Hanan A. Abusbaitan, PhD, MSN, RN

Assistant Professor
Human Health Building, Room 2036
(248) 364-8850
habusbaitan@oakland.edu

Biography:

Dr. Abusbaitan’s research focuses on women’s health, with particular emphasis on intimate partner violence (IPV) and its impact on the maternal and mental health of Muslim, Black, and immigrant women. Her work seeks to understand the lived experiences of IPV and the barriers women face in accessing healthcare and support services. Grounded in a community health perspective, Dr. Abusbaitan is committed to advancing health equity through trauma-informed care and culturally sensitive research.

Education:

• PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  Major: Nursing
• MSN, Jordan University of Science and Technology
  Major: Nursing – Community Health Nursing
• BSN, University of Jordan
  Major: Nursing

Research Area Interests:

• Intimate partner violence (IPV)
• The impact of IPV on women’s maternal and mental health
• Help-seeking behaviors
• Barriers to seeking help
• Social support
• Trauma-informed care

Selected Research/Publications:

Luebke, J., Moore, K. M., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Munala, L., Abusbaitan, H., Kimber, F., Robinson, J. C., Heisterkamp, B., Norton, A., Pirsch, A., Kako, P. M., & Lopez, A. (2026). “I will never be enough because my skin color isn’t right”: Structural racism and healthcare access following Nonfatal strangulation among Black women survivors of intimate partner violence. Healthcare, 14(18), 3007. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14183007

Abusbaitan, H. A., Walton, A., Munala, L., Eyadat, A., Luebke, J., Graf, M., Lopez, A. A., Kridli, S., Pirsch, A., Kimber, F., Kasine, Y., Melton, C., ElJarrah, I., & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2026). Gender-based violence and women's safety: A qualitative ecofeminist analysis across three countries. Women's Studies International Forum, 118, 103382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2026.103382

Abusbaitan, H. A., Gondwe, K. W., Pirsch, A., Eyadat, A., Holt, J. M., Al-Natour, A., Telfah, R., Miller, J., Abu Zahra, T., Kako, P. M., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., & Lopez, A. A. (2026). Intimate partner violence against Jordanian women: A systematic review of prevalence, associated factors, and health outcomes. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-29170-7

Abusbaitan, H. A., Abuhammad, S., Gondwe, K. W., Holt, J. M., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Eyadat, A., Telfah, R., Kako, P. M., Odeh, J., Zahra, T. A., & Lopez, A. A. (2026). Prevalence and predictors of spousal emotional abuse among married women in Jordan: A descriptive correlational study. Women's Health, 22. https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057261471828

Pirsch, A., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Abusbaitan, H., Lopez, A. A., Kibicho, J., Schadewald, D., & Luebke, J. (2026). “They don’t care”: The implications of systemic racism on Black women’s help-seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Science & Medicine, 119354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119354

Abusbaitan, H. A., Pirsch, A., Graf, M., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Eyadat, A., Luebke, J., Schadewald, D. M., Yu, D., Kako, P. M., Munala, L., Gondwe, K. W., Dressel, A., Hearst, M., Kibicho, J. W., Schubert, E., Williams, J., & Lopez, A. A. (2026). Lethality risk in abusive intimate relationships among Urban Black women in Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-026-02983-3

Abusbaitan, H. A., Eyadat, A., Abu Zahra, T., Alnuaimi, N., Odeh, J., Holt, J. M., … Lopez, A. A. (2026). “You wish that you had been beaten…”: Women’s experiences of spousal emotional abuse in Jordan: Risk factors and consequences. Health Care for Women International, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2026.2629503

Abusbaitan, H. A., Gondwe, K. W., Pirsch, A., Eyadat, A., Alshakhshir, N., Sami., Vilakazi, N., Nkhoma-Mussa, Y., Hearst, M. O., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Lopez, A. A., Schadewald, D. M., & Dressel, A. (2026). Food insecurity and gender-based violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. BMC Public Health. 26(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-26253-3  

Abusbaitan, H. A., Al-Natour, A., Cho, C. C., Holt, J. M., Eyadat, A., Abu Zahra, T., Odeh, J., Ali, T., Kako, K. M., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Telfah, R., & Lopez, A. A. (2026). A cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Emotional Abuse Questionnaire. Journal of Nursing Measurement. https://doi.org/10.1891/JNM-2025-0072

Abusbaitan, H. A., Lopez, A. A., Eyadat, A., Pirsch, A., Luebke, J., Yip, W., ... & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2025). Mental health of urban Black women experiencing intimate partner violence since the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic. American Journal of Community Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12822

Abusbaitan, H. A., Eyadat, A. M., Holt, J. M., Telfah, R. K., Abu Zahra, T. F. A., Abu Zahra, T.F.A., … & Lopez, A. A. (2025). Emotional abuse against women in the context of intimate relationships: A concept analysis. Nursing Forum, 2025(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1155/nuf/6301140

Olukotun, O., Abusbaitan, H., Hearst, M. O., Pirsch, A., Hoffman, S. J., Martin, L., ... & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2024). Gender-based violence in the lives of Somali women with refugee status: A framework for analysis and action. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 10436596241274121. https://doi.org/10.1177/10436596241274121

Lopez, A. A., Dressel., A., Luebke, J., Williams, J., Miller, J., Kibicho, J. W., Abusbaitan, H., Pirsch., Gondwe, K. W., Ruiz, A., Kako, P., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., & Egede, L. (2024). Intimate partner violence in the lives of Indigenous and Black women in the upper Midwest of the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods protocol examining help-seeking behaviors and experiences. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13294

Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Callari-Robinson, J., Schadewald, D., Abusbaitan, H., Pirsch, A., Luebke, J., Marquardt, L., Schubert, E., Kibicho, J., Lopez, A., Gondwe, K., Rice, E., Bement, K., Morgan, M., McClain, R., Kako, P., Raghe, F., Hunter, C. F., Ayad, C., … Dressel, A. (2023). A protocol for the safe recruitment of Indigenous and Black women experiencing intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic into a large mixed methods study: The sisters by choice study. Global Public Health, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2023.2290122