Isaac Luginaah
Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair
Research Interests
My broad area of research interest includes environment and health, population health and GIS applications in health. My work involves an integrative understanding of the broad determinants of the population health and the evidence of environment and health linkages. I am specifically interested in the human health impacts of environmental exposure and recent work in this area involves examining the links between ambient air quality and health in Southwestern Ontario. I am also involved in HIV/AIDS research in Africa, specifically Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.
Publications (past 7 years)
Refereed Journals
Armah, F.A., Luginaah, I.N., Taabazuing, J. and Odoi, J. O. (forthcoming) 'Artisanal Gold Mining and Surface Water Pollution in Ghana: Have the Foreign Invaders Come to Stay' Environmental Justice
Kuuire, V., Mkandawire, P., Arku, G. and Luginaah, I. (forthcoming) 'Abandoning' farms in search of food: Food remittance and household food security in Ghana' African Geographical Review
Mkandawire, P., Luginaah, I., Dixon, J., Armah, F.A. and Arku, G. (forthcoming) 'Circumcision Status and time to first sex among never-married young men in Malawi: Evidence from the Demographic and Health Survey' AIDS and Behavior
Ung, M., Boateng, G.O., Armah, F.A., Amoyaw, J.A., Luginaah, I. and Kuuire, V. (forthcoming) 'Negotiation for safer sex among married women in Cambodia: the role of women’s autonomy' Journal of Biosocial Science
Tobias, J., Richmond, C. and Luginaah, I. (forthcoming) 'CBPR With Anishinabe Communities: Producing Respectful and Reciprocal Research' Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics
Gorey, K.M., Luginaah, I.N., Holowaty, E.J., Zou, G., Hamm, C., and Balagurusamy, M.K. (forthcoming) 'Mediation of the Effects of Living in Extremely Poor Neighborhoods by Health Insurance: Breast Cancer Care and Survival in California, 1996 to 2011' International Journal for Equity in Health
Atari, O., Luginaah, I., Gorey, K., Xu, I. and Fung, K. (forthcoming) 'Associations between self-reported odour annoyance and volatile organic compounds in "Chemical Valley", Sarnia, Ontario' Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Boateng, G.O., Kuuire, V.Z., Ung, M., Amoyaw, J.A., Armah, F.A. and Luginaah, I. (forthcoming) 'Women’s Empowerment in the Context of Millennium Development Goal 3: A Case Study of Married Women in Ghana' Social Indicators Research DOI 10.1007/s11205-012-0212-8
Mkandawire, P., Luginaah, I. and Baxter, J. (forthcoming) 'Growing up alone: Vulnerability of adolescent orphans to HIV/AIDS in Northern Malawi' Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers
Obiri, S., Cobbinah, S.J., Armah, F.A. and Luginaah, I. (forthcoming) 'Assessment of Cancer and Non-Cancer Health Risks from Exposure to PAHs in Street Dust in the Tamale Metropolis, Ghana' Journal of Environmental Science and Health: Part A
Mkandawire, P., Tenkorang, E. and Luginaah, I. (forthcoming) 'Orphanhood and time to first sex among adolescents in Malawi' AIDS & Behaviour DOI 10.1007/s10461-011-0120-y
Arku, G., Luginaah, I. and Mkandawire, P. 2012 '“You Either Pay More Advance Rent or You Move”: Landlord and Tenants Dilemmas in Low-income Housing Market in Accra, Ghana' Urban Studies 49(14): 3177-3193
Oiamo, T. H., Luginaah, I. N., Buzzelli, M., Tang, K., Xu, X., Brook, J. and Johnson, M. 2012 'Assessing the Spatial Distribution of Nitrogen Dioxide in London, Ontario' Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62(11): 1335-1345
Brophy, J.T., Keith, M.M., Watterson, A., Park, R., Gilbertson, M., Maticka-Tyndale, E., Beck, M., Abu-Zahra, H., Schneider, K., Reinhartz, A., DeMatteo, R., and Luginaah, I. 2012 'Breast cancer risk in relation to occupations with exposure to carcinogens and endocrine disruptors: a Canadian case-control study' Environmental Health 11: 87
Armah, F. A., Luginaah, I. and Ason, B. 2012 'Water Quality Index of the Tarkwa Goldmining Area in Ghana' Journal of Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies 11(2): 1-14
Gorey, K.M., Luginaah, I.N., Holowaty, E J., Zou, G., Hamm, C., Bartfay, E., Kanjeekal, S.M., Balagurusamy, M., Sandus H-J. and Wright, F. 2012 'Effects of Being Uninsured or Underinsured and Living in Extremely Poor Neighborhoods on Colon Cancer Care and Survival in California: Historical Cohort Analysis, 1996—2011' BMC Public Health 12: 897
Taabazuing, J., Luginaah, I.N., Djietror, G. and Otiso, K.M. 2012 'Mining, Conflicts and Livelihood Struggles in a Dysfunctional Policy Environment: The Case of Wassa West District, Ghana' African Geographical Review 31(1): 33-49
Luginaah, I.N., Gorey, K.M., Tang, K., Oiamo, T., Holowaty, E.J., Hamm, C. and Wright, F.A. 2012 'Geographical Analysis of Breast Cancer Clustering in Southern Ontario: Generating Hypotheses on Environmental Influences' International Journal of Environmental Research 22(3): 232-248
Luginaah, I.N. and Armah, F.A. 2012 'Non-Timber Forest Products and Human Health in the Context of Environmental Change' Human Evolution/Global Ethics 27(1-3): 103-109
Armah, F.A., Ason, B., Luginaah, I. . and Essandoh, P.K. 2012 'Characterization of macro-benthic fauna for ecological health status of the Fosu and Benya lagoons in coastal Ghana' Journal of Ecology and Field Biology 35(4): 1-11
Arnold, R., Maticka-Tyndale, E., Tenkorang, E.Y., Holland, D., Gaspard, A., Luginaah, I. and the HP4RY Team 2012 'Evaluation of School- and Community-Based HIV Prevention Interventions with Junior Secondary School Students in Edo State, Nigeria' African Journal of Reproductive Health 16(2): 103-125
Armah, F.A., Luginaah, I.N. and Obiri, S. 2012 'Assessing Environmental Exposure and Health Impacts of Gold Mining in Ghana' Toxicology & Environmental Chemistry 94(4): 786-798
Armah, F., Luginaah, I., Kuitunen, M. and Mkandawire, P. 2012 'Ecological Health Status of the Fosu Lagoon, Southern Ghana II: Environmental and Human Health Risk Assessment' Ecosystem & Ecography 2: 1
Armah, F., Kuitunen, M., Luginaah, I. and Mkandawire, P. 2012 'Non Occupational Health Risk Assessment from Exposure to Chemical Contaminants in the Gold Mining Environment of Tarkwa, Ghana' Trends in Applied Sciences Research 7(3): 181-185
Whaling, M., Luginaah, I., Reid, G., Hekmat, S., Thind, A., Mwanga, J. and Changalucha, J. 2012 ‘Perceptions of Probiotics for Health and Nutrition in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Mwanza, Tanzania.’ Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 16(2): 103-125
Dixon, J., Tenkorang, E. and Luginaah, I. 2011 'Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme: Helping the Poor or Leaving them Behind?' Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 29: 1102-1115
Miller, L., Xu, X., Wheeler, A., Atari, D.O., Grgicak-Mannion, A. and Luginaah, I.N. 2011 'Spatial variability and application of ratios between BTEX in two Canadian cities' The Scientific World 11: 2536-2549
Odoi, J.O., Armah, F.A., Luginaah, I. 2011 'Assessment of spatial variability of heavy metals in soils under the influence of soap and detergent waste water discharge' International Journal of Research and Reviews in Applied Sciences 9(2): 322-329
Mkandawire, P., Luginaah, I. and Tobias, J. 2011 ‘Landscapes of economic deprivation and locally distilled liquor (kachasu): An emerging milieu of HIV/AIDS risk in urban Northern Malawi’ Environment and Planning, A. 43(10): 2384–2398
Oiamo, T. H., Luginaah, I. N., Atari, D. O. and Gorey, M. K. 2011 ‘Air pollution and general practitioner access and utilization: A population based study in Sarnia, ‘Chemical Valley,’ Ontario.’ Environmental Health, 10: 71
Gorey, K. M., Luginaah, I. N., Bartfay, E., Fung, K. Y., Holowaty, E. J., Wright, F., Hamm, C. and Kanjeekal, S. M. 2011 ‘Colon cancer care in Toronto, Ontario and San Francisco, California, 1996 to 2006: More accessible treatment and better survival among low-income Canadians.’ American Journal of Public Health, 101, 112-119
Arku, G., Luginaah, I. N., Mkandawire, P., Baiden, P. and Asiedu, A. B. 2011 ‘Housing and Health in three Contrasting Neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana.’ Social Science and Medicine, 72: 1864-1872
Gorey, K. M., Luginaah, I. N., Hamm, C., Balagurusamy, M., & Holowaty, E. J. 2011 ‘Physician supplies and breast cancer care in Ontario and California, 1998 to 2006.’ Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine, 16(2): 47-54
Gorey, K. M., Luginaah, I. N., Bartfay, E., Fung, K. Y., Holowaty, E. J., Wright, F. C., Hamm, C., Kanjeekal, S. M. & Balagurusamy, M. 2011 ‘Association of physician supply with breast cancer survival in Ontario.’ Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 56: 523-531
Baiden, P., Arku, G., Luginaah, I. and Asiedu, A. B. 2011 ‘An Assessment of Residents' Housing Satisfaction and Coping in Accra, Ghana.’ Journal of Public Health. 19(1): 29-37
Atari, O., Luginaah, I. and Baxter, J. 2011 ‘“This is the mess that we are living in”: Residents everyday life experiences of living in a stigmatized community.’ GeoJournal, 76: 483-500
Smith, K., Luginaah, I. and Lockridge, A. 2010 ‘‘Contaminated’ Therapeutic Landscape: The Case of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Ontario, Canada.’ Geography Research Forum, 30: 83-102
Mkandawire, P., Luginaah, I. and Bezner-Kerr, R. 2010 ‘Deadly Divide: Malawi's Policy Debate on HIV/AIDS and Condoms.’ Policy Sciences, 44(1): 81-102
Gorey, K. M., Fung, K. Y., Luginaah, I. N., Holowaty, E. J. and Hamm, C. 2010 ‘Income and Long-Term Breast Cancer Survival: Comparisons of Vulnerable Urban Places in Ontario and California.’ The Breast Journal, 16: 416-419
Tomkpins, J. W., Luginaah, I. N., Booth, G. L. and Harris, S. B. 2010 ‘The Geography of Diabetes in London, Canada: The Need for Local Level Policy for Prevention and Management.’ International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 7: 2407-2422
Gorey, K. M., Luginaah, I. N., Hamm, C., Fung, K. Y. and Holowaty, E. J. 2010 ‘Breast Cancer Care in the United States and Canada: Ecological Comparisons of Relatively Impoverished and Affluent Urban Neighborhoods.’ Health & Place 16: 156–163
Luginaah, I., Smith, K. and Lockridge, A. 2010 ‘Surrounded by Chemical Valley and “Living in a Bubble”: Health Impacts and Coping Strategies of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Ontario.’ Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 53(3): 353-370
Gorey, K. M., Luginaah, I. N., Fung, K. Y., Bartfay, E., Hamm, C., Wright, F. C., Balagurusamy, M., & Holowaty, E. J. 2010 ‘Association of physician supply with breast cancer survival in Ontario.’ Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 23(1): 104-108
Luginaah, I. Arku, G. and Baiden, P. 2010 ‘Housing and Health in Ghana: The Psychosocial Health Impacts of Renting a Home.’ International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 7: 525-545
Gorey, K. M., Luginaah, I. N., Holowaty, E. J., Fung, K. Y., & Hamm, C. 2009 ‘Wait times for initial surgical and adjuvant treatment of breast cancer in Canada and the United States: Evidence of greater socioeconomic inequity in America.’ Clinical and Investigative Medicine, 32 (3): E239-E249
Atari, O.and Luginaah, I. 2009 ‘Assessing the distribution of volatile organic compounds using land use regression in Sarnia, "Chemical Valley", Ontario, Canada.’ Environmental Health 8: 16
Atari, O., Luginaah, I. and Fung, K. 2009 ‘The Relationship between Odour Annoyance Scores and Modelled Ambient Air Pollution in Sarnia, “Chemical Valley”, Ontario.’ International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 6: 2655-2675
Gorey, K. M., Luginaah, I. N., Holowaty, E. J., Fung, K. Y. and Hamm, C. 2009 'Association of Physician Supplies with Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis and Survival in Ontario, 1988 to 2006' Cancer 115: 3563-3570
Miller, L., Xu, X. and Luginaah, I. 2009 'Spatial Variability of VOC Concentrations in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada' Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A 72: 1-15
An, L., Nkurunziza, S., Fung, K. Y., Krewski, D. and Luginaah, I. 2009 'Shrinkage Estimation in General Linear Models' Computational Statistics & Data Analysis 53(7): 2537-2549
Gorey, K. M., Luginaah, I. N., Holowaty, E. J., Fung, K.Y. and Hamm, C. 2009 'Breast cancer survival in Ontario and California, 1998 to 2006: Socioeconomic inequality remains much greater in America' Annals of Epidemiology 19: 121-124
Luginaah, I. N. 2009 'Health Geography in Canada: Where are we headed?' The Canadian Geographer 53(1): 89-97
Gorey, K.M., Luginaah, I.N., Schwartz, K.L., Fung, K.Y., Balagurusamy, M., Bartfay, E., Wright, F.C., Anucha, U. and Parsons R.R. 2009 'Increased racial group breast cancer care and survival differentials in America: Historical evidence consistent with a health insurance hypothesis, 1975 to 2001' Breast Cancer Research Treatment 113: 595-600
Atari, O., Luginaah, I., Xu, I. and Fung, K.
2008 'Spatial Variability of Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulphur
Dioxide in Sarnia, “Chemical Valley”, Ontario, Canada' Journal of
Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A 71: 1572-1581
Luginaah, I.N. 2008 'Local Gin (Akpeteshie) and HIV/AIDS in the Upper
West Region of Ghana: The need for preventive health policy' Health &
Place 14: 804-814
Gorey, K.M., Fung, K.Y., Luginaah, I.N., Bartfay, E., Hamm, C., Wright, F.C., Balagurusamy, M., Mohammad, A., Holowaty, E. and Tang, K.X. 2008 '2 Cancer survival in Ontario, 1986 to 2003: Evidence of equitable advances across most diverse urban and rural places' Canadian Journal of Public Health 99(1): 12-16
Landry, T., Luginaah, I., Maticka-Tyndale, E., Elkins, D. 2007 'Orphans in Nyanza, Kenya: Coping with the Struggles of Everyday Life in the Context of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic' Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention in Children & Youth 8(1): 75-98
Fung, K., Luginaah, I., Gorey, K. 2007 'Impact of air pollution on hospital admissions in Southwestern Ontario, Canada: Generating hypotheses in sentinel high-exposure places' Environmental Health 6: 18
Luginaah, I.N., Maticka-Tyndale, E., Kairi, W., Wildish, J. and Brouillard-Coyle, C. 2007 'Extending HIV/AIDS Prevention Efforts in Kenya: Primary Schools as Community-Based Organizations' Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 25(3): 439-456
Brophy, J.T., Keith, M.M., Gorey, K., Laukkanen, E., Luginaah, I., Abu-Zahra, H., Watterson, A.E., Hellyer, D.J., Reinhartz, A., Park, R.M. 2007 'Cancer and construction: what occupational histories in a Canadian community reveal' International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health 13(1): 33-38
Brophy, J.T., Keith, M.M., Gorey, K.M., Luginaah, I.N., et al. 2006 'Occupational and environmental histories of breast cancer patients: A Canadian case study' Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1076: 765–777
Luginaah, I.N., Xu, I., Fung, K., Grgicak-Mannion, A., Wintermute, J., Amanda Wheeler, A. and Brook, J. 2006 'Establishing the Spatial Variability of Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide in Windsor, Ontario' International Journal of Environmental Studies 63(4): 487-500
Luginaah, I.N., Fung, K., Gorey, K. and Khan, S. 2006 'The Impact of 9/11 on the Association of Ambient Air Pollution with Daily Respiratory Admissions in Canada-US Border City, Windsor, Ontario' International Journal of Environmental Studies 63(4): 501-514
Books Edited
Luginaah, I. N. and Yanful, E. K. 2009 Environment and Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Managing an Emerging Crisis. Springer: London.
Chapters in Books
Luginaah, I.N., Oiamo, T., Armah, F.A. (in press) 'Environmental Health Geography' in The Wiley-Blackwell Encylopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society
Luginaah, I.N., Weis, T., Galaa, S., Nkrumah, M.K., Bezner-Kerr, R. and Bagah, D. 2009 'Environment, Migration, and Food Security in the Upper West Region of Ghana' in Environment and Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Managing an Emerging Crisis ed I.N. Luginaah and E.K. Yanful (Springer: Netherlands) 25-38
Luginaah, I.N. 2005 'Coping with the Health Impacts of a Petrochemical Refinery in Oakville, Ontario: The Need for Addressing Residents' Multiple Layers of Psychosocial Concerns' in Psychology of Coping ed A.V. Lee (Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science) 169-193
Supervised Graduate Students and Theses Titles
| PhD Students | Year | Title |
|---|---|---|
| E. Andoniou | Current | Health and Nutrition in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Kenya: Empowering Women through a Community-Based Probiotic Yoghurt Project in Oyugis, Kenya |
| F. Armah | Current | Environment and human health risk assessment in Tanzania |
| J. Dixon | Current | The Impact of Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme in the Upper West Region: Helping the Poor or Leaving them Behind |
| V. Kuuire (co-supervised) |
Current | TBA |
| U. Mengieng | Current | Environmental change and health in Cambodia |
| T. Oiamo | Current | Environment and Health Impacts in the Vicinity of Major Traffic Pollution: A Comparison of Relocatees and Non-Relocatees |
| J. Tobias (co-supervised) |
Current | Preserving Elder Knowledge, Protecting Health: Participatory Health Research with Anishinabe Communities in The Great Lakes Region |
| M. Ung | Current | Environmental change and health in Cambodia |
| P. Mkandawire | 2011 | Vulnerability of Adolescent Orphans in HIV Infection in Malawi |
| O. Atari | 2009 | Community Health Study in Sarnia, Chemical Valley, Ontario |
| MA Students | Year | Title |
| E. Eyles | Current | An economic and locational analysis of probiotic yogurt kitchens in Mwanza, Tanzania |
| V. Le | Current | Diffusion of Innovation: Probiotic Yogurt in East Africa |
| A. Rishworth | Current | Women's navigation of reproductive care in the context of Ghana's National Health |
| V. Kuuire (co-supervised) |
2011 | Food Security Situation of Migrant Farmers in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana |
| J. Tobias (co-supervised) |
2010 | Embodied political ecologies of health: Examining the relationship between alcohol misuse and hepatitis in the Upper West Region of Ghana |
| R. Wasley | 2009 | HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Ukraine: Examining the Attitudes and Perceptions of State Orphans in Internaty |
| J. Howson | 2009 | Socioeconomic determinants of health and diabetes mellitus: Understanding relationships at the neighbourhood level in London, Canada |
| M. Whaling | 2008 | Assessing community perceptions of the likely impact of a probiotic yogurt project on community relations and health in Mahina District, Mwanza Tanzania |
| B. Curry | 2008 | Geographies of Infant Feeding Decisions |
| K. Smith | 2006 | Contaminated Therapeutic Landscape: Perceptions of the Aamjiwnaang First Nations |
| T. Landry | 2004 | Community strategies for HIV/AIDS care and support in Nyanza, Kenya
University of Windsor |
| MSc Students | Year | Title |
| F. Mambulu (co-supervised) |
Current | TBA |
| S. Mason | Current | TBA |
| T. Oiamo | 2011 | Upgrade from Master's Program to PhD Program |
| J. Tobias (co-supervised) |
2010 | Embodied political ecologies of health: Examining the relationship between alcohol misuse and hepatitis in the Upper West Region of Ghana |
| E. Andoniou | 2007 | Predictors of sexual behaviour change among men in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Nigeria |
| A. Khurshid | 2007 | Perceived health effects of a Chemical Valley: a perusal of Sarnia, Ontario |
| C. Wills | 2003 | Association of ambient air pollution levels with respiratory hospitalization in Windsor,
Ontario University of Windsor |
| Y. Li | 2002 | Association between variations in newborn length of stay and readmission rate in the 49
counties of Ontario University of Windsor |
Also from this web page:
- Office: SSC 1409
- Telephone: 519-661-2111 x86944
- e-mail: iluginaa@uwo.ca
- Personal Web Page
Courses Taught
- GEO 3431 - Geography of Health and Health Care
- GEO 9107 - Environment and Health
- GEO 9300 - Advanced Studies in Environment, Development & Health
