Angela Nyamekye Osei completed her Masters of Science in Epidemiology with support from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at McGill which provides academically talented young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa with access to a world-class university education.
Name: Angela Nyamekye Osei (she/her)
Hometown: Guaman, Oti Region, Ghana
Degree: Master of Science in Epidemiology (2022)
Thesis: Socioeconomic disparities in insecticide exposure-health outcome association: Implications for environmental justice
Previous degree: Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ghana
Current status: Working as a Project Assistant with McGill-SPGH and UHAS-SPH through the MCF Transitions Project
Inspiration
My clinical psychology experience showed me that socio-economic conditions (income, education, housing, social support networks, access to affordable health services, etc.) of clients predicted their subsequent visits to the clinic. I wanted to further understand the impact of the social determinants of health so I can provide and or advocate for targeted interventions that better serve vulnerable populations.
Impact
One of the insights revealed in my scoping review was that the people with high socioeconomic status were only marginally less poor than those in the poor category. And by that, it meant that the whole population was at risk, revealing the false dichotomies we see all over the world today—Supporting the need to contextualize health to the social realities of people.
My research not only highlighted differences in exposure levels but also showed how even exposures at the lowest concentrations can worsen health outcomes for specific groups. Evidence like this is necessary when advocating for change and adequate protection for the most at-risk groups.
Eye to the Future
I just completed an internship as a Junior Professional Consultant for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Kenya where I got to apply what I learned from the M.Sc. in Epidemiology program. I’m looking forward to starting work as a public health consultant and epidemiologist. In the future, I also plan to go back to Ghana to undertake some community development projects.