B.A. University of Ghana 1994
M.A. Indiana University 1999
Ph.D. Indiana University 2002

• Chair, America School Health Association (Early Childhood Council)
• Emerald Literati Network Outstanding Paper Award
• Founding Director of the Maternal and Child Health Program in the School of Public Health-Bloomington MCH website

Awards & Honors

John W. Ryan Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Programs and Studies (2025) Principal Investigator/PD,  Building Maternal and Child Health into the School of Public Health curriculum to prepare leaders in the field (2020-2025), funded by  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Principal Investigator/PD  Expanding a Study Abroad Program to Africa for Rural Indiana Students to experience different cultures and learn about Public Health Issues in Africa (2019-2022), funded by U.S. Department of State. Capacity Building for U.S. Study Abroad Program.

Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award, 3 times in 2006, 2008, & 2016

Scholarly Interest

• Infant Feeding (Breastfeeding) and Child Health
• Culture and Immigrant Families’ Health
• The Role of the Family in the Development of the Child Especially Children with Health Problems
• Pre-School Children’s Health
• Culture, Care, and Child Health
• Maternal and Child Health

Obeng, C.S. & Obeng, G.S., (2020) Invisible Faces; Hidden Stories: Narratives of Vulnerable Populations and their Caregivers London & New York: Berghahn Books Publisher.

 *Obeng, C.S., Foster, D. & Weinstein, M., (2019) “Once a child leaves the womb, the community has to become the womb.” Breastfeeding in Black Communities. Koln: Germany, Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.  

Obeng, C.S.; Obeng, G.S. & Merrick, J.; (2015) Health Issues in Diverse Cultures - Public Health: Practices, Methods and Policies. New York: Nova Science Publishers Inc. 

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2002) "Home Was Uncomfortable; School Was Hell": A Confessionalist-Ethnographic Account of Traditional Beliefs and Socio-educational Crises in the Schooling of Ghanaian Rural Girls. New York: Nova Science Publishers Inc.

Obeng, Cecilia (2004) Voices of Affliction. Aspects of Traditional Healing Practices and their Impact on Akan Families in Ghana. Cologne, Germany: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.

Obeng, Cecilia (2009). Children's Health in a Traditional Society. New York: Nova Science Publishers Inc.

Obeng, S. (2014). Selected Topics on Pre-K-6 Health Education. New York: Nova Science Publishers (NSP) Inc.

Obeng-Gyasi, B., Nolting, T. M., Byrd, K., Obeng-Gyasi, E., & Obeng, C. S. (2025). A Review of the Current Status, Challenges, and Opportunities of Human Milk Banks in Africa for Reducing Infant Mortality. Women, 5(1). Link. 

Obeng CS, Jackson F, Brandenburg D, Byrd KA. (2025) Black/African American Women's Woes: Women's Perspectives of Black/African American Maternal Mortality in the USA. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities.  doi: 10.1007/s40615-023-01883-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38051429. 

Jackson F, Obeng CS, Greene AR, Dennis BK, Wright BN. (2025) Untold Narratives: Perceptions of Human Milk Banking and Donor Human Milk Among Ghanaian Immigrant Women Living in the United States. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 

Byrd, K. A.D., Lohrmann, D.K., Obeng, C., Agley, J., Cate, B., Wong, Y. J., Wright, B., & Nolting, T. (2024). Coping with Community Violence Perspectives of Black Young Adult Men and Hispanic/Latino Young Adult Men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 

Strong, L., Byrd, K., & Obeng, C. (2024). Perceptions of Antenatal Care among Ghanaian Mothers. Women, 4(3), 303-316. Link. 

Obeng, C. S., Nolting, T. M., Jackson, F., Obeng-Gyasi, B., Brandenburg, D., Byrd, K., & Obeng-Gyasi, E. (2024). Women’s Perspectives on Black Infant Mortality in the United States. Women, 4(4), 514-528. 

Obeng, Cecilia, Frederica Jackson, Christiana Nsiah-Asamoah, Salome Amissah-Essel, Cydne A. Perry, Ines Gonzalez Casanova and Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi. (2023). " Women's Perspectives on Human Milk Banking in Ghana: Results from a Preliminarily Cross-sectional Study" " Frontier of Public Health

Link.

Obeng C, Obeng-Gyasi E. 2023 Activities that early care educators are implementing in their childcare environments during the COVID-19 era. Frontiers in Education [Sep 12];8. Available from: Link.

Frederica Jackson, Obeng, Cecilia, Lilian Golzarri Arroyo, Heinrich Allison, Jada Byrd, and Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi.( 2023). Men’s breastfeeding perceptions: A need for targeted intervention among male sub-populations” International Public Health Journal 15(1) 

Obeng, Cecilia, Frederica Jackson, Christiana Nsiah-Asamoah, Salome Amissah-Essel, Barnabas Obeng-Gyasi, Cydne A. Perry, and Ines Gonzalez Casanova.( 2022). "Human Milk for Vulnerable Infants: Breastfeeding and Milk Sharing Practice among Ghanaian Women" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 24: 16560. Link. 

. Jackson, Frederica, and Cecilia Obeng. (2022). "Perceptions of Human Milk Banks as a Response to the US Infant Formula Shortage: A Mixed Methods Study of US Mothers" Women 2, no. 3: 218-230. Link.

Obeng, Cecilia, Salome Amissah-Essel, Frederica Jackson, and Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi. (2022). "Preschool Environment: Teacher Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ghana" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 12: 7286. Link. 

*Buehler, N.J & Obeng, C.S (2022) End-of-Life Care Sentiments, Practices, and Decision-Making in Ghana: A Qualitative Study International Journal of Public Health 14(4) .

Julianna Deardorff, Michelle Tissue, Patricia Elliott, Arden Handler, Cheryl Vamos, Zobeida Bonilla,Renee Turchi, Cecilia Obeng Jihong Liu &Holly Grason (2022). The Critical Value of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) to Graduate Training in Public Health: A Framework to Guide Education, Research and Practice. Maternal and Child Health Journal.

Amissah-Essel, S and Obeng, C. S (2022) Teachers’ health and safety practices in early childhood care and development centres in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana: A sequential explanatory study International Journal of Child Health Human Development 15(1) .

Obeng, Cecilia, Mary Slaughter, and Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi. (2022). "Childcare Issues and the Pandemic: Working Women’s Experiences in the Face of COVID-19" Societies 12, no. 4: 103. Link. 

Obeng-Gyasi, E.; Antwi, G.& Obeng, C. S. (2022). Immigrant Parents perspectives on the healthful nature and suitability of lunches and snacks served to their children in the school environment. International Journal of Public Health 14(2) 

Obeng, C. (2021). Training Public Health Professionals to Tackle Women, Children, and Families Health Issues: A “Skill-Based Qualitative Learning Approach”, Frontiers in Public Health, 

Slaughter, M; Willison, T; Alexander, I; Kerlin, A; Naisbitt, J, Obeng, C. S (2021) School-based malaria prevention: Education and understanding of prophylactic measures in Ghanaian schools, a preliminary phenomenological study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Health 14(4) 105-114 

Obeng, Cecilia (2006). "We were victims of our parents' uncooperative behavior:" Problems Faced by School Dropouts in Rural Ghana. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 15(4), 544-565.

Obeng, Cecilia (2006). Strategies for Implementing a Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum for Teaching Storytelling in Pre-Schools. Canadian Children: Journal of the Canadian Association for Young Children, 3, 122-28.

Obeng, Cecilia (2006). "Immigrant Families and Childcare Preferences: Do Immigrants' Cultures Influence Their Childcare Decisions?" Early Childhood Education Journal, 34, 237-45.

*Obeng, Cecilia Sem and Obeng, Samuel Gyasi (2006). African Immigrant Families' Views on English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes Held for Newly Arrived Immigrant Children in the United States Elementary and Middle Schools: A Study in Ethnography. In Michael Firming & Patricia R. Brewer (Eds.) Ethnographic Qualitative Research in Education Volume 2. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2007). African Immigrants' Families and the American Educational System. In Toyin Falola (ed.) African Minorities. New York: Routledge.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2007). Attitudes of Families toward their Teenaged School Dropouts and the Impact on the Teenagers. Sunal, M. (ed.) Education in Africa. Information Age Publishing.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2007). Perceptions of Epilepsy in a Family. In. Toyin Falola and Matthew Heaton (eds.). HIV/AIDS, Illness and African Well-Being. Pp. 57-71. Rochester: Rochester University Press.

Obeng, Cecilia (2007). Address Forms among Akan Families (Couples) Living in the United States: A Quantitative Study, Issues in Intercultural Communication, 2, 44-60.

Obeng, Cecilia (2007). Teacher's Views on the Teaching of Children with Disabilities, International Journal of Special Education, 22, 96-102.

Obeng, Cecilia (2007). Culture and Dental Health among African Immigrant School-Aged children in the United States. Journal of Health Education, 34, 343-349.

Obeng, Cecilia (2008). Personal Cleanliness Activities in Preschool Classrooms" Early Childhood Education Journal, 36, 93-99

Obeng, Cecilia and Vandergriff Alison (2008). Experiences of Parents with Pre-K to Grade Four Children with Food Allergies International Journal of Special Education, 22, 96-102.

Obeng, Cecilia (2008). Dental Care issues among Immigrant Pre-Schoolers. Early Childhood Research & Practice.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2009). Culture, Health, and School Attendance Among Immigrant Children in the United States. Progress in Education, 17, 105-113.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2009). Nutritional Activities in Preschool Classrooms. Journal of Research in Education.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2009). Injuries in Preschool Classrooms. Health Education, 109 (5), 414-423.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2010). Physical Activity Lessons in Preschools. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 24, 50-59.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2010). A Study of the Experiences of Parents with Home-Schooled Pre-Adolescence Children with Severe Multiple Health Problems. International Journal of Special Education. 25, 80-85.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem & James, Julie (2010). "Caring for School-aged Children with Chronic Health Problems: Mothers' Perspective." Journal of Research in Education, 4,1-8.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2010). Injury Prevention Lessons in Kindergarten Classrooms. Progress in Education, 18, 217-227.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2010). Should Gun Safety Be Taught in Schools? Perspectives of Teachers. Journal of School Health, 80, 394-398.

Wong, A., Wong, Y.J., & Obeng, C.S. (2011). An Untold Story: A Qualitative Study of Asian American Family Strengths. Asian American Journal of Psychology.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2011). Preschool Teachers' Views of Health Education in Early Years. Journal of Research in Education, 5, 1-6.

Obeng, Cecilia Sem (2011). "Culture and Alcohol Use among School Age Children in Ghana". International Journal of Health Education, 14, 59-67.

Wong, , Wong, J. & Obeng, C. S. (2012). 'An Untold story: A Qualitative Study of Asian American Family Strengths.' Asian American Journal of Psychology, 3: 286—298. doi: 10.1037/a0025553.

Obeng, S. (2012). 'Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Care Education in Ghana.' International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 4(2): 50-63.

Obeng, S. & Edwards, A. (2012). Mothers Shared Their Experiences on Breastfeeding. International Journal of Child Health Human Development, 6: 1-5.

Ray, Obeng, C. S. & Seo D-C. (2013). 'A Study of Eating Patterns of Mainstream Americans and Those of Newly-Arrived Immigrants Children Enrolled in American Educational Institutions'. Progress in Education, 29: 171-184.

Obeng, S. (2013). 'Health Care Seeking Avenues of Parents of School-age Children with Severe Health Problems in a Community in Ghana.' International Journal of Child and Adolescent, Health, 5: 337-341.

Obeng, S. Bowman, S. (2013). 'Parents' Perspectives on Curbing Gun Violence among Children in Indiana.' California Journal of Health Promotion, 11: 15-22.

Obeng S. & Elena, L. (2014). 'Parents' Motivations and Views on Combining Breast Milk and Formula.' Journal of Child Health and Human Development 7: 26-33.

Apiyo, & Obeng, C.S. (2015). 'Exercise Culture among Immigrants Living in the Midwestern United States.' International Public Health Journal, 6:6-11.

Obeng, S. and Reed, D. (2015). 'Healthcare Worker's Breastfeeding Practices and Beliefs in Ghana.' International Public Health Journal, 6:20-24.

Obeng, S. (2015). 'Positive Attributes That Enhance Breastfeeding among Mothers.' Child Health Human Development, 8: 20-28.

Obeng, S., Emetu, B. & Bowman, S. (2015). "Immigrant College Students' Experiences with Their American Physicians." International Public Health Journal, 7:4-11.

Obeng, S., Obeng, S. & Merrick, J. (2015). 'Intersection between Culture and Health.' International Public Health Journal, 7:1-3.

Obeng, S. Emetu, B., & Curtis, T. (2015). 'African American Women's Perceptions and Experiences about Breastfeeding.' Frontier of Child Health and Human Development, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2015.0027.

Hunter, Obeng, C. S. & Ogah, J. (2016) 'Assessing Ghanaian Teachers' Perceptions and Beliefs regarding Substance Use among School-age Children in Ghana.' International Journal of School Health DOI: 10.17795/intjsh-37256

Obeng, G. & Obeng, C.S (2016) 'Gender, Power and Sexuality in Akan (Ghana) Epigrams.' Issues in Intercultural Communication 4(2): 67-75.

Obeng, S.; Weinstein, M.; & Hauser, J. (2016). 'Health Education in Early Years Classrooms in Cape Coast (Ghana.)' Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research.