Our site may be slower due to heavy traffic from automated "bots" and AI crawlers. We're working to fix this.

Goleen Samari

Photo of Goleen Samari
Title(s)Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences
SchoolKeck School of Medicine of Usc
Address1845 N. Soto Street
Health Sciences Campus
Los Angeles CA 90032
Emailsamari@usc.edu
vCardDownload vCard

    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse education and training
    University of Texas at Austin, Austin08/2017Postdoctoral Training in Population Studies
    UCLA, Los AngelesPhD06/2015Public Health & Demography
    UCLA, Los AngelesMPH06/2010Community Health Sciences
    UCLA, Los AngelesMA06/2010Islamic Studies
    University of Texas at Austin, AustinBA05/2007Plan II Honors
    University of Texas at Austin, AustinBA05/2007Middle Eastern Studies

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse overview
    Goleen Samari is a population health demographer and Associate Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences whose research focuses on social inequities and health. Dr. Samari examines how racism, gender inequities, and migration-based inequities shape population and reproductive health both domestically and globally with a particular focus on communities in or from the Middle East and North Africa. She focuses on issues related to immigrant health, women's health, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. She was the first to draw attention to racialization of religious minorities and Islamophobia as a public health issue. She is also one of a handful of public health researchers examining women's empowerment, gender equity, and reproductive health in the Middle East and North Africa. Her recent work includes a measure of structural xenophobia in the U.S. at the state level, the Immigrant Policy Climate index, that can be leveraged to understand the health implications of exclusionary and inclusive immigration contexts. Her research remains focused on understanding and alleviating intersectional structural determinants of health. Cutting across all her research areas is an interest in the way social science constructs are measured and mixed methods that guide the research process. Her research has been published in several journals including Social Science & Medicine and the American Journal of Public Health, and her editorials and Op-Eds have been published in local and national newspapers. She is recognized as a thought leader on the population and reproductive health effects of discrimination for Muslim, Middle Eastern, and immigrant communities and has received a few notable honors for her contributions to health equity research.

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse selected publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Blood Transfusions for Pregnancy Loss in Texas Before and After Abortion Bans, 2017‒2023. Am J Public Health. 2025 Nov; 115(11):1887-1894. Nagle A, Samari G, Thaxton L, Gemmill A. PMID: 40934447; PMCID: PMC12510103.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    2. Promoting More Equitable Global Health Research, Education, and Community Partnerships: The Efforts of One US‑Based Academic Institution. Ann Glob Health. 2025; 91(1):31. Emoto S, Ferguson L, Baezconde-Garbanati L, Hu H, Samari G, Gruskin S. PMID: 40520133; PMCID: PMC12164738.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    3. Reduced odds of severe maternal morbidity associated with the US Affordable Care Act dependent coverage provision. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2025 Jun; 7(6):101668. Guglielminotti J, Daw JR, Friedman AM, Samari G, Li G. PMID: 40081762; PMCID: PMC12129660.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    4. Epigenomic pathways from racism to preterm birth: secondary analysis of the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: monitoring Mothers-to-be (nuMoM2b) cohort study in the USA to examine how DNA methylation mediates the relationship between multilevel racism and preterm birth in black women: a study protocol. BMJ Open. 2025 Mar 04; 15(3):e091801. Barcelona V, Ray M, Zhao Y, Samari G, Wu H, Reho P, McNeil R, Reddy UM. PMID: 40037666; PMCID: PMC11881185.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    5. Corrigendum to Society of Family Planning Research Practice Support: Strategies and considerations for addressing race and racism in quantitative family planning studies [Contraception vol 139 (2024) 110534]. Contraception. 2025 Feb; 142:110736. Quinones N, Fuentes L, Hassan A, Hing AK, Samari G, McLemore M. PMID: 39523167.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    6. What's driving girls' adolescent marriage decline in Rakai, Uganda? The interplay between adolescent pregnancies and social determinants, 1999 - 2018. Int J Adolesc Youth. 2024; 29(1). Spindler E, Hoffman S, Nalugoda F, Chen IS, Samari G, Lutalo T, Wei Y, Luo M, Lundgren R, Santelli JS. PMID: 39308642; PMCID: PMC11412314.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    7. Associations between Individual- and Structural-Level Racism and Gestational Age at Birth in the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be. J Urban Health. 2024 Aug; 101(4):682-691. Barcelona V, Chen L, Zhao Y, Samari G, Monk C, McNeil R, Baccarelli A, Wapner R. PMID: 38992222; PMCID: PMC11329443.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    8. Society of Family Planning Research Practice Support: Strategies and considerations for addressing race and racism in quantitative family planning studies. Contraception. 2024 Nov; 139:110534. Quinones N, Fuentes L, Hassan A, Hing AK, Samari G, McLemore M. PMID: 38964726; PMCID: PMC11837946.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    9. "The panic stays in your mind…concentrating more on the worries than the relationship": Intimate partnerships during COVID-19 for immigrant women in New York City. J Marriage Fam. 2025 Feb; 87(1):237-257. Wurtz H, Samari G. PMID: 39850840; PMCID: PMC11753783.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    10. Racism as a Threat to Palestinian Health Equity. Health Equity. 2024; 8(1):371-375. Asi YM, Sharif MZ, Wispelwey B, Abuelezam NN, Ahmed AK, Samari G. PMID: 39011074; PMCID: PMC11249121.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3  
    11. Structural gendered racism as conceptualized by immigrant women in the United States. Soc Sci Med. 2024 06; 351(Suppl 1):116396. Samari G, Wurtz HM, Abularrage TF, Sharif MZ. PMID: 38825373; PMCID: PMC11149896.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    12. Perspectives from the pandemic epicenter: Sexual and reproductive health of immigrant women in New York City. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2024 06; 56(2):136-146. Samari G, Wurtz HM, Desai S, Coleman-Minahan K. PMID: 38571367; PMCID: PMC12306931.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:HumansCellsPHPublic Health
    13. Disparities in Mistreatment During Childbirth. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 04 01; 7(4):e244873. Liu C, Underhill K, Aubey JJ, Samari G, Allen HL, Daw JR. PMID: 38573636; PMCID: PMC11192180.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    14. Structural Racism and Use of Labor Neuraxial Analgesia Among Non-Hispanic Black Birthing People. Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Apr 01; 143(4):571-581. Guglielminotti J, Lee A, Landau R, Samari G, Li G. PMID: 38301254; PMCID: PMC10957331.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    15. Associations between individual and structural level racism and gestational age at birth in the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring mothers-to-be. Res Sq. 2024 Jan 30. Barcelona V, Chen L, Zhao Y, Samari G, Monk C, McNeil R, Baccarelli AA, Wapner R. PMID: 38352522; PMCID: PMC10862945.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    16. Responding to structural inequities: Coping strategies among immigrant women during COVID-19. SSM Ment Health. 2024 Jun; 5. Abularrage TF, Wurtz HM, Samari G. PMID: 38910842; PMCID: PMC11192517.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3  
    17. State-Level Indicators of Structural Racism and Severe Adverse Maternal Outcomes During Childbirth. Matern Child Health J. 2024 Jan; 28(1):165-176. Guglielminotti J, Samari G, Friedman AM, Landau R, Li G. PMID: 37938439; PMCID: PMC11299521.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    18. Legislating Inequity: Structural Racism In Groups Of State Laws And Associations With Premature Mortality Rates. Health Aff (Millwood). 2023 10; 42(10):1325-1333. Jahn JL, Zubizarreta D, Chen JT, Needham BL, Samari G, McGregor AJ, Douglas MD, Austin SB, Agénor M. PMID: 37782864; PMCID: PMC11318067.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    19. Effects of a Mentoring Program for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and First-Generation Public Health Students. Public Health Rep. 2024 May-Jun; 139(3):385-393. Grilo S, Bryant M, Garbers S, Wiggin M, Samari G. PMID: 37408339; PMCID: PMC11037226.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    20. Disruptions in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Service Delivery for Immigrants During COVID-19. Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle). 2023; 4(1):319-327. Samari G, Wurtz HM, Karunaratne M, Coleman-Minahan K. PMID: 37476604; PMCID: PMC10354724.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4  
    21. The role of legal status and uncertainty in the reproductive aspirations of 1.5 and second generation Mexican-origin immigrant young women: An exploratory study. J Migr Health. 2023; 7:100156. Coleman-Minahan K, Villarreal M, Samari G. PMID: 36794094; PMCID: PMC9922978.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    22. Abortion Criminalization: A Public Health Crisis Rooted in White Supremacy. Am J Public Health. 2022 11; 112(11):1662-1667. Riley T, Zia Y, Samari G, Sharif MZ. PMID: 36223577; PMCID: PMC9558193.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    23. Nurse workforce diversity and reduced risk of severe adverse maternal outcomes. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2022 09; 4(5):100689. Guglielminotti J, Samari G, Friedman AM, Lee A, Landau R, Li G. PMID: 35830955; PMCID: PMC9872864.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    24. Racism and health care: Experiences of Latinx immigrant women in NYC during COVID-19. SSM Qual Res Health. 2022 Dec; 2:100094. Damle M, Wurtz H, Samari G. PMID: 35578651; PMCID: PMC9095080.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14  
    25. COVID-19 and gender-based violence service provision in the United States. PLoS One. 2022; 17(2):e0263970. Sapire R, Ostrowski J, Maier M, Samari G, Bencomo C, McGovern T. PMID: 35171963; PMCID: PMC8849472.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    26. Reproductive justice in the time of COVID-19: a systematic review of the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health. Reprod Health. 2021 Dec 20; 18(1):252. Mukherjee TI, Khan AG, Dasgupta A, Samari G. PMID: 34930318; PMCID: PMC8686348.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 35     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    27. Publicly-Funded Services Providing Sexual, Reproductive, and Maternal Healthcare to Immigrant Women in the United States: A Systematic Review. J Immigr Minor Health. 2022 Jun; 24(3):759-778. Jain T, LaHote J, Samari G, Garbers S. PMID: 34697702; PMCID: PMC10373793.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    28. Measuring structural xenophobia: US State immigration policy climates over ten years. SSM Popul Health. 2021 Dec; 16:100938. Samari G, Nagle A, Coleman-Minahan K. PMID: 34660879; PMCID: PMC8503659.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 30  
    29. State-level structural sexism and cesarean sections in the United States. Soc Sci Med. 2021 11; 289:114406. Nagle A, Samari G. PMID: 34547543; PMCID: PMC9305667.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    30. 'Scrambling to figure out what to do': a mixed method analysis of COVID-19's impact on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States. BMJ Sex Reprod Health. 2021 10; 47(4):e16. Maier M, Samari G, Ostrowski J, Bencomo C, McGovern T. PMID: 34376524; PMCID: PMC8359865.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14     Fields:    Translation:HumansCellsPHPublic Health
    31. Leave no one behind: ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines for refugee and displaced populations. Nat Med. 2021 05; 27(5):747-749. Zard M, Lau LS, Bowser DM, Fouad FM, Lucumí DI, Samari G, Harker A, Shepard DS, Zeng W, Moresky RT, Audi MN, Greene CM, Kachur SP. PMID: 33875889; PMCID: PMC10413720.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 25     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    32. Unmasking power as foundational to research on sexual and reproductive health and rights. BMJ Glob Health. 2021 04; 6(4). Schaaf M, Kapilashrami A, George A, Amin A, Downe S, Boydell V, Samari G, Ruano AL, Nanda P, Khosla R. PMID: 33832951; PMCID: PMC8039258.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    33. Prevalence of Self-Managed Abortion Among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 12 01; 3(12):e2029245. Ralph L, Foster DG, Raifman S, Biggs MA, Samari G, Upadhyay U, Gerdts C, Grossman D. PMID: 33337493; PMCID: PMC7749440.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 28     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    34. The Muslim Ban and preterm birth: Analysis of U.S. vital statistics data from 2009 to 2018. Soc Sci Med. 2020 11; 265:113544. Samari G, Catalano R, Alcalá HE, Gemmill A. PMID: 33261902; PMCID: PMC7738384.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 28     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    35. Racial and Citizenship Disparities in Health Care Among Middle Eastern Americans. Med Care. 2020 11; 58(11):974-980. Samari G, Sharif MZ, Alcalá HE. PMID: 32947512; PMCID: PMC7572888.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    36. COVID-19 and Immigrants' Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in the United States. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2020 07; 52(2):69-73. Desai S, Samari G. PMID: 32530526; PMCID: PMC7307065.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 20     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    37. COVID-19 in humanitarian settings and lessons learned from past epidemics. Nat Med. 2020 05; 26(5):647-648. Lau LS, Samari G, Moresky RT, Casey SE, Kachur SP, Roberts LF, Zard M. PMID: 32269357.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 81     Fields:    Translation:HumansCellsPHPublic Health
    38. Centring sexual and reproductive health and justice in the global COVID-19 response. Lancet. 2020 04 11; 395(10231):1175-1177. Hall KS, Samari G, Garbers S, Casey SE, Diallo DD, Orcutt M, Moresky RT, Martinez ME, McGovern T. PMID: 32278371; PMCID: PMC7146687.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 107     Fields:    Translation:HumansCellsPHPublic Health
    39. Emotions and decision rightness over five years following an abortion: An examination of decision difficulty and abortion stigma. Soc Sci Med. 2020 03; 248:112704. Rocca CH, Samari G, Foster DG, Gould H, Kimport K. PMID: 31941577.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 25     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    40. Pregnancy preferences and contraceptive use among US women. Contraception. 2020 02; 101(2):79-85. Samari G, Foster DG, Ralph LJ, Rocca CH. PMID: 31805265; PMCID: PMC7028518.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 17     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    41. Women's empowerment in Egypt: the reliability of a complex construct. Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2019 Dec; 27(1):1586816. Samari G. PMID: 31533567; PMCID: PMC6753836.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    42. Education and fertility in Egypt: Mediation by women's empowerment. SSM Popul Health. 2019 Dec; 9:100488. Samari G. PMID: 31993483; PMCID: PMC6978478.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12  
    43. Coming back and moving backwards: return migration and gender norms in Egypt. J Ethn Migr Stud. 2021; 47(5):1103-1118. Samari G. PMID: 33716548; PMCID: PMC7953847.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3  
    44. Variations in Access to Care After the Affordable Care Act Among Different Immigrant Groups. J Community Health. 2020 02; 45(1):30-40. Sharif MZ, Samari G, Alcalá HE. PMID: 31388875.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    45. Socioeconomic Status and the Physical and Mental Health of Arab and Chaldean Americans in Michigan. J Immigr Minor Health. 2019 Jun; 21(3):497-507. Samari G, McNall M, Lee K, Perlstadt H, Nawyn S. PMID: 29869731.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    46. Pharmacy Provision of Medication Abortion in Nepal: Pharmacy Owner and Worker Perspectives. Int Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2018 09 01; 44(3):81-89. Samari G, Puri M, Cohen R, Blum M, Rocca CH. PMID: 30698524.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 9     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    47. Longitudinal Determinants of Married Women's Autonomy in Egypt. Gend Place Cult. 2018; 25(6):799-820. Samari G, Pebley AR. PMID: 30930555; PMCID: PMC6436844.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6  
    48. Islamophobia, Health, and Public Health: A Systematic Literature Review. Am J Public Health. 2018 06; 108(6):e1-e9. Samari G, Alcalá HE, Sharif MZ. PMID: 29672152; PMCID: PMC5944883.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 54     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    49. 'He supported me 100%': Mexican-immigrant fathers, daughters, and adolescent sexual health. Ethn Health. 2020 05; 25(4):560-579. Coleman-Minahan K, Samari G. PMID: 29455566; PMCID: PMC6136983.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    50. First birth and the trajectory of women's empowerment in Egypt. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2017 Nov 08; 17(Suppl 2):362. Samari G. PMID: 29143631; PMCID: PMC5688501.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 13     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    51. Parental Gender Expectations by Socioeconomic Status and Nativity: Implications for Contraceptive Use. Sex Roles. 2018 May; 78(9-10):669-684. Samari G, Coleman-Minahan K. PMID: 29904231; PMCID: PMC5995465.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1  
    52. Women's empowerment and short- and long-acting contraceptive method use in Egypt. Cult Health Sex. 2018 04; 20(4):458-473. Samari G. PMID: 28786755; PMCID: PMC6103444.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 13     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    53. Syrian Refugee Women's Health in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan and Recommendations for Improved Practice. World Med Health Policy. 2017 Jun; 9(2):255-274. Samari G. PMID: 29051840; PMCID: PMC5642924.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 41  
    54. Social Determinants of Health, Violent Radicalization, and Terrorism: A Public Health Perspective. Health Equity. 2017; 1(1):87-95. Alcalá HE, Sharif MZ, Samari G. PMID: 28905048; PMCID: PMC5586006.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11  
    55. Women's Agency and Fertility: Recent Evidence from Egypt. Popul Res Policy Rev. 2017 Aug; 36(4):561-582. Samari G. PMID: 28804183; PMCID: PMC5551041.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 9  
    56. Islamophobia and Public Health in the United States. Am J Public Health. 2016 11; 106(11):1920-1925. Samari G. PMID: 27631738; PMCID: PMC5055770.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 32     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    57. Morbidity and nutrition status of rural drug-naïve Kenyan women living with HIV. Afr J AIDS Res. 2016 Sep; 15(3):283-91. Neumann CG, Nyandiko W, Siika A, Drorbaugh N, Samari G, Ettyang G, Ernst JA. PMID: 27681152.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    58. Risky sexual behavior of foreign and native-born women in emerging adulthood: The long reach of mother-daughter relationships in adolescence. Soc Sci Res. 2016 11; 60:222-235. Samari G, Seltzer JA. PMID: 27712681; PMCID: PMC5116325.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    59. Cross-border ties and Arab American mental health. Soc Sci Med. 2016 Apr; 155:93-101. Samari G. PMID: 26999416; PMCID: PMC4819968.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    60. The impact of breast cancer knowledge and attitudes on screening and early detection among an immigrant Iranian population in southern California. J Relig Health. 2014 Dec; 53(6):1759-69. Kobeissi L, Samari G, Telesca D, Esfandiari M, Galal O. PMID: 24096382; PMCID: PMC3999292.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    61. Breast cancer screening among females in Iran and recommendations for improved practice: a review. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2011; 12(7):1647-55. Babu GR, Samari G, Cohen SP, Mahapatra T, Wahbe RM, Mermash S, Galal OM. PMID: 22126539.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 48     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    Goleen's Networks
    Concepts (189)
    Derived automatically from this person's publications.
    _
    Co-Authors (17)
    People in Profiles who have published with this person.
    _
    Similar People (60)
    People who share similar concepts with this person.
    _
    Same Department
    Search Department
    _