SSM ECRs featuring… Chinwe Onuegbu
SSM ECRs featuring… Chinwe Onuegbu!
Chinwe Onuegbu is a Lecturer in Public Health at Oxford Brookes University and University of Warwick.
 | Chinwe Onuegbu Oxford Brookes University & University of Warwick Lecturer in Public Health SSM member since: 2022 SSM participation: Event officer for the ECR subcommittee Topics of interest: Global health equity, health information literacy |
What inspired you to pursue a career in epidemiology and population health?
In my final year of undergraduate study in Sociology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, I was tasked with choosing a dissertation topic that genuinely interested me. I stumbled upon a fascinating TV advertisement for mosquito repellent (click here to watch the video on YouTube), which sparked my curiosity about public health communication and its impacts on community health behaviours. This led me to explore the perceptions, preferences, and perceived impacts of antimalaria advertisements in rural and urban settings in Ibadan, Nigeria for my dissertation (click here for the paper based on this work).
The research experience was eye-opening. It allowed me to understand how different socioeconomic and environmental factors shape the acceptance of public health information. This inspired me to undertake a Master’s in Sociology (2015-2016), majoring in Demography and Medical Sociology at the University of Ibadan, and then my PhD in Health Sciences (2018-2022) at the University of Warwick, UK.
What excites you about working in research now?
I am most excited about the opportunity to contribute my research skills and experiences to addressing health challenges globally, especially in LMICs.
What area of epidemiology/population health are you interested in?
My research interests include Global health equity, Digitalization and health in low resource settings of LMICs, Social networks, new media, and health outcomes in the digital age.
Can you tell us a bit about a project you’re working on now?
I am presently working on a post-doctoral proposal for a digital health intervention to support treatment-seeking decision-making in low-resource settings in Anglophone and Francophone Africa. A key finding from my PhD is that people experiencing symptoms in disadvantaged urban settings in Africa relied on their social network members such as family members and friends for advice to make treatment decisions (click here to read the paper). This had both positive (e.g. encouragement to seek timely care from formal health providers) and negative impacts (e.g. social network members sharing unverified health advice). With expanding technological resources in Africa (click here to read the GSMA report on the Mobile Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa), my postdoctoral explores the potential of digitalisation to bridge the gap in access to formal health advice.
What do you hope this will lead to?
I hope that the project will provide evidence to support the deployment of context-specific digital health interventions to support healthcare provision in Africa.
Bonus question from ECR sub-committee: What has been a highlight for you as Events Officer on the ECR subcommittee?
I would say the Spring event the ECR subcommittee held at the University of Warwick in May 2024. As Events Officer on the subcommittee, I lead on organising the day which was focused on fellowship and grant applications. We heard from academics with a range of experience in applying for and winning grants who shared their knowledge on grant writing, project planning, and being on funding panels, among other topics. I really enjoyed meeting colleagues from other institutions and learning about their research and future opportunities for collaboration, as well as being able to inform and encourage other ECRs on their academic journeys.
To keep up to date with Chinwe’s work, you can follow her on X @chinwe_onuegbu or get in touch via email.
SSM ECR features is a blog series that celebrates early career researchers. Each month we meet a member we admire, learn more about their work and find out what and who inspires them. To find out more visit socsocmed.org.uk/blog or email ecr.ssm@gmail.com.