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CEMiHR — Home
CEMiHR
Community Engaged Migrant Health Research Lab
CEMiHR’s Mission
CEMiHR seeks to design, develop, test, implement, evaluate, and coordinate evidence-based, culturally appropriate individual, family, and community-level interventions that address migrants’ multidimensional needs, changes, and complexities.
CEMiHR provides a space for migrant health researchers to collaborate to address social determinants of health, and eliminate health disparities by leveraging the resources available from diverse institutions and community agencies.
CEMiHR fosters innovative community collaborations and initiates partnerships to achieve equitable health environments, where all individuals and communities have the opportunity to achieve and maintain good health.
CEMiHR promotes and supports the training of a diverse research workforce by offering valuable local, national, and international learning experiences to help them maximize their performance and achieve their full potential in migrant health research.
Migrant — “An umbrella term, not defined under international law, reflecting the common lay understanding of a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons” (International Organization for Migration).
About
Community Engaged Migrant Health Research
The Community Engaged Migrant Health Research Lab’s (CEMiHR) vision is to enrich the lived experiences of migrants through innovative community collaborations and research that enhance their quality of life, social infrastructure, and optimal health. CEMiHR is committed to addressing and reducing the impact of health disparities among migrant communities through disseminating effective individual, family, and community-level interventions.
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Definition of A Migrant
Migrant — “An umbrella term, not defined under international law, reflecting the common lay understanding of a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons” (International Organization for Migration).
Our Team
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Miriam Kuttikat
Director
Associate Professor
VCU School of Social Work
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Affiliated Faculty
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Indranil Sahoo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
VCU Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research
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Jennifer Murphy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
UT Arlington School of Social Work
Graduate Research Interns
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Elizabeth Amona, M.S.
Ph.D. Candidate in System Modeling and Analysis
VCU Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research
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Ms. Oluwatobi Osobukola-Abubu
Ph.D. student in African Studies
Howard University
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Hannah George, B.S.
M.S. Student in Human Paleobiology
George Washington University Department of Anthropology
Student Alumni
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Our Partners
CEMiHR conducts Community Based Participatory Research with a strong community commitment. CEMiHR has built formal, contractual research partnerships with many national and international community agencies through local, state, federal, and international funding.
Our Latest Projects
The objective of the CEMiHR lab is to design, test and implement community-engaged, evidence-based, and culturally appropriate interventions that address Migrant communities’ multidimensional needs, changes, and complexities over time.
Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Indian camps
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The objective of the five research studies conducted in refugee camps in India starting in 2007 was to investigate the impact of pre and post-migration daily stressors on camp refugee family dynamics and family health. The study outcome was the identification of intervention strategies, as well as the design and development of the Migrant Family Health Intervention to provide appropriate care tailored to meet the complex needs of refugee families in camps.
Funding Partners:
National Institute of Health Fogarty International (NIH Fogarty)
Social Sciences and Research Council Canada (SSHRC)
Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)
Community Partners:
Center for Development Studies (CDC)
Organization for Eelam Refugee Rehabilitation (OfERR)
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Miriam Kuttikat
Eritrean Community
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This study seeks to examine types, and frequencies of resources that would attenuate Eritrean migrants’ daily migration stress, parent-adolescent conflict, and parent-adolescent health. The study is being conducted in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia areas with Eritrean migrants who have been residing in the United States.
Funding Partners:
Presidential Research Quest Fund (PERQ)
Community Partners:
Bond Unbroken
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Miriam Kuttikat
El Salvadorian immigrant families
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The study seeks to understand the Multifaceted Stressors and Family Health Dynamics of El Salvadorian immigrant families. The study was conducted with El Salvadorian families who have been residing in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland.
Funding partners:
Presidential Research Quest Fund (PERQ)
Community partners:
Catholic Charities USA
Principal investigator:
Dr. Miriam Kuttikat
The Kerala Diaspora Study
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This is a tri-site examination of health and wellbeing, food and nutrition, social network, and lifestyle trends of Malayalis in Kerala, USA, and Canada.
Funding:
VCU School of Social Work
Community partners:
Mahatma Gandhi University Rajagiri College of Social Sciences
University of Toronto Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
Principal investigator:
Dr. Miriam Kuttikat
Survivors of Human Trafficking in the Greater Washington DC
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This project investigates Entrepreneurship and the socio-economic well-being of survivors of human trafficking in the DMV. The study outcome will assist in designing trauma-informed interventions to train trafficking survivors to break the cycle of oppression to be empowered.
Community Partners:
Renewed Love Foundation
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Miriam Kuttikat
Ms. Oluwatobi Osobukola-Abubu
Publications
- Kuttikat, M. A Community-Based Participatory Research in a refugee camp.
- Sahoo, I., Amona, E., Kuttikat, M., Lund, M. & Chan, D. Using Forest Model for Tailored Treatment for Adult Mental Health Among Sri Lankan Camp Refugees.
- Amona, E., Kuttikat, M., Lund, M. & Chan, D. Unveiling Determinants of Mental Health Among Eritrean Refugees: Insights from a Randomized LASSO Analysis.
- Murphy, J. L., Lund, M., Kuttikat, M., Saleh, M., & Rolden, P. (under review). Community health workers’ perspective on family functioning among Sri Lankan refugees.
- Kuttikat, M., Lund, M., Murphy, J., Sahoo, I., Chan, D., & Amona, E. (under review). Beyond Western Models: A Grounded Theory Study of Parenting Processes Among Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees Families in Protracted Displacement.
- Kuttikat, M., Lund, M., Sahoo, I., Amona, E. & Chan, D. (2025). A Conceptual Model of Refugee Family Dynamics: A Study with Sri Lankan Tamils. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22 (2), 169. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22020169
- Sahoo, I., Kuttikat, M., Chan, D., Murphy, J., & Saleh, M. (2024). Transmigration Stressors, Parent Mental Health, and Family Functioning Among Sri Lankan Camp Refugees in India. Migration and Development. October. https://doi.org/10.1177/21632324241281444
- Saleh, M., Amona, E., Kuttikat, M., Sahoo, I., Chan, D., Kim, K., Murphy, J., George, H. & Lund, M. (2024). Child Mental Health Predictors Among Camp Refugees: Utilizing Linear and XGBOOST Models. PLOS ONE. September. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303632
- Sahoo, I., Amona, E., Kuttikat, M. & Chan, D. (2024). Enhancing Mental Health Predictions: A Gradient Boosted Model for Sri Lankan Camp Refugees. Social Sciences, 13(255). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13050255
- Kuttikat, M., George, H. & George, D. (2022). Proverbs, and gender: The interface between proverbs and human relations in a refugee camp. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 10 (6), November. https://redfame.com/journal/index.php/ijsss/article/view/5755/5893
- Lund, M., Murphy, J., Kuttikat, M., Saleh, M., & Roldan, P. (2025, January). Community Health Workers’ Perspective on Family Functioning Among Sri Lankan Refugees. Poster presented at the Society for Social Work and Research Conference, Seattle, Washington.
Articles
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, more than 4 million people have fled the country and an estimated quarter of the Ukrainian population has been internally displaced…
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The project aims to identify Horn of Africa migrants’ daily life stressors, family dynamics and health care challenges and “develop data to submit a comprehensive study proposal to develop culturally appropriate and evidence-based interventions”…
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It’s hard not to be in awe of Kyaw as he shares his story — how he entered a Henrico County middle school without knowing English, how he supports his family, or how badly he probably wanted to answer that phone call from his homeland.
Read Full Article HereThe United Nations recently released a report finding that the number of refugees in the world has climbed to more than 50 million — the highest number since the post-World War II era.
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How refugees from the Chin state of Burma helped resurrect a historic Richmond church, one family at a time.
Read Full Article HereSeptember 2023: Work featured in The Print. “Two Muslim women are waging war against polygamy, halala. And paying a heavy price for it.” Cover story.
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