Professor Gina Awoko Higginbottom MBE was formerly a Canada Research Chair in Ethnicity and Health (renewed) for 8 years at the University Alberta, Canada, the faculty ranked #1 for nursing in Canada.
Gina is the first woman of colour to hold a CRC awarded in 2007, the CRC award is a marker of research excellence. She holds a substantial track record of publication and substantial grant acquisition in the UK and Canada and is a recipient of a number of prestigious awards including a National Primary Care Research Fellowship which supported her PhD – the first health visitor to receive this award.
Her research focuses on ethnic minority populations and immigrant health, including social exclusion and equity in healthcare and ethno-cultural diversity in care giving. She has held many professional roles Non-Executive Director Sheffield Health Authority, member of CNO England advisory groups and the International Institute of Qualitative Methodologies. She is Co/Director of a Charity ICCHNR (International Collaboration on Community Health Care Nursing and Research).
Her experience as a midwife and health visitor has further informed her studies of international migration and maternity. Recent research contributions focused on the Apgar score and other neonatal tests for infants with darker skin has challenged widely held beliefs about neonatal assessment in diverse populations globally. The research launched in the House of Commons received extensive media coverage and global interest. Rapid implementation of the findings is imminent in England and Wales.
She is a member of the UK NHS Race and Health Observatory’s academic reference group and Maternity Action Group, is Vice President of the Health Visitors Association and a member of the NIHR Research Professor Selection Committee.
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