Biography: Dr. Hafifa Shabaik is a registered nurse with a background in community health, currently serving as Quality Measures Specialist RN and coordinator for the Medication-Assisted Treatment and Hepatitis C Treatment programs of an outpatient clinic aimed to address health disparities in underserved rural communities of Kumeyaay Indian Nation. Dr. Shabaik received her undergraduate degree in Community Health Education from California State University, Long Beach and entered the field of nursing through the Master of Science in Nursing program at Charles R. Drew University. Dr. Shabaik obtained her doctorate degree at the University of California, Los Angeles where she conducted her dissertation on exploring sociocultural factors to preventive health and cancer screening in resettled refugee women. This research was supported by the UCLA Cota V. Robles Fellowship and the T32 Fellowship in Vulnerable Populations Research.

Research interests while in our program: The social determinants of migrant and women’s health, specifically the social and cultural contexts of vulnerable populations; examining resilience and the long-term health outcomes of resettled refugees; and population health interventions engaging “unseen patients” in accessing preventive health services.