Higinio Fernández-Sánchez
PhD, RN, FAAN
Assistant Professor
Department of Research
Dr. Higinio Fernández-Sánchez is a nurse scientist, advocate, and lead of the BRIDGE Lab (Bridging Research on Immigration, Disparities, Global Health and Equity), where he advances research and advocacy focused on health equity, human rights, and social justice. His expertise centers on HIV, human trafficking, and migrant health, with particular attention to how migration, discrimination, structural inequities, and social and political determinants of health influence vulnerability, access to care, and health outcomes. His work examines HIV prevention and care among migrant and underserved communities, human trafficking and exploitation in the context of migration, and the systemic barriers that affect the health and well-being of migrants. Central to his scholarship is a strong commitment to advocacy and translating research into action: he works to amplify the voices and lived experiences of communities experiencing marginalization, advocate for migrant rights and equitable access to health care and inform policies and practices that address structural inequities. Drawing on intersectional, global health, and health equity perspectives, Dr. Fernández-Sánchez seeks to bridge research, community engagement, policy, and advocacy to create meaningful and sustainable change. As a migrant and multicultural scholar, he brings a transnational perspective to this work and is committed to using nursing science as a platform for advancing health equity, human rights, and social justice locally, nationally, and globally.
Education
The University of Alberta, Canada
PhD
Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico
MSN
Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico
BSN
Tyler Junior College, Tyler, TX
Associate Degree in Science
Clinical/Research Focus
Dr. Fernández-Sánchez’s research is grounded in critical qualitative inquiry, community-engaged research, and advanced qualitative methodologies to examine health inequities affecting migrant and other structurally marginalized communities. Drawing on intersectionality, critical social theory, and social justice frameworks, he investigates how structural and political forces, including migration policies, discrimination, racism, gender inequities, socioeconomic exclusion, and barriers within health systems, shape health, health care access, and lived experiences. His methodological expertise includes the design and implementation of rigorous qualitative and mixed-methods studies, with particular emphasis on approaches that center lived experience, community knowledge, reflexivity, and the voices of populations historically excluded from research and decision-making. His work prioritizes community engagement and meaningful partnerships, recognizing communities as collaborators in the production, interpretation, and translation of knowledge. Across his substantive areas of HIV, human trafficking, and migrant health, Dr. Fernández-Sánchez uses research not only to understand inequities but also to challenge the systems and structures that produce them. His scholarship bridges research, advocacy, policy, and community action, with the goal of translating evidence into more equitable health policies, practices, and interventions and advancing health equity, human rights, and social justice.
Publications
- Internalized Homophobia and Mental Health among Youth Experiencing Homelessness: a Correlational Study
- COVID-19 Impact on the Lives of Youth Experiencing Homelessness: A Concurrent Mixed Methods Study
- Etiologies and Diagnostic Yield of Bone Marrow Evaluation in Adults Living with HIV in Venezuela: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Prevalence and characteristics of sex trafficking among youth experiencing homelessness: A cross-sectional study
- International migration and sex trafficking: A scoping review
