Laura Ferguson, PhD
Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences
Health Equity Interests
I seek to understand and address large-scale factors that make it harder for some people to enjoy good health than others.
Biography
Laura Ferguson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences. She is the Director of Research for the Institute on Inequalities in Global Health and Director of the Program on Global Health & Human Rights at the Keck School of Medicine. She is also on the faculty of USC Dornsife's Spatial Sciences Institute. Dr. Ferguson earned her MSc in Population and International Health from the Harvard School of Public Health and her PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her work focuses on understanding and addressing health system and societal factors affecting health, and developing the evidence base of how attention to human rights can improve health outcomes.
Dr. Ferguson has spent extended periods of time in low-income countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, collaborating with local partners to design and manage research and programs to tackle a broad range of issues including HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, and child health.
Dr. Ferguson serves on a range of expert advisory groups to the World Health Organization and UNAIDS. She is also an Associate Editor for Reproductive Health Matters.
Research Interests
- Health Services
- Disparities
- Community
- Health Policy
- Social Determinants of Health
- Vulnerable Populations
- Global Health
- Legal Environment
- Sexual and Reproductive Health
- HIV/AIDS
- COVID-19
- Community Health
- Health Promotion
- Health Care Systems
- Structural Factors
Publications
Mind the Gap: Understanding Differences Between Sexual and Reproductive Health-Related Legal Frameworks on Paper and in Practice.
Front Glob Womens Health. 2022;3:838976. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2022.838976. Epub 2022 May 6. PubMed PMID: 35602852; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9120771.
PrEP distribution in pharmacies: a systematic review.
BMJ Open. 2022 Feb 21;12(2):e054121. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054121. Epub 2022 Feb 21. PubMed PMID: 35190430; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8860049.
Global assessment of existing HIV and key population stigma indicators: A data mapping exercise to inform country-level stigma measurement.
PLoS Med. 2022 Feb;19(2):e1003914. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003914. Epub 2022 Feb 22. PubMed PMID: 35192602; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8903269.
Addressing stigma and discrimination at scale: uniting for a common vision while acknowledging local realities.
J Int AIDS Soc. 2022 Mar;25(3):e25893. doi: 10.1002/jia2.25893. PubMed PMID: 35229482; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8886176.
Construction and validation of a spatial database of providers of transgender hormone therapy in the US.
Soc Sci Med. 2022 Jun;303:115014. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115014. Epub 2022 May 11. PubMed PMID: 35594740;
Courses Taught
- Introduction to Global Health
- Global Health Research and Programs
- Global Health Governance and Diplomacy in Practice in Geneva