Garumma T. Feyissa, Ph.D., M.PH Assistant Professor, Brooklyn College, CUNY

Academic Appointment

Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences

Degrees

PhD, Public Health, The University of Adelaide 2018
MPH, Jimma University 2011
BSc Public Health, Haramaya University 2006

Research Interests

Dr. Garumma Feyissa is well versed in the areas of health equity, maternal and child health, mental health, sexual and reproductive health. Dr. Feyissa is passionate about expanding evidence-based policy and practice in health and social care through evidence-based research and teaching. Garumma utilizes diverse research methodologies ranging from primary quantitative and qualitative research to systematic reviews and methods that involve best practice implementation, guideline development and evaluation. Equipped with both qualitative and quantitative research methods, Dr. Feyissa conducts both primary research and systematic reviews to generate and synthesize evidence that guides public health policies and practice. Dr. Feyissa also seeks to fill the gap between research evidence and policy/ practice by responding to requests from policy makers and practitioners and by utilizing methodologies that involve knowledge appraisal, synthesis, and translation. Dr. Feyissa mentors and trains his students to develop skills of utilizing those methodological approaches in their research and public health practice.

Selected Recent Publications

Dr. Feyissa’s publications can be accessed from his Research ORCID and Google Scholar profiles.

1. Feyissa, G. T., Tolu, L. B., Soboka, M., & Ezeh, A. (2023). Effectiveness of interventions to reduce child marriage and teen pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of quantitative evidence. Frontiers in Reproductive Health, 5, 1105390.

2. Bayo, P., Alobo, G., Sauvé, C., & Feyissa, G. T. (2022). Mothers’ perceptions of the practice of kangaroo mother care for preterm neonates in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of qualitative evidence. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 20(2), 297-347.

3. Tessema, M., Birhanu, D., Mizana, B. A., Belay, A., Tura, G., Abera, M., … & Feyissa, G. T. (2022). Compliance to antenatal psychosocial assessment practice among midwives: a best practice implementation project. JBI Evidence Implementation, 20(1), 44-52.

4. Tareke, K. G., Lemu, Y. K., Yidenekal, S. A., & Feyissa, G. T. (2020). Community’s perception, experiences and health seeking behavior towards newborn illnesses in Debre Libanos District, North Shoa, Oromia, Ethiopia: Qualitative study. Plos one, 15(1), e0227542.

5. Tolu, L. B., Jeldu, W. G., & Feyissa, G. T. (2020). Effectiveness of utilizing the WHO safe childbirth checklist on improving essential childbirth practices and maternal and perinatal outcome: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 15(6), e0234320.

Patents

None

Grants over the last five years:

Feyissa GT. PSC-CUNY Award Cycle 55 PS-CUNY Research Awards (Enhanced). Exploration of Barriers and Facilitators to Integrating Mental Healthcare into Maternal and Child Health Services (July 2024-June 30, 2025), award amount $11,999.50

Tow Creative Grant: Feyissa GT. Integrating Mental Healthcare into Maternal and Child Health Services (January 2024-August 31, 2024), award amount $3,000.

Feyissa, MPI VLIR-UOS SI-2019 – Improving evidence-based practice skills in healthcare education to enhance implementation into the clinical field in Ethiopia (A collaborative project) € 69,980.

Co-PI 2018-2019 Jimma University Mega Project: Improving adherence to evidence-based Maternal, Neonatal and Childcare. ETB 250,000.