JOHNSON CITY (Sept. 29, 2020) – Dr. Tosin Ariyo, a member of East Tennessee State
University’s Center for Applied Research and Evaluation in Women’s Health (CARE Women’s
Health), has been awarded a 2020 Changemakers in Family Planning grant from the Society
for Family Planning.
Ariyo is a community health scientist and women’s health advocate who is dedicated to addressing health disparities in underserved communities. She serves as research director in the Department of Health Services Management and Policy in the ETSU College of Public Health.
The aim of the Changemakers in Family Planning grant award is “to provide dedicated support for scholars of color to develop their skills and leadership in the field of family planning research” in order to advance the next generation of family planning research leaders.
Ariyo, whose grant was approximately $57,000, was one of just eight recipients this year.
“I am very grateful for this professional development grant,” Ariyo said. “It will enable me to build a body of research that uses the framework of reproductive justice and the socioecological model to center Black women’s experiences with different contraceptive methods, and examine the relationship between racial discrimination, patient-provider communication and relationship, and medical mistrust.”
Ariyo’s interest in public health was ignited in Lagos, Nigeria, where she was born and raised and completed her early education.
“I think living in Nigeria was my first introduction to anything about health and population health in general,” Ariyo said. “I realized there were differences in health outcomes, based first on socioeconomic status or wealth, then based on health infrastructure and other social factors. Because of that, I went into public health.”
She has since learned that there are parallels between health care disparities in Nigeria and the United States.
“Within my first few years in the U.S., I realized the health disparities exist in the same way. We have some of the same gaps here, with racism as an additional root cause of negative health outcomes for Black people in the U.S., and that sustained my interest in addressing these disparities, particularly for women. Because when women are in good health, our families and communities are too,” Ariyo said.
Ariyo came to the U.S. to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at Lee University. She also completed a master’s degree in public health (community health practice) from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and a doctoral degree in public health (community and behavioral health) from ETSU.
After completing her doctoral degree, she participated in an ORISE (Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education) Fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Following her fellowship, she returned to join the faculty at ETSU in 2018. As a research director at ETSU, Ariyo leads the process evaluation of a statewide contraceptive access initiative.
She is also part of CARE Women’s Health, which is housed in the ETSU College of Public Health. CARE Women’s Health improves the lives of women and their families through education, clinical practice and research by producing high-quality science and providing world-class training for students in the diverse field of women’s health research.
“We are excited for the opportunity that Dr. Ariyo has received through the Changemakers grant, and it is certainly good news for women and families in our region and state. To improve health and quality of life, we must close the gaps that Black women face in accessing and utilizing family planning and other health care services. This grant will provide a strong foundation to move us in that direction,” said Dr. Amal Khoury, director of CARE Women’s Health.
To learn more about CARE Women’s Health, visit www.etsu.edu/cph/care-womens-health/.