Sheila Soto DrPH, MPH

Sheila Soto, DrPH, MPH is an Assistant Research Professor and the Director of the Community Engagement and Outreach Programs (CEO) at the University of Arizona, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Department of Public Health Practice, Policy, and Translational Research.

Dr. Soto completed her MPH and DrPH at the University of Arizona with a concentration in Public Health Policy and Management. Her dissertation focused on the health status of farmworkers at a national, state, and local level. She incorporated secondary data analysis using national datasets, completed a systematized literature review, and a preliminary research study with farmworkers working in Yuma and Cochise County. For her MPH placement, she worked with SEAHEC and established a health-focused manual and handbook for community health workers living in Winchester Heights, Arizona.

Dr. Soto’s research addresses health disparities among disadvantaged populations, including immigrants, farmworkers, and rural and border communities. She has a background in community health with specific training in community-based participatory research and mixed methods. The CEO model consists of community health workers (CHWs) and interprofessional health science students who provide various services throughout Arizona. The Primary Prevention Mobile Health Units (MHUs) and Ventanillas de Salud in Phoenix and Douglas (VDS) aim to reduce the number of individuals who rely on the emergency room as their primary form of health care by establishing routing care in local clinics. Street Medicine Phoenix (SMP) is a student-run program that focuses on providing services and care to the unsheltered population in Phoenix. All these programs provide basic health screenings, HIV testing, referrals to designated services for linkage to care, and access to PREP or PEP, among other direct services.

Mobile Health Unit Program: publichealth.arizona.edu/outreach/primary-prevention-mobile-health-unit
Street Medicine Phoenix Program: publichealth.arizona.edu/outreach/street-medicine-phoenix

Research Interests

• Latino/a/x Health
• Agricultural Worker Health and Safety
• Border Health
• Migrant Health
• Health Disparities
• Health Promotion
• Public Health Policy
• Rural Health
• Cardiovascular and Chronic Diseases Prevention

Education

2015, BA, Sociology – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

2015, BA, Ethnic Studies – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

2017, MPH, Public Health Policy & Management – University of Arizona-Tucson

2022, DrPH, Public Health Policy & Management – University of Arizona-Tucson

Languages Spoken

Spanish and English

Currently Teaching

PHP 495/595 Service Learning: Community Outreach: An Interprofessional Model of Service and Learning—hybrid, 7-week, 2^nd session Fall Semester

PHP 564: The Science of Health Disparities-Online, Regular, Spring Semester

Published Articles

Soto, S., Yoder, A., Aceves, B., Nuño, T., Sepulveda, R., Rosales, C. (2022) Determining regional differences in barriers to accessing health care among farmworkers using the National Agricultural Workers Survey. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

Soto, S., Yoder, Nuño, T., Aceves, B., Sepulveda, R., Rosales, C. (2022). Health Conditions among Farmworkers in the Southwest: An Analysis of the National Agricultural Workers Survey. Frontiers in Public Health, Research Topic: Environmental and Socio-economic Drivers of Migrant Farmworkers' Health.

Fingesi, T., Chung-Yon Lin, J., Soto, S., Rosales, R. (2022). Health knowledge and livelihood experiences with COVID-19 amongst Arizona residents. Frontiers in Public Health, Research Topic: Promoting Health Equity During a Pandemic: Approaches to Address Vaccination Burden and Health Inequities Amongst Under-Served Populations in U.S. and Mexico.

Publications available on Research Gate

https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Sheila-Soto-2233544889