential area for addressing cultural food insecurity. However, limited knowledge exists on the role of collective community gardens in addressing the cultural food needs of immigrant communities. We conducted a community-based participatory research (CBPR) informed by an Afrocentric lens using quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Data collection involved an online survey (n = 119) which was co-developed and co-administered with our community partners- Sinkunia Community Development Organization (SCDO). Semi-structured, in-depth interviews (IDI) were also conducted with purposefully sampled participants (n = 10) to obtain nuanced narratives. This study included Black identifying African immigrants from sub-Saharan countries. High prevalence of food insecurity (75.6%) was observed in the survey participants, higher than the general Canadian household prevalence rate. Participants recalled experiencing food insecurity ranging from mild (39.5%) to moderate (26.1%) and severe (10.1%) food insecurity. High prevalence of cultural food insecurity (80.7%) was also observed with most participants reporting some level of deprivation of cultural foods. However, participants demonstrated resilience and adaptability in maintaining their cultural food-ways amid these challenges. Collective community gardens allowed immigrant communities to: (a) cultivate connections through food production ('seeds of sovereignty'); (b) build intergenerational bridges ('seeds of identity'); (c) grow together across generations; and (d) grow strong to embody health and wellbeing. The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence on the embodied benefits of community gardens for food security and social place-making of immigrant populations. High interest and engagement in gardening activities in the population suggests potential for expansion of community-led initiatives to support social and cultural integration of immigrant. This is important to Alberta's and to Canada's current and future sustainable economic and social growth. University of Alberta Publication 2025-07-02 Barriers and Facilitators to Engagement in Collective Gardening Among Black African Immigrants in Alberta, Canada Background: Community gardens are increasingly popular in Canadian cities, serving as transformative spaces where immigrants can develop self-reliant strategies for accessing culturally familiar and healthy nutritious foods. However, numerous facilitators and barriers exist that limit the engagement of racialized groups such as Black-identifying immigrants. Using a socio-ecological framework, this research explores barriers and facilitators of engagement of Black African immigrants in collective community gardening in Alberta, Canada. Methods: The study adopted a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach using mixed methods. Data collection included structured surveys (n = 119) to assess general engagement, facilitators, and barriers; in-depth interviews (n = 10) to explore lived experiences; and Afrocentric sharing circles (n = 2) to probe collective perspectives in relation to engagement in collective gardening. Participants were purposefully recruited through community networks within African immigrant-serving community organizations. Results: Our findings revealed how barriers at various levels of the socio-ecological model (SEM) interact to shape the interest and engagement of African immigrants in collective community gardening. Access to collective gardens was associated with significant benefits, including maintaining healthy foodways, knowledge exchange, growing social capital, and community connections that support overall wellbeing. Conclusions: This study contributes an accessible framework for understanding and addressing the complex barriers that limit engagement in community gardens for vulnerable communities, while highlighting opportunities for creating more inclusive and culturally responsive urban agriculture initiatives. University of Alberta Publication 2025-05-16 Cultural relevance of food security initiatives and the associated impacts on the cultural identity of immigrants in Canada: A scoping review of food insecurity literature University of Alberta Publication 2025-05-01 Onyango, E. , Keji Mori, Stephanie Fernandez, Bahareh Seyyedin, Nkechinyere Chinedu-Asogwa, Dayirai Kapfunde
Exploring the consequences of housing insecurity on HIV treatment outcomes: Qualitative insights from Kisumu, Kenya Housing insecurity (HI) is inextricably linked to poor health outcomes. Evidence suggests people living with HIV are more likely to experience poor psychological, physical, and nutritional health challenges. However, how housing insecurity might impact treatment outcomes among people living with HIV is under-explored. We examined the consequences of HI on treatment outcomes among people living with HIV in rural Kenya. Between July and August 2023. we purposively recruited and conducted 30 in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions (n = 35) with adult men and women living with HIV. Guided by grounded theory, the data were analyzed in Dedoose and organised into themes. The structural violence framework was then used to contextualise the findings. We found that HI exacerbated poor health outcomes through perceived adherence challenges and increased occurrence of opportunistic diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, and cough due to housing conditions. Additionally, we found that the cost of rebuilding and maintaining took away resources from other household needs. Improving HI thus may play a critical role in enhancing HIV treatment outcomes. Given the variety of ways housing, food, water, and HIV affect health, gaining insight into the relationships between these factors has tremendous implications for care and treatment. University of Alberta Publication 2025-04-17 Patrick Mbullo Owuor, Doreen Obondo, Hellen Nyagol, Wicklife Orero, Joseph Owuor,
Odhiambo, S. , Godfred O Boateng,
Onyango, E. Overcoming structural violence through community-based safe-spaces: Qualitative insights from young women on oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Kisumu, Kenya Biomedical and behavioral interventions have led to significant success in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. However, in rural communities, structural violence persists and continues to create barriers to the uptake and utilization of health services, especially among young women. To overcome these barriers, community-led initiatives have provided a range of interventions, including safe spaces (i.e., vetted meeting venues where girls come together to discuss issues affecting their wellbeing and access health services, such as PreP) for young women. Although these spaces provide a safe haven for at-risk girls and young women, the role of community safe spaces in overcoming structural violence remains under-explored in literature. Using the structural violence framework, this study explored how community-led safe spaces for HIV prevention programs can overcome structural forces – policies, norms, or practices – that perpetuate structural violence and prevent access to healthcare services among young girls and women in Kisumu, Kenya. We purposively recruited young women (n = 36) enrolled in the Pamoja Community-Based Organization’s DREAMS program in Kisumu, Kenya. Data were collected from the 2022–2023 cohort between June and July 2023 using semi-structured, in-depth interviews (n = 20) and two focused group discussions (n = 16). Guided by thematic analysis, data were analyzed in Atlas.Ti and organized into themes. This study found that community approaches such as safe spaces are instrumental in overcoming structural violence among young women by addressing three forms of barriers – institutional, sociocultural, and economic barriers – that limit HIV support service access. Institutional barriers encompassed distance and time to health facilities and provider attitude, while sociocultural barriers included knowledge gaps, stigma, cultural norms, beliefs, and practices, limiting health service access. Lastly, the socioeconomic barriers highlighted inadequate income, financial literacy, and financial dependency. Community safe spaces are vital for decreasing vulnerability and serve as critical points for accessing services and building capacity for young women. This is particularly important in rural areas where retrogressive societal norms create obstacles to obtaining essential health services. To effectively overcome structural violence, however, government support and a suitable policy environment are essential for implementing interventions to address the underlying root causes of structural violence and sustaining community-based safe spaces. University of Alberta Publication 2025-02-24 Food Insecurity and Dietary Deprivation: Rural–Urban Migrant Households in Kenya University of Alberta Publication 2025-01-01 Growing Roots: The role of collective community gardening in cultural food insecurity and social integration of African Immigrants in Edmonton, AB Abstract Background: Food insecurity is a public health challenge that has worsened with increasing cost of living due to inflation and the COVID-19 aftermath. Social and economic inequalities have deepened as communities on the margins especially immigrants experience increased inequities in accessing basic amenities such as housing and food. In Canada, immigrants are experiencing financial and cultural food insecurity. However, limited knowledge exists on the role of collective community gardens in addressing these aspects of food insecurity. Methods: We conducted a community-based participatory research (CBPR) informed by an Afrocentric lens using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Data collection involved an online survey (n=119) which was co-developed and co-administered by our community partners - Sinkunia Community Development Organization (SCDO). The questionnaires were pre-tested with a subsample of community members to ensure reliability and validity of the tool. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews were also conducted with purposefully sampled participants (n=10) to obtain nuanced narratives. This study included Black African immigrants from 13 sub-Saharan countries. Individuals from Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe are represented in the sample. Results: High prevalence of food insecurity (75.6%, n=90) was observed in the sample (n=119), higher than the general Canadian household prevalence rate. Participants recalled experiencing food insecurity ranging from mild (39.5%, n=47) to moderate (26.1%, n=31), and severe (10.1%, n=12) food insecurity in the recall period. High prevalence of cultural food insecurity was also observed, most (80.7%, n=96) of participants reported experiencing deprivation. Participants reported occasional struggles accessing cultural food, primarily due to high costs, limited availability, and worries about the quality. Participants demonstrated resilience and adaptability in maintaining their cultural foodways amid these challenges. About 4 in 5 participants engaged in some form of gardening. Engagement in collective community gardening provided spaces for cultivating connections to food production and shaping Black immigrant individuals’ relationship with the food environment. These “third spaces” serve as cultural melting pots with collective work fostering both intercultural and intergenerational bridges through embedding cultural foodways into children’s everyday experiences. Conclusion: Food insecurity remains a critical issue for Black immigrants in Edmonton, Alberta who are experiencing elevated risk. Our findings contribute to a growing body of evidence on the embodied benefits of community gardens for food security and social placemaking of immigrant populations. High interest and engagement in gardening activities in the population suggests potential for expansion of community-led initiatives. University of AlbertaPublication 2024-11-28 Transnationalism and Hegemonic Masculinity: Experiences of Gender-Based Violence Among African Women Immigrants in Canada Gender-based violence (GBV) is an age-long issue plaguing societies all over the globe. Over the years, GBV perpetrated against women has been justified and legitimized by patriarchal and hegemonic masculine structures. This study explored the role of hegemonic masculinities and transnational cultural conflicts in creating a suitable environment for GBV against women newcomers from the continent of Africa. The study gathered perspectives of African immigrants and of the service providers working in immigrant-serving organizations. The paper adopts a qualitative approach and hinges on the transnationalism framework. This framework argues that immigrants maintain connections while transitioning to their destination countries. In such processes, immigrants carry with them their beliefs about cultural norms and hegemonic masculinity, of their country of origin. A total of 13 women immigrants and 20 service providers were purposively recruited to participate in the semi-structured interview. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed thematically and organized using Nvivo version 12. Findings show that African immigrant women in Canada disproportionately bear the burden of GBV due to hegemonic masculinities. The construction of masculinity in immigrant populations is heavily reliant on the communities of origin. As such, the prevailing systems during and post migration such as—unstable residency status, fear of deportation, fear of social and family sanctions and stigmatization, economic dependence on their spouses, and fear of retaliation from their spouses creates an environment that supports toxic masculinity. The study recommends comprehensive and culturally sensitive programmes and services to support African immigrants affected by hegemonic masculinity and GBV. University of Alberta Publication 2024-11-15 Onyango, E. , Mary Olukotun, Faith Osasumwen Olanrewaju, Dayirai Kapfunde, Nkechinyere Chinedu-Asogwa, Bukola Salami
Disparities and determinants of Somali refugee food security in Nairobi, Kenya University of Alberta Publication 2024-10-03 Pandemic precarity, crisis-living, and food insecurity: female Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa Our chapter examines the neglected connections between migration, gender, and food security in the context of the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic, using the case study of female-headed Zimbabwean migrant households in South Africa. We draw on the concept of "migrant pandemic precarity" to highlight the distinctive pandemic-related negative turns and vulnerabilities encountered by migrant households stretched across sending and receiving areas. We contend that unchecked food insecurity is a core dimension of migrant pandemic precarity and food security constitutes an important measure to evaluate the unequal and interconnected outcomes of Covid-19. Drawing on the findings of a new survey with Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town, we show that female migrants and their dependants experienced considerable deterioration in their food security. Women constitute a significant cohort of mixed migratory flows to South Africa tied to Zimbabwe's prolonged economic crisis. Many migrant households in poorer urban neighborhoods already faced food security-related challenges before the onset of the pandemic due to 'crisis-living'. Continued exposure to Zimbabwe's ongoing crisis, the worsening of these circumstances immediately before and during the pandemic and increased remitting pressures made this cohort especially susceptible to the pandemic shocks. University of Alberta Publication 2024-01-12 Sujata Ramachandran, Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera,
Onyango, E. Intersections of race, COVID-19 pandemic, and food security in Black identifying Canadian households: A scoping review Although studies have identified food insecurity as a racialized inequity issue disproportionately affecting Black identifying Canadians, research exploring how anti-Black racism across multiple systems create inequities including increased risk for food insecurity among African Caribbean Black identifying households in Canada, is limited. Using an intersectionality lens, this scoping review addresses this knowledge gap by elucidating the intersectionality of race with multiple social determinants of health that directly and indirectly impedes Black people (both of African and Caribbean descent) from accessing adequate and appropriate food, resulting in disproportionate health and social outcomes. Critical analyses of twelve journal articles identified systematically and the review of government and organizational reports and websites reveal that food security in Black identifying individuals in Canada is a racialized emergent public health issue rooted in structural and systemic racism that intersects with multiple determinants of health to produce grave social and economic inequities. The recent COVID-19 pandemic intensified these inequities by increasing food insecurity in Black identifying households in Canada. Cultural food security, referring to the ability to acquire and access culturally appropriate foods to one’s ethnic origins as fulfilment to cultural identity, is an interrelated and foundational pillar to food security yet one that is grossly unacknowledged in current actions. National policies are thus needed that recognize cultural food security, and address root causes through increased social support and sustainable food systems. A reasonable first step to ensure the cultural relevance of policies and initiatives is the active engagement of Black communities. University of Alberta Publication 2023-11-13 Victims or perpetrators, agency, and politics of intimate partner violence in the social construction of health and wellbeing: a qualitative study from Kenya Deeply rooted cultural beliefs and norms relating to the position and the responsibilities assigned to men and women play a significant role in propagating intimate partner violence (IPV). It is yet to be understood in what ways experiences of IPV contribute to how people socially construct their health and wellbeing as they navigate the tensions created by the prevailing sociocultural systems. To address this knowledge gap, we employed a social constructionist perspective and the eco-social model to explore how Kenyans aged 25-49 years socially construct their health and wellbeing in relation to their experiences of IPV. We conducted nine in-depth interviews and ten focus group discussions in four counties in Kenya between January and April of 2017. Textual analysis of the narratives reveals that although men are usually framed as perpetrators of violence, they may also be victims of reciprocal aggression by women, as recently witnessed in cases where women retaliate through gang attacks, chopping of male genitalia, and scalding with water. However, women are still disproportionately affected by gender-based violence because of the deeply rooted gender imbalances in patriarchal societies. Women experience social stigma associated with such violence and when separated or divorced in situations of unsafe relationships, they are viewed as social misfits. As such, most women opt to stay in unhealthy relationships to avoid social isolation. These experiences are not only unhealthy for their psychological wellbeing but also for their physical health and socioeconomic status and that of their offspring. University of Alberta Publication 2023-11-13
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