• Associate Director, MPH Program, Global Health
  • Assistant Teaching Professor, Global Health
  • eDGH Instructor
Profile image of Rabi Yunusa

Hans Rosling Center 761A
3980 15th Ave.
Box 351620
Seattle, WA 98195
United States

Phone Number: 
206-685-0485
Email: 
rabiy@uw.edu
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Biography 

Rabi Yunusa, MD,MPH, is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. Her research interests in public and global health stem from her lived experiences of being affected by structural and social violence. Her research and work focus on the negative role of structural violence on the health of communities and preventing violence against women and girls in resource limited settings. Rabi collaborates with communities in the USA, Ghana and Nigeria in bringing Equity, Antiracism and Social Justice lens in her activities. She identifies as an African American Muslim woman with roots in Nigeria where she is also a practicing physician and does work related to her research interests.

Education 
  • MPH (University of Washington)
  • MBBS (Ahmadu Bello University)
Country Affiliations 
Languages 
  • Arabic
  • Hausa
  • Melanesian Pidgin
Health Topics 
  • Community-Based Participatory Research
  • Education and Training
  • Female Circumcision
  • Health Disparities
  • Health Interventions
  • Health Policy and Advocacy
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Immigrants and Refugees
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Injury, Violence, Trauma and Domestic Violence
  • Maternal Child Health (incl. Reproductive Health)
  • Mental Health
  • Non-Communicable Diseases
  • Qualitative Research and Methods
  • Race
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Social Justice and Human Rights
  • War, Conflict, and Peace Studies
DGH Centers, Programs and Initiatives and Affiliated Organizations 
Publications 

Refereed Research Publications

2022     Benki-Nugent, S. F., Yunusa, R., Mueni, A., Laboso, T., Tamasha, N., Njuguna, I., Gómez, L., Wamalwa, D. C., Tapia, K., Maleche-Obimbo, E., Bangirana, P., Boivin, M. J., & John-Stewart, G. C. (2022). Lower Neurocognitive Functioning in HIV-Exposed Uninfected Children Compared with that in HIV-Unexposed Children. Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999)89(4), 441–447. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000002881

2025     Yunusa R, Abdallah M, Abubakar D, Tukur I, Yuguda N, Shitu M, Muyideen A, Tureczek A, Onajite I, Mukasa D, Jaman P. Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of People Living with Disabilities: Family Planning Practice and Need in Gusau, Zamfara State, NW Nigeria. Open Public Health J, 2025; 18:e18749445377474  http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0118749445377474250318045029

2026     Yunusa R., Jaman P., Tureczek A., Joof P., Mukasa D. Understanding and Preventing Gender-based Intimate Partner Violence among West African Immigrants of Washington State, USA. Community-Based Participatory Research. Open Public Health J, 2026; 19: e18749445451237.  http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0118749445451237260226051346

 

Other Non-Refereed Published Scholarly Publications

2010    Thesis: Yunusa, R., Household Expenditure on Malaria in Samaru Community, Zaria: A mixed method study

2018    Roll, A., Ahmed, S., Yunusa, R., Improving Viral Hepatitis Outreach in Snohomish County: A Process Evaluation. Shared with Snohomish County Health District, WA

2019     Thesis: Yunusa, R., Chapman, R., Frey, S., Rao, D. Barriers and Facilitators to Care-Seeking among Pregnant and Postnatal HIV Positive Women in Rural Northwestern Nigeria: A Qualitative study of the social determinants of PMTCT success.

2023     Yunusa, R., Agata, M., Collom, M., Gao, L., Hong, K., Ngamsiripol, M. Holding Landlords Accountable for Mold Growth and Clean-Up in Whatcom County. A policy analysis of RCW59.18.060 for Tenants Revolt Advocacy organization.

2023     Yunusa, R., West, K., and Ganti, A. (2023). Community Collaborative Experiential Learning Framework for Public Health Education.  UW Department of Health Systems and Population Health, UW School of Public Health.

2025     Op-ed. Yunusa, R. Call to Action: The Unintended Consequences of Canceling PEPFAR. JOJ Pub Health Juniper Online Journal of Public Health. 2025; 9(3): 555765. DOI: 10.19080/JOJPH.2024.09.555765.

 

In the News

2024     Edmonds news. Addressing Domestic Violence among West African Women.

2024     SPH Blog. SPH UW Martin Luther King Community Service Award