Stephanie A. Ettinger De Cuba, PhD

Research Associate Professor, Boston University School of Public Health

Biography

Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, PhD, MPH, is an applied health services researcher with methodological expertise in qualitative, survey, and mixed methods. Her research focuses on children and families, health, the intersections of race/ethnicity and nativity, and the structural and policy factors underpinning these relationships. In particular, her expertise is in health inequities experienced by families with very young children and immigrant families and their children. While her core expertise is in access to basic needs (like food, housing, or energy security) health inequities and social policy, she also has interest in the ways environment (neighborhood characteristics, climate/exposures, built environment) are influenced by policy and how in turn all these influence child and family health, health care utilization, and economic well-being. Dr. Ettinger de Cuba holds co-appointments in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health and in the Department of Pediatrics at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. In addition, she proudly serves as Executive Director of Children’s HealthWatch, headquartered at Boston Medical Center (www.childrenshealthwatch.org). She is part of the Inaugural cohort of faculty affiliates of the Center for Antiracist Research.

Dr. Ettinger de Cuba served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia focused on small-scale agriculture and nutrition and hygiene education, especially for mothers and children. She has worked for many years in a variety of program delivery, policy, and advocacy roles. Dr. Ettinger de Cuba received her BA from the University of Michigan in German Language and Literature and her MPH in International Health and PhD in Health Services Research from Boston University School of Public Health.

Publications

  • Published 4/8/2025

    Joseph PL, Grossman S, Fulks L, Gradus JL, Ettinger de Cuba S. Invited commentary: "Neighborhood eviction trajectories and odds of moderate and serious psychological distress during pregnancy among African American women". Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Apr 08; 194(4):921-924. PMID: 39191525.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/27/2025

    Beverly M, Munn T, Young T, Carroll-Scott A, Kinsey EW, Courts KA, Jannetti M, Ettinger de Cuba S, Lê-Scherban F. Multilevel Factors Influencing Food Purchasing Decisions Among Families With Low Incomes During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Qualitative Study. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2025 Mar 27. PMID: 40157499.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/11/2025

    Ettinger de Cuba S, Jones DK, Cutts D, Bovell-Ammon A, Lê-Scherban F, Sandel M, Ochoa E, Poblacion A, Frank DA, Black MM, Fix GM. "But who takes care of the mom?": The daily experiences of immigrant mothers navigating health in family life. Soc Sci Med. 2025 May; 372:117948. PMID: 40090206.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/10/2025

    Lê-Scherban F, Coleman SM, Fusfeld Z, Frank DA, Poblacion A, Black MM, Ochoa E, Sandel M, Ettinger de Cuba S. Maternal adverse childhood experiences and lifetime experiences of racial discrimination: Associations with current household hardships and intergenerational health. Soc Sci Med. 2025 Feb; 366:117695. PMID: 39837079.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/16/2024

    Parker SE, de Cuba SE. It Does Take a Village! How the Presence of Grandparents Promotes Child Development. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2025 Jan; 39(1):68-69. PMID: 39679799.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Research Associate Professor, Pediatrics
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Research Associate Professor, Community Health Sciences
    Boston University School of Public Health

Education

  • Boston University School of Public Health, PhD
  • Boston University School of Public Health, MPH
  • University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, BA