Yvonne Commodore-Mensah

PhD, MHS, BSN, RN

FAAN, FAHA, FPCNA

Yvonne Commodore-Mensah is a cardiovascular nurse epidemiologist whose current program of research seeks to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease risk among Africans locally (United States) and globally (sub-Saharan Africa) through community-engaged research. Her research expertise includes immigrant health, global health, cardiovascular disease epidemiology, and social determinants of health. She is the principal investigator of the ADHINCRA Study, a randomized control trial to address hypertension control in Ghana and the African Immigrant Health Study, which is examining the health of African immigrants in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. She is a fellow of the American Heart Association and was awarded the American Heart Association (AHA) Martha N. Hill New Investigator Award in 2016. She is a fellow and board member of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. She serves on the writing committee of the 2019 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Clinical Performance and Quality Measures for Adults with High Blood Pressure. She is chief executive officer of the African Research Academies for Women, a non-profit which seeks to address gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in Africa.

JHU Center Affiliation:
Center for Cardiovascular & Chronic Care
Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research

Full CV

[email protected]

@ycommodore

Specialties and Expertise

Cardiovascular
Chronic Care
Community
Disparities
Equity
Global
Health Technology
Obesity
Public Health
Research Design
Social Determinants of Health

Why You Might Have a Higher Risk of Heart Disease as a Black Person—And What to Do About It SELF December 20, 2023

VIDEO: A conversation on equity in hypertension care Healio November 26, 2023

‘Package’ of hypertension interventions in Nigeria improves BP treatment, control Healio November 22, 2023

Axis Health System’s aim to monitor and regulate blood pressure earned them an award The Journal October 10, 2023

Scenic Bluffs is nationally recognized for efforts to improve blood pressure control La Crosse Tribune September 29, 2023

This at-home device can help with a range of health conditions. Few people have one AOL News July 20, 2023

Johns Hopkins Awards New Research Funding to 5 Nursing School Faculty HealthLeaders Magazine February 23, 2023

People of color enormously impacted by cardiovascular disease WBFF-TV February 15, 2023

Publications

Baptiste DL, Turkson-Ocran RA, Ogungbe O, Koirala B, Francis L, Spaulding EM, Dennison Himmelfarb C, Commodore-Mensah Y (2022). Heterogeneity in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Prevalence Among White, African American, African Immigrant, and Afro-Caribbean Adults: Insights From the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Survey. J Am Heart Assoc. Sep 20;11(18):e025235. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.122.025235. Epub 2022 Sep 8. PMID: 36073627.

Khoong EC, Commodore-Mensah Y, Lyles CR, Fontil V (2022). Use of Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring to Improve Hypertension Equity. Curr Hypertens Rep. Aug 24:1–15. doi: 10.1007/s11906-022-01218-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36001268; PMCID: PMC9399977.

Mensah D, Ogungbe O, Turkson-Ocran RN, Onuoha C, Byiringiro S, Nmezi NA, Mannoh I, Wecker E, Madu EN, Commodore-Mensah Y (2022). The Cardiometabolic Health of African Immigrants in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. Jun 29;19(13):7959. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19137959. PMID: 35805618; PMCID: PMC9265760.

Ogungbe O, Commodore-Mensah Y, Dennison Himmelfarb CR, Ferguson C, Martin K, Davidson PM (2022). COVID-19: Lessons Learned and a Need for Data Driven Decision Making. Heart Lung Circ. 2022 Jul;31(7):905-909. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2022.05.004. PMID: 35752453; PMCID: PMC9221316.

Baptiste, D. , Turkson-Ocran, R. A., Dennison Himmelfarb, C. R., & Han, H. R. CommodoreMensah, Y. (2021). Social Determinants of Emergency Department Visits among Persons diagnosed with Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke: An Analysis of the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Surveys. Ethnicity & Disease. 31(1):41-46; doi:10.18865/ed.31.1.41. PMID: 33519154

Commodore-Mensah Y, Turkson-Ocran RA, Foti K, Cooper LA, Himmelfarb CD (2021). Associations between Social Determinants and Hypertension, Stage 2 Hypertension and Controlled Blood Pressure among Men and Women in the US. Am J Hypertens. 2021 Jan 11:hpab011. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpab011. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33428705.

Oruche U, Liu J, Otey T, Hone A, Okwuchukwu I, Commodore-Mensah Y. (2020). Engaging Communities to Improve Healthcare for Non-communicable Diseases: Notes from the Field in Southeastern Nigeria. Engage! 1(3). https://doi.org/10.18060/24148

Mobula LM, Heller DJ, Commodore-Mensah Y, Walker Harris V, Cooper LA. (2020). Protecting the vulnerable during COVID-19: Treating and preventing chronic disease disparities. Gates Open Res. Sep 9;4:125. doi: 10.12688/gatesopenres.13181.1. eCollection 2020. PMCID: PMC7578408. PMID: 33117965

Commodore-Mensah Y, Hill M, Allen J, Cooper LA, Blumenthal R, Agyemang C, Himmelfarb CD. (2016). Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease Risk of Ghanaian- and Nigerian-Born West African Immigrants in the United States: The Afro-Cardiac Study. J Am Heart Assoc.</em>;5(2).

Commodore-Mensah Y, Himmelfarb CD, Agyemang C, Sumner AE. (2015). Cardiometabolic Health in African Immigrants to the United States: A Call to Re-examine Research on African-descent populations. Ethn Dis.</em>;25(3):373-80.

Commodore-Mensah Y, Sampah M, Berko C, Cudjoe J, Abu-Bonsrah N, Obisesan O, Agyemang C, Adeyemo A, Himmelfarb CD. (2015). The Afro-Cardiac Study: Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Acculturation in West African Immigrants in the United States: Rationale and Study Design. J Immigr Minor Health. 2015 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Himmelfarb CR, Commodore-Mensah Y, Hill MN. (2016). Expanding the Role of Nurses to Improve Hypertension Care and Control Globally. Ann Glob Health. 2016 Mar-Apr;82(2):243-53.

Samuel LJ, Commodore-Mensah Y, Himmelfarb CR. (2014). Developing Behavioral Theory With the Systematic Integration of Community Social Capital Concepts. Health Educ Behav. 2014 Aug;41(4):359-75. Epub 2013 Oct 2.

2020 World Heart Federation Salim Yusuf Emerging Leaders Programme

2019 Fellow, American Academy of Nursing

2019-present Fellow, American Heart Association, Council on Cardiovascular Nursing

2018-present Fellow, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association 2019 Miriam E. Brailey Award, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

2018 Nancy Fink Award, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

2016 Martha N. Hill New Investigator Award, American Heart Association

2015 Dissertation Award—Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

2015 Lawrence W. Green Paper of the Year Award—Samuel, L.J, Commodore- Mensah, Y., Himmelfarb, C.R (2013). “Developing behavioral theory with the systematic integration of neighborhood social capital concepts,” Health Educ Behavior

2014 Winning Abstract Award (Data-based Category)—Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association Conference

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