Heidi West

Heidi West is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Science at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), within the College of Health & Human Services. She specializes in migration, gender, and global health equity, with a focus on how demographic changes and international frameworks influence health systems. Her work spans the U.S., Myanmar, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and other regions.

Education: PhD in Health Policy and Management from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health; MA in Ethics, Peace, and Global Affairs from American University; BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. She also holds a Global Health certificate from Drexel University.

Research Interests include migration’s impact on health systems, health disparities, global development, and policy evaluation. Her studies often involve binational data and cross-country comparisons, addressing challenges faced by migrant populations and families left behind.

Publications highlight themes such as vaccine hesitancy in religious contexts, healthcare access for migrant families, and the mental health of first responders post-disasters. She emphasizes interdisciplinary methods and capacity-building collaborations through her NGO, fostering global health equity and student mentorship.

Professional Contributions include co-founding an NGO focused on sustainable scientific practice in low- and middle-income countries, offering mentored research opportunities. Her work bridges academic research with real-world policy solutions to improve health equity and system resilience.