Lunch Talks with Dr. Goleen Samari: Structural Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Preterm Birth

Join Harvard Chan Students for Im/Migrant Health Research and Advocacy’s first Lunch Talks event with Dr. Goleen Samari to learn about the impact of structural xenophobia and Islamophobia on the health of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) origin communities! We will discuss Dr. Samari’s paper from the journal of Social Science and Medicine titled, “The Muslim Ban and preterm birth: Analysis of U.S. vital statistics data from 2009 to 2018.” This paper is the first national-level study to assess an anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim policy on the maternal and child health of women from MENA countries targeted by the 2017 Muslim Ban (Executive Order 13769). Attendees will have a chance to engage with Dr. Samari during the Q&A session following her talk. To create a safer and comfortable environment for participants, the event will not be recorded.
Dr. Goleen Samari is an assistant professor and population health demographer at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Her research considers how racism, gender inequities, and xenophobia and migration-based inequities shape population health domestically and globally with a particular focus on communities in or from the Middle East and North Africa. She was the first to draw attention to the racialization of religious minorities and Islamophobia as a public health issue. Her research remains focused on understanding and alleviating intersectional structural determinants of health for immigrant communities, in particular Muslim and Middle Eastern origin groups, and bridging some of the gap between research and policy, making research accessible for wide audiences.