Rate My Professor Amana Mbise

Dr. Amana Mbise serves as an Assistant Professor of Social Work in the School of Social Work at the University of Alaska Anchorage, within the College of Health. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago (2017), an MSW focused on community health and urban development from the same university (2012), and a B.A. in Sociology (Honors) from the University of Dar es Salaam (2005). His career emphasizes community-engaged research, applying quantitative and qualitative methods to collaborate with underserved populations in designing interventions for health inequities in Alaska. He has served as Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator on grant-funded projects supported by the National Institute of Justice, Department of State J/TIP Program, Anchorage Health Department, and Alaska Department of Health.

Dr. Mbise's research specializations include Black Alaskans health, social determinants of health and health equity, Black men’s health, immigrant and refugee health, labor exploitation and trafficking, global health, and child rights. Notable publications are 'Black Alaskans Health Needs Assessment During COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Social Work' (2024, Health & Social Work, with Growden, Agnew, Shimizu), 'Addressing Barriers to Healthcare Among Black Alaskans: Social Work Contributions to an Agenda of Health Equity' (2023, Social Work in Healthcare, with Growden, Agnew, Shimizu), 'Welcoming: The Development of Sense of Belonging Post-Migration in a Secluded North American City' (2024, Community Psychology in Global Perspective, with Buckingham et al.), 'Birth Registration, Birth Certificates and the Denial of Human Rights. Evidence from Tanzania National Panel Data 2010/11' (2020, International Journal of Children’s Rights), and 'The diffusion of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) more than the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) in Africa' (2017, International Social Work). He teaches social work practice with individuals, introduction to social welfare, social work practice with organizations and communities, transformational leadership in social work practice, and refugee and immigrant health. Professional reports include Black Alaskans Health Status Report 2022 and studies estimating forced labor prevalence in the fishing industry in Costa Rica and among domestic workers in Tanzania.