Walter Rasugu Omariba

Walter Omariba was born in Kenya and has lived in Canada since 1999. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology (University of Western Ontario), and an MA in Populations studies and a BA (Honours) in Sociology from the University of Nairobi. He completed post-doctoral training in socio-economic determinants of population health at the Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University. His research interests are in population health, social demography, epidemiology and the application of statistical techniques to understand health inequalities and contextual influences of health. His research and publications have been on childhood mortality, the effect of health literacy on health, the role of HIV/AIDS knowledge and female education and sexual behaviour, and the role of education in fertility changes among others. He has published in these issues on Canada, Kenya, and sub-Saharan Africa. He has also worked as a consultant on population health and development in Kenya for several international development organizations.

Selected publications:

1. Immigration, generation and self-rated health in Canada: On the role of health literacy. Canadian Journal of Public Health 2011; 102 (4): 281-85.

2. Gender differences in functional limitations among Canadians living with arthritis— on the role of disease duration and comorbidity. Health Reports 2011; 22(4): 7-14.

3. Neighbourhood characteristics, individual attributes and self-rated health among older Canadians. Health and Place 2010; 16(5):986-95.

4. Rural-urban migration and cross-national variation in infant mortality in less developed countries. Population Research & Policy Review 2010; 29(3):275-96.

5. Correlated mortality of siblings in Kenya: The role of state dependence. Demographic Research 2008; 18: 311-36.

6. Family structure and child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: Cross-national effects of polygyny. Journal of Marriage & Family 2007; 69: 528-43.

7. HIV/AIDS knowledge, women’s education, epidemic severity and protective sexual behaviour in low and middle income countries. Journal of Biosocial Science 2007; 39(3):421-42.

8. The influence of economic development level, household wealth and maternal education on child health in the developing world. Social Science & Medicine 2006; 63(8):2242-54.

9. Women’s educational attainment and intergenerational patterns of fertility behaviour in Kenya. Journal of Biosocial Science 2006; 38(4):449-79.