Thabani Nyoni, PhD

Biography
Thabani Nyoni assumed the role of Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University’s School of Social Work in January 2024. His research focuses on contextual stressors and psychosocial resources, exploring their impact on mental and sexual health, as well as health equity within marginalized populations facing challenges such as pandemics, chronic illnesses, and infectious diseases. From January 2022 to December 2023, Thabani served as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and the Department of Health and Society in Ontario, Canada. His research concentrated on the intersections of HIV and COVID-19 vulnerabilities and strengths among racialized sexual minorities.

With over a decade of experience spanning government, non-profits, and academia across Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States, Thabani has cultivated expertise in leadership, program management, research, media engagement, social justice campaigns, and frontline community practice. He held the position of Executive Director at Bulawayo Agenda (BA) and contributed to leadership and governance oversight at organizations such as the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. Thabani also served at Alameda County’s Social Services Department in Oakland, California for two years as a Research and Evaluation Intern.

Thabani has been honored with various competitive and prestigious awards and grants, particularly in the field of research. In 2015, he was granted the Research and Innovation Research Fellowship Grant from the University of Berkeley’s Graduate Development Program. In 2022, he received the Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship Grant for his Post-doctoral research at the University of Toronto. Thabani is also a proud recipient of a two-year MasterCard Foundation scholarship for his Social Welfare studies at the University of Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare, spanning from 2014 to 2016. Moreover, he was awarded the US State Department Funded Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship for the 2009-2010 edition.

Selected Research Presentations

• Nyoni, T., Latoya, Small., & McKay, M., M (2022, July). The importance of psychosocial resources in positive adaptation to adversity among adolescents living with a perinatal HIV infection in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa [Conference session]. A virtual poster exhibited at the 24th International AIDS Conference, Montreal Quebec, Canada
  
  
• Nyoni, T., Evers, E., Perez, M., Jeffe, D., & Burnham, J. (2022, January). Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to the Adoption of Telemedicine Infectious Diseases Consultation in Southeastern Missouri Hospitals [Conference session]. An Oral Orally presented at the 25th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), Washington DC, USA
  
  
• Nyoni, T. & Parikh, S. (2020). Would you rape when sex workers are available? Examining the Meaning and Value Female Sex Workers (FSW) and their male customers attach to Sex Work in eastern Uganda. A virtual poster exhibited at the 23rd International AIDS Conference, Virtual Conference
  
• Nyoni, T., Okumu M., Byansi, W., Small E., Lipsey, K. & Sallah, Y. (2019). How effective are treatment supporter interventions in promoting antiretroviral treatment adherence outcomes among adults in Sub-Saharan Africa? A meta-analysis. Orally presented at the 14th AIDS Impact Conference, London, England
  
  
• Nyoni, T. (2015). Mobilizing for gender, health, and rights: A case study of Sonke Gender Justice's work with migrant communities in South Africa. Orally presented at an International Conference on Community Mobilization for Health, Human Rights & Gender Justice, Johannesburg, South Africa

Selected Research Publications

• Nyoni, T., Evers, E. C., Pérez, M., Jeffe, D. B., Fritz, S. A., Colditz, G. A., & Burnham, J. P. (2023). Perceived barriers and facilitators to the adoption of telemedicine infectious diseases consultations in southeastern Missouri hospitals. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 1357633X221149461.
  https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X221149
  
  
• Nyoni, T., Steiner, J. J., Okumu, M., Orwenyo, E., Tonui, B. C., Lipsey, K., & Mengo, C. (2023). The use and effectiveness of the whole school approach in school-based interventions addressing gender-based violence in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(5), 3615-3628.
  https://doi.org/10.1177/152483802211342
  
  
• Newman, P. A., Nyoni, T., Allan, K., Fantus, S., Dinh, D., Tepjan, S., ... & Guta, A. (2023). Multilevel determinants of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and undervaccination among marginalized populations in the United States: A scoping review. medRxiv, 2023-02.
  https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.23.23286342
  
  
• Newman, P. A., Dinh, D. A., Nyoni, T., Allan, K., Fantus, S., Williams, C. C., ... & Guta, A. (2023). Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Under-Vaccination among Marginalized Populations in the United States and Canada: A Scoping Review. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 1-22.
  https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01882-1
  
  
• Ansong, D., Okumu, M., Nyoni, T., Appiah-Kubi, J., Amoako, E. O., Koomson, I., & Conklin, J. (2023). The Effectiveness of Financial Capability and Asset Building Interventions in Improving Youth’s Educational Well-being: A Systematic Review. Adolescent Research Review, 1-16.
   https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-023-00223-x
  
  
• Small, E., Nikolova, S. P., Nyoni, T., Zhou, Y., Okumu, M., Lipsey, K. L., ... & Thomas, L. (2023). Examining HIV-stigma interventions among youth living in sub-Sahara Africa: a systematic review of the evidence. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 1-26.
  https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2023.2280059
  
  
• Nyoni, T., Ahmed, R., & Dvalishvili, D. (2022). Poverty and Children’s Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa. Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards Evidence Generation and Policy Development, 19-39.
  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83707-5_2
  
  
• Okumu, M., Orwenyo, E., Nyoni, T., Mengo, C., Steiner, J. J., & Tonui, B. C. (2022). Socioeconomic factors and patterns of intimate partner violence among ever-married women in Uganda: pathways and actions for multicomponent violence prevention strategies. Journal of interpersonal violence, 37(17-18), NP16397-NP16420.
  https://doi.org/10.1177/088626052110219
  
  
• Newman, P. A., Reid, L., Tepjan, S., Fantus, S., Allan, K., Nyoni, T., ... & Williams, C. C. (2022). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among marginalized populations in the US and Canada: Protocol for a scoping review. PLoS One, 17(3), e0266120.
  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266120
  
  
• Okumu, M., Nyoni, T., & Byansi, W. (2021). Alleviating psychological distress and promoting mental wellbeing among adolescents living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, during and after COVID-19. Global Public Health, 16(6), 964-973.
  https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2021.1912137
  
  
• Nyoni, T., Okumu, M. COVID-19-Compliant Strategies for Supporting Treatment Adherence Among People Living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS Behav 24, 2473–2476 (2020).
  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-02888-0
  
  
• Nyoni, T., Sallah, Y. H., Okumu, M., Byansi, W., Lipsey, K., & Small, E. (2020). The effectiveness of treatment supporter interventions in antiretroviral treatment adherence in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-Analysis. AIDS care, 32(sup2), 214-227.
  https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2020.1742870
  
  
• Nyoni, T., Nabunya, P., & Ssewamala, F. M. (2019). Perceived social support and psychological wellbeing of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Southwestern Uganda. Vulnerable children and youth studies, 14(4), 351-363.
  https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2019.1634855