Dr. Jonathan Abuga, PhD

COD, Public Health

Biography

Research Interests

Dr. Abuga is a public/environmental health expert with over a decade of teaching and research experience. He has previously conducted research on the epidemiology and healthcare access/utility for children with neurological impairments and disability in selected domains. He also has applied the Global Burden of Disease approaches to model the overall local burden of these disabilities in Kenya. Currently he is working on projects focussing on (i) environmental health, specifically the intersectionality between household energy use, air pollution, climate change and health; (ii) Cancer epidemiology and health-system preparedness in South-Western Kenya, and (iii) health systems strengthening for identification and treatment of communication disorders among children and adults.

Education Background

University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018 Jan - 2022 Oct
Doctor of Pholosophy(PhD)
Prevalence and risk factors, premature mortality, and healthcare access by school-aged children with neurological impairments and disability in rural Kenya
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
2012 Sep - 2013 Oct
Masters
Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
2007 July - 2011 Dec
Bachelors

Work Experience

Kisii University
Sep 2014 -
Kenya Medical Research Institute
Jan 2012 - 2012
KEMRI (Kenya Medical Research Institute) Wellcome Trust Research Programme
Jan 2018 - 2022

Publications

Nancy Chebichii, Betty Koech, Charles Mailu, Arthur Gohole, Willah Nabukwangwa, Joan Kinya, Charles Muruka, Sophie Matu, Jonathan Abuga, Lolem Lokolile & James Mwitari. Household fuel type, ventilation and chimney characteristics and self-reported health outcomes in selected counties of Kenya. Discov Public Health 23, 1256 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-02661-z
• 2026-03-08
Charles Muruka*, Nancy Chebichii, Willah Nabukwangwa, Charles Mailu, Sophie Matu, Betty Koech, Gohole Arthur, Joan Kinya, Jonathan Abuga, Lolem Lokolile Bosco. Influence of kitchen design, fuel use, and seasonality on household air pollution across agro-ecological zones in Kenya. Environ. Res. Commun. 8 055032DOI 10.1088/2515-7620/ae69a1
• 2026-05-01
Abuga JA, Arthur G, Mwitari J, Shupler M, Simiyu WN, Lorenzetti F, Puzzolo E, Tawiah T, Asante KP, Iddi S, Mangeni J, Sang E, Menya D, Baame M, Betang E, Ngahane BHM, Nix E, Pope D, Quansah R. Prevalence of Cooking-Related Burns in Peri-Urban Cameroon, Ghana, and Kenya by Fuel Type. J Health Pollut. 2025 Apr 28;13(1-4):017003. doi: 10.1289/JHP1095. PMID: 40342588; PMCID: PMC12061232.
• 2025-04-28
Jonathan Abuga, Lucy Mwangi, Joyce Ndolo, Symon M. Kariuki, Charles Newton. Healthcare utilization by children with neurological impairments and disabilities in rural Kenya: a retrospective cohort study combined with secondary analysis of audit data. (https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18405.1)
• 2022-11-09
Jonathan A. Abuga. Evidence Brief: How do we ensure that people with disabilities are not bullied at places of work? Disability Evidence Portal, 2022.
• 2022-10-30
Abuga, J.A., Kariuki, S.M., Abubakar, A., Nyundo, C., Kinyanjui, S.M., Van Hensbroek, M.B. and Newton, C.R. (2022), Neurological impairment and disability in children in rural Kenya. Dev Med Child Neurol, 64: 347-356. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.15059
• 2021-09-18
Abuga, J. A., Kariuki, S. M., Abubakar, A., Kinyanjui, S. M., van Hensbroek, M. B., & Newton, C. R. (2022). The burden of neurological impairments and disability in older children measured in disability-adjusted life-years in rural Kenya. PLOS global public health, 2(2), e0000151. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000151
• 2022-02-10
Mwangi, L. W., Abuga, J. A., Cottrell, E., Kariuki, S. M., Kinyanjui, S. M., & Newton, C. R. (2022). Barriers to access and utilization of healthcare by children with neurological impairments and disability in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Wellcome open research, 6, 61. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16593.2
• 2022-12-04
Abuga, J. A., Kariuki, S. M., Kinyanjui, S. M., Boele van Hensbroek, M., & Newton, C. R. (2021). Premature Mortality, Risk Factors, and Causes of Death Following Childhood-Onset Neurological Impairments: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in neurology, 12, 627824. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2021.627824
• 2021-04-09
Abuga, J. A., Kariuki, S. M., Kinyanjui, S. M., Boele Van Hensbroek, M., & Newton, C. R. (2019). Premature mortality in children aged 6-9 years with neurological impairments in rural Kenya: a cohort study. The Lancet. Global health, 7(12), e1728–e1735. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30425-5
• 2019-10-30

Research Grants

No research grants.

Skills

Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Neuro-epidemiology, Disability, Modelling, Communicable diseases, Non-communicable diseases, Air pollution, Climate Change