Eunhee Park

Eunhee Park

About me

My name is Eunhee Park and I am a doctoral student in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Fielding School of Public Health.

I promote gender equity and improve sexual and reproductive health by examining the impact of social determinants of health. My research interests center around violence based on gender and race, sexual and reproductive health, and social determinants of health. I am interested in mixed-methods research to inform the uptake of evidence-based practices that prevent diseases and injuries and reduce harms.

Currently, I am leading the Double Jeopardy study as a co-principal investigator to examine Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) college students’ exposure to sexual violence, xenophobia, institutional support, and physical/mental health during COVID-19 in California, U.S.

For my doctoral dissertation research, I collaborate with epidemiologists at the Division of HIV and STD programs in the Los Angeles Department of Public Health to address the congenital syphilis epidemic in the region.

  • Areas of interest: community health; social epidemiology; qualitative research; population-based research; research ethics; intimate partner violence; campus-based sexual assault and dating violence; HIV/AIDS; congenital syphilis; alcohol and substance use; global health; Sub-Saharan Africa; sexual and reproductive health and rights; maternal and child health.

Biosketch

As an undergraduate student, I conducted interviews with program managers and leaders in global health agencies like CARE, PSI, and USAID in East Africa (e.g., Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda). Malaria control and HIV/AIDS prevention programs alongside with community poverty alleviation efforts inspired me to pursue my career in public health. During my master’s in public health, I worked on childhood obesity issue among Native Hawaiian population in rural area. I assisted a clinic-based intervention evaluation program for Dr. May Okihiro, a pediatrician who served Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in West Oahu (1). Under Dr. Clauido Nigg’s guidance, I conducted a theory-based multiple health behavior change (MHBC) research to find out research proprieties for the underserved population and published a paper highlighting the importance of sustainability, dissemination, and translation of effective MHBC implementation (2). As a research associate at the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health in UC San Diego, I worked closely with Drs. Jamila Stockman, Laramie Smith, and Jennifer Wagman on evidence-based programs addressing gender inequities, particularly for women living with HIV. I was the first author of the paper, structural barriers to women’s sustained engagement in HIV care in Southern California, published in AIDS and Behavior (4). My current academic advisor Dr. Jennifer Wagman is an internationally recognized leader in the HIV/STDs, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), and alcohol and substance use research. She has an extensive record for training pre- and postdoctoral fellows funded by NIH. My doctoral research with Dr. Wagman focuses on campus-based violence and congenital syphilis research.

Contribution to Science

1. Early Career: My early career contributions were focused on applying my public health training to implementing evidence-based programs and making recommendations based of assessments and evaluations. For the clinic-based childhood obesity program in rural Hawaii, I cleaned and analyzed survey data of children and their family to identify prevalence and risk factors of childhood obesity using SAS. I reported findings to the clinicians and practitioners in the clinic (1). This experience led me to study the implementation science approach to address gaps between research and practice, particularly MHBC programs for the underserved population (2).

  • (1) Park E, Okihiro M. Assessing childhood obesity: Utilizing the “Electronic Health and Wellness Survey” during well-child visits at a community health center in rural Hawaii. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Exposition [Poster Presentation] San Francisco, CA, October 27-31, 2012
  • (2) Amato K, Park E, Nigg CR. Prioritizing multiple health behavior change research topics: expert opinions in behavior change science. Translational behavioral medicine. 2016; 6:220-7. PMCID: PMC4927446

2. Professional Career: As a researcher at the JWLEE Center for Global Medicine in Seoul National University College of Medicine, I contributed to the national health aid evaluation study commissioned by Prime Minister’s Office in South Korea (3). At the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health in the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Center on Gender Equity and health, my research has provided an evidence for implementation of an effective gender-based violence prevention program (i.e., SASA!) in rural Tanzania setting (4).

  • (3) Alley AB, Park E, Lee JK, Kang M, Oh J. Republic of Korea’s Health Aid Governance: Perspectives from Partner Countries. Journal of Korean medical science. 2015; 30 Suppl 2:S149-54. PMCID: PMC4659868
  • (4) Park E, Bonnevie E, Nabulizi MB, Mushi J, Ntinda M, Nakuti J, Karungi E, Michau L, Namy S, Ghebrebrhan N, Wagman JA. (2018) Tanzania Case Study: Learning from SASA! Adaptations in a rural setting. Published by Center on Gender Equity at Health at University of California San Diego, and Women’s Promotion Center, Raising Voices, Kampala, Uganda.

3. Graduate Career: My graduate research contributions focused on women’s health (5, 6, 7, 8, 9), HIV (5, 6), IPV(6, 7), campus-based sexual violence (7), and congenital syphilis (8, 9). The research of women’s engagement in HIV care was highly relevant as they provided new details into the existing Ryan White HIV program coverage, and allowed for further extrapolations into the development of assistance addressing structural barriers (5).

  • (5) Park E, Stockman JK, Thrift B, Nicole A, Smith LR. Structural Barriers to Women’s Sustained Engagement in HIV Care in Southern California. AIDS Behav. 2020 Oct;24(10):2966-2974. doi: 10.1007/s10461-020-02847-9. PMID: 32323105; PMCID: PMC7790164.
  • (6) Park E^, Wolfe SJ^, Nalugoda F, et al. Examining Masculinities to Inform Gender-Transformative Violence Prevention Programs: Qualitative Findings From Rakai, Uganda. Global Health: Science and Practice. 2022. doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00137
    ^Co-first authors
  • (7) Bloom BE^, Park E^, Swendeman D, et al. Opening the “Black Box”: Student-Generated Solutions to Improve Sexual Violence Response and Prevention  Efforts for Undergraduates  on College Campuses. Violence Against Women. January 2022. doi:10.1177/10778012211068063
    ^Co-first authors
  • (8) Park E, Yip J, Harville E, Nelson M, Giarratano G, Buekens P, Wagman J. Qualitative Assessment on the Rise of Congenital Syphilis in California: Identifying Gaps in Preventing Congenital Syphzilis. BMC Infectious Disease. 2022.
  • (9) Chan EYL, Smullin C, Clavijo S, Papp-Green M, Park E, et al. A qualitative assessment of structural barriers to prenatal care and congenital syphilis prevention in Kern County, California. PLOS ONE. 2021;16(4): e0249419.

Updated on November 7, 2023