Alana M.W. LeBrón
Assistant Professor, Chicano/Latino Studies
School of Social Sciences
School of Social Sciences
Assistant Professor
Public Health
Public Health
Ph.D., University of Michigan School of Public Health, 2015, Health Behavior & Health Education
M.S., Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, 2010, Society, Human Development & Health
Bowdoin College, 2006, Gender and Women’s Studies
M.S., Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, 2010, Society, Human Development & Health
Bowdoin College, 2006, Gender and Women’s Studies
University of California, Irvine
3151 Social Science Plaza, SST 369 (Chicano/Latino Studies)
653 E. Peltason Drive, AIRB 2026 (Public Health)
Mail Code: 5100
Irvine, CA 92697
3151 Social Science Plaza, SST 369 (Chicano/Latino Studies)
653 E. Peltason Drive, AIRB 2026 (Public Health)
Mail Code: 5100
Irvine, CA 92697
Research Interests
structural racism and health, health of Latina/o communities, community-based participatory research
Research Abstract
Dr. LeBrón’s primary areas of research include processes that shape the production, maintenance, exacerbation, and mitigation of social inequalities; implications of social inequalities for inequities in health; and opportunities for intervention. Much of Dr. LeBrón’s scholarship centers on the intersections of race, socioeconomic position, immigrant generation, citizenship status, and gender with inequities in health, with a focus on the health of Latina/o communities and community-engaged strategies for understanding and addressing health inequities. Through qualitative and quantitative research methods, Dr. LeBrón’s scholarship examines the mechanisms by which racism shapes health inequities, and factors that disrupt these processes. For example, her research considers the health equity implications of immigration policies and sentiments towards immigrants, neighborhood social and economic contexts, and government-issued ID policies and practices. Dr. LeBrón’s scholarship also evaluates the health equity implications of community-driven strategies to mitigate these processes.
Publications
PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES (In Print or In Press):
Lopez WD, Kline N, LeBrón AMW, Novak NL, Young ME, Gonsalves G, Mishori R, Safi BA, Kysel IM. (2020) Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Immigrant Detention Centers Requires the Release of Detainees. American Journal of Public Health.
Macias RL, LeBrón AMW, Taylor K, Silva M. (2020) Después de la tormenta: Collective Trauma Following Hurricane Maria in a Northeastern Puerto Rican Community in the United States. Journal of Community Psychology. DOI: 10.1002/jcop.22442
Masri S, LeBrón AMW, Logue MDL, Valencia E, Ruiz A, Reyes A, Lawrence J, Wu J. (2020) Social and Spatial Distribution of Lead Concentrations in the City of Santa Ana, California: Implications for Health Inequities. Science of the Total Environment, 743:140764.
Fleming PJ and LeBrón AMW. (2020) Historical and Contemporary Reproductive Injustices at the Border and Beyond. American Journal of Public Health, 110(3): 273-274.
LeBrón AMW, Cowan K, Lopez WD, Novak NL, Ibarra-Frayre M, Delva J. (2019) The Washtenaw ID Project: A Government-Issued ID Coalition Working Towards Social, Economic, and Racial Justice and Health Equity. Health Education & Behavior.
LeBrón AMW, Torres IR, Valencia E, López Dominguez M, Garcia-Sanchez DG, Logue MD, Wu J. (2019) The State of Public Health Lead Policies: Implications for Urban Health Inequities and Recommendations for Health Equity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(6), 1064. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16061064
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, Israel BA, Stokes C. (2019) Social Relationships, Neighbourhood Poverty, and Cumulative Biological Risk: Findings from a Multi-Racial Urban Community. Journal of Biosocial Science: 1-18. DOI: 10.1017/S002193201900004X
LeBrón AMW, Cowan K, Lopez WD, Novak NL, Ibarra-Frayre M, Delva J. (2018) It Works, But for Whom? Examining Racial Bias in Carding Experiences and Acceptance of a County ID. Health Equity, 2.1. DOI: 10.1089/heq.2018.0022
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Gamboa C, Reyes A, Viruell-Fuentes EA, Israel BA. (2018) “They Are Clipping Our Wings”: Health Implications of Restrictive Immigrant Policies for Mexican-Origin Women in a Northern Border Community. Race and Social Problems, 10(3): 174-192. DOI: 10.1007/s12552-018-9238-0.
Spencer MS, Kieffer EC, Sinco B, Piatt G, Palmisano G, Hawkins J, LeBrón AMW, Espitia N, Tang T, Funnell M, Heisler M. (2018) 18-Month Outcomes from a Community Health Worker and Peer Leader Diabetes Self-Management Program for Latino Adults. Diabetes Care.
Cruz Nichols V, LeBrón AMW, Pedraza FI. (2018) Policing Us Sick: The Health of Latinos in an Era of Heightened Deportations and Racialized Policing. PS: Political Science and Politics, 51(2): 293-297. DOI: 10.1017/S1049096517002384
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, Gamboa C, Reyes A. (2018) Antihypertensive Medication Use: Implications for Inequities in Cardiovascular Risk and Opportunities for Intervention. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 29(1): 192-201.
Cruz Nichols V, LeBrón AMW, Pedraza FI. (2018) Spillover Effects: Immigrant Policing and Government Skepticism in Matters of Health for Latinos. Public Administration Review. DOI: 10.1111/puar.12916
LeBrón AMW, Spencer M, Kieffer E, Sinco B, Palmisano G. (2018) Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Diabetes-Related Outcomes among Latinos with Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0710-0.
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, Reyes A, Gamboa C, Israel BA, House JS, Viruell-Fuentes EA. (2018) Impact of Change Over Time in Self-Reported Discrimination on Blood Pressure: Implications for Inequities in Cardiovascular Risk for a Multi-Racial Urban Community. Ethnicity & Health. DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2018.1425378.
LeBrón AMW, Lopez WD, Cowan K, Novak NL, Temrowski O, Ibarra-Frayre M, Delva J. (2017) Restrictive ID Policies: Implications for Health Equity. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-017-0579-3
Pedraza FI, Cruz Nichols V, LeBrón AMW. (2017) Cautious Citizenship: The Deterring Effect of Immigration Issue Salience on Health Care Use and Bureaucratic Interactions Among Latino U.S. Citizens. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law; 42(5). DOI 10.1215/03616878-3940486
Hawkins J, Watkins DC, Kieffer E, Spencer MS, Nicklett EJ, Piatt G, Espitia NR, LeBrón AMW, Palmisano G. (2017) An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Gender on Health Behavior among African American and Latino Men with Type 2 Diabetes. American Journal of Men’s Health; 11(2): 344-356. DOI: 10.1177/1557988316681125.
LeBrón AMW, Spencer M, Kieffer E, Sinco B, Piatt G, Palmisano G. (2017) Correlates of Interpersonal Ethnoracial Discrimination among Latino Adults with Diabetes: Findings from the REACH Detroit Study. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work. DOI: 10.1080/15313204.2016.1263820.
Lucumí DI, LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G. (2017) Social Patterning of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Risk in Colombian Adults. Ethnicity & Health; 22(4):389-401. DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2016.1244628.
Lopez WD, LeBrón AMW, Graham LF, Grogan-Kaylor A. (2016) Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms among Latina/o Adolescents of Immigrant Parents. International Quarterly of Community Health Education; 36(2): 131-140. DOI: 10.1177/0272684X16628723.
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, White-Perkins D. (2015) John Henryism, Socioeconomic Position, and Blood Pressure in a Multi-Ethnic Urban Community. Ethnicity & Disease; 25(1): 24-30.
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Bernal C, Gamboa C, Wright C, Sand S, Valerio M, Caver D. (2014) Storytelling in Community Intervention Research: Lessons Learned from the Walk Your Heart to Health Intervention. Progress in Community Health Partnerships; 8(4): 455-463. DOI: 10.1353/cpr.2014.0066.
LeBrón AMW, Valerio MV, Kieffer E, Sinco B, Rosland AM, Hawkins J, Espitia N, Palmisano G, Spencer M. (2014) Everyday Discrimination, Diabetes-Related Distress, and Depressive Symptoms among African Americans and Latinos with Diabetes. Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health 16(6): 1208-1216. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-013-9843-3.
Griffith DM, Wooley AM, Ober Allen J. (2013) “I’m ready to eat and grab whatever I can get”: Determinants of African American Men’s Eating Practices. Health Promotion & Practice, 14(2): 181-188. DOI: 10.1177/1524839912437789.
Chiu YHM, Coull BA, Cohen S, Wooley AM, Wright RJ. (2012) Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Stress and Wheeze in Urban Children: Effect of Maternal Sensitization. American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, 186(2): 147-154. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201201-0162OC.
Lopez WD, Kline N, LeBrón AMW, Novak NL, Young ME, Gonsalves G, Mishori R, Safi BA, Kysel IM. (2020) Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Immigrant Detention Centers Requires the Release of Detainees. American Journal of Public Health.
Macias RL, LeBrón AMW, Taylor K, Silva M. (2020) Después de la tormenta: Collective Trauma Following Hurricane Maria in a Northeastern Puerto Rican Community in the United States. Journal of Community Psychology. DOI: 10.1002/jcop.22442
Masri S, LeBrón AMW, Logue MDL, Valencia E, Ruiz A, Reyes A, Lawrence J, Wu J. (2020) Social and Spatial Distribution of Lead Concentrations in the City of Santa Ana, California: Implications for Health Inequities. Science of the Total Environment, 743:140764.
Fleming PJ and LeBrón AMW. (2020) Historical and Contemporary Reproductive Injustices at the Border and Beyond. American Journal of Public Health, 110(3): 273-274.
LeBrón AMW, Cowan K, Lopez WD, Novak NL, Ibarra-Frayre M, Delva J. (2019) The Washtenaw ID Project: A Government-Issued ID Coalition Working Towards Social, Economic, and Racial Justice and Health Equity. Health Education & Behavior.
LeBrón AMW, Torres IR, Valencia E, López Dominguez M, Garcia-Sanchez DG, Logue MD, Wu J. (2019) The State of Public Health Lead Policies: Implications for Urban Health Inequities and Recommendations for Health Equity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(6), 1064. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16061064
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, Israel BA, Stokes C. (2019) Social Relationships, Neighbourhood Poverty, and Cumulative Biological Risk: Findings from a Multi-Racial Urban Community. Journal of Biosocial Science: 1-18. DOI: 10.1017/S002193201900004X
LeBrón AMW, Cowan K, Lopez WD, Novak NL, Ibarra-Frayre M, Delva J. (2018) It Works, But for Whom? Examining Racial Bias in Carding Experiences and Acceptance of a County ID. Health Equity, 2.1. DOI: 10.1089/heq.2018.0022
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Gamboa C, Reyes A, Viruell-Fuentes EA, Israel BA. (2018) “They Are Clipping Our Wings”: Health Implications of Restrictive Immigrant Policies for Mexican-Origin Women in a Northern Border Community. Race and Social Problems, 10(3): 174-192. DOI: 10.1007/s12552-018-9238-0.
Spencer MS, Kieffer EC, Sinco B, Piatt G, Palmisano G, Hawkins J, LeBrón AMW, Espitia N, Tang T, Funnell M, Heisler M. (2018) 18-Month Outcomes from a Community Health Worker and Peer Leader Diabetes Self-Management Program for Latino Adults. Diabetes Care.
Cruz Nichols V, LeBrón AMW, Pedraza FI. (2018) Policing Us Sick: The Health of Latinos in an Era of Heightened Deportations and Racialized Policing. PS: Political Science and Politics, 51(2): 293-297. DOI: 10.1017/S1049096517002384
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, Gamboa C, Reyes A. (2018) Antihypertensive Medication Use: Implications for Inequities in Cardiovascular Risk and Opportunities for Intervention. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 29(1): 192-201.
Cruz Nichols V, LeBrón AMW, Pedraza FI. (2018) Spillover Effects: Immigrant Policing and Government Skepticism in Matters of Health for Latinos. Public Administration Review. DOI: 10.1111/puar.12916
LeBrón AMW, Spencer M, Kieffer E, Sinco B, Palmisano G. (2018) Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Diabetes-Related Outcomes among Latinos with Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0710-0.
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, Reyes A, Gamboa C, Israel BA, House JS, Viruell-Fuentes EA. (2018) Impact of Change Over Time in Self-Reported Discrimination on Blood Pressure: Implications for Inequities in Cardiovascular Risk for a Multi-Racial Urban Community. Ethnicity & Health. DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2018.1425378.
LeBrón AMW, Lopez WD, Cowan K, Novak NL, Temrowski O, Ibarra-Frayre M, Delva J. (2017) Restrictive ID Policies: Implications for Health Equity. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-017-0579-3
Pedraza FI, Cruz Nichols V, LeBrón AMW. (2017) Cautious Citizenship: The Deterring Effect of Immigration Issue Salience on Health Care Use and Bureaucratic Interactions Among Latino U.S. Citizens. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law; 42(5). DOI 10.1215/03616878-3940486
Hawkins J, Watkins DC, Kieffer E, Spencer MS, Nicklett EJ, Piatt G, Espitia NR, LeBrón AMW, Palmisano G. (2017) An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Gender on Health Behavior among African American and Latino Men with Type 2 Diabetes. American Journal of Men’s Health; 11(2): 344-356. DOI: 10.1177/1557988316681125.
LeBrón AMW, Spencer M, Kieffer E, Sinco B, Piatt G, Palmisano G. (2017) Correlates of Interpersonal Ethnoracial Discrimination among Latino Adults with Diabetes: Findings from the REACH Detroit Study. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work. DOI: 10.1080/15313204.2016.1263820.
Lucumí DI, LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G. (2017) Social Patterning of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Risk in Colombian Adults. Ethnicity & Health; 22(4):389-401. DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2016.1244628.
Lopez WD, LeBrón AMW, Graham LF, Grogan-Kaylor A. (2016) Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms among Latina/o Adolescents of Immigrant Parents. International Quarterly of Community Health Education; 36(2): 131-140. DOI: 10.1177/0272684X16628723.
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, White-Perkins D. (2015) John Henryism, Socioeconomic Position, and Blood Pressure in a Multi-Ethnic Urban Community. Ethnicity & Disease; 25(1): 24-30.
LeBrón AMW, Schulz AJ, Bernal C, Gamboa C, Wright C, Sand S, Valerio M, Caver D. (2014) Storytelling in Community Intervention Research: Lessons Learned from the Walk Your Heart to Health Intervention. Progress in Community Health Partnerships; 8(4): 455-463. DOI: 10.1353/cpr.2014.0066.
LeBrón AMW, Valerio MV, Kieffer E, Sinco B, Rosland AM, Hawkins J, Espitia N, Palmisano G, Spencer M. (2014) Everyday Discrimination, Diabetes-Related Distress, and Depressive Symptoms among African Americans and Latinos with Diabetes. Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health 16(6): 1208-1216. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-013-9843-3.
Griffith DM, Wooley AM, Ober Allen J. (2013) “I’m ready to eat and grab whatever I can get”: Determinants of African American Men’s Eating Practices. Health Promotion & Practice, 14(2): 181-188. DOI: 10.1177/1524839912437789.
Chiu YHM, Coull BA, Cohen S, Wooley AM, Wright RJ. (2012) Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Stress and Wheeze in Urban Children: Effect of Maternal Sensitization. American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, 186(2): 147-154. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201201-0162OC.
BOOK CHAPTERS:
LeBrón AMW and Viruell-Fuentes EA. (2019) Racism & the Health of Latina/Latino Communities. In Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professional. Eds. Ford CL, Griffith DM, Bruce MA, and Gilbert KL. American Public Health Association Press.
LeBrón AMW and Viruell-Fuentes EA. (2019) Racial/Ethnic Discrimination, Intersectionality & Latina/o Health. In New & Emerging Issues in Latinx Health. Eds. Martinez A & Rhodes S. Springer.
Cruz Nichols V, LeBrón AMW, Pedraza FI. (2018) Policy Feedback: Government Skepticism Trickling from Immigration to Matters of Health. In Policing and Race in America: Economic, Political, and Social Dynamics. Ed. J. Ward. Rowman & Littlefield.
LeBrón AMW and Viruell-Fuentes EA. (2019) Racism & the Health of Latina/Latino Communities. In Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professional. Eds. Ford CL, Griffith DM, Bruce MA, and Gilbert KL. American Public Health Association Press.
LeBrón AMW and Viruell-Fuentes EA. (2019) Racial/Ethnic Discrimination, Intersectionality & Latina/o Health. In New & Emerging Issues in Latinx Health. Eds. Martinez A & Rhodes S. Springer.
Cruz Nichols V, LeBrón AMW, Pedraza FI. (2018) Policy Feedback: Government Skepticism Trickling from Immigration to Matters of Health. In Policing and Race in America: Economic, Political, and Social Dynamics. Ed. J. Ward. Rowman & Littlefield.
Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6278
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6278
Last updated
01/10/2021
01/10/2021