Dr. Ashley M. Ruiz, PhD, RN, is an Assistant Professor at Emory University in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and a clinician with a specialization as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. Her research expertise in qualitative inquiry is rooted in Black Feminist thought and Intersectionality to examine Black women's experiences of secondary victimization or re-traumatization in healthcare following sexual assault. Dr. Ruiz’s methods and methodologies center women’s voices to support advances toward health equity. Her work has been used across state-wide trainings to improve healthcare responses to women experiencing sexual assault in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia.

Currently, Dr. Ruiz is investigating the healthcare models' impact on Black and Indigenous women's experiences of secondary victimization following sexual assault in Maricopa County, Arizona. Through the use of institutional ethnography, the outcome of this project will inform the development of future workforce and healthcare model recommendations to support actionable, sustainable, and equitable healthcare delivery for women disproportionately impacted by the syndemic effects of violence.

Dr. Ruiz has also received the Pediatric and Reproductive Environmental Health Scholars (PREHS) Southeastern Environmental Exposure and Disparities (SEED) K12 award, which explores the impact of climate change on women’s experiences of sexual gender-based violence following displacement from heat and water-related natural disasters. Moving forward, she continues to be committed to supporting advancements towards health equity by merging environmental health sciences with expertise on gender-based violence against women.

1. Ruiz, A. M., Moore, K. M., Woehrle, L. M., Kako, P., Davis, K. C., & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2023). Experiences of dehumanizing: Examining secondary victimization within the nurse-patient relationship among African American women survivors of sexual assault in the Upper Midwest. Social science & medicine (1982), 329, 116029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116029
2. Lopez, A., Dressel, A., Luebke, J., Williams, J., Campbell, J., Miller, J., Kibicho, J., Schadewald, D., Abusbaitan, H., Pirsch, A., Gondwe, K, Schubert, E., Ruiz, A., Kako, P, Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Egede, L. (2023). Sisters by Choice, United by Voice: a Mixed Methods Community-Based Participatory Research Protocol on Studying Intimate Partner Violence among Marginalized Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13294
3. Hawkins, M., Florez Garcia, V., Guevara Romero, E., Santacruz Salas, E., & Ruiz, A. (2023) "Social Cognitive Theory Based Interventions to Address Interpersonal Violence among Hispanic Youth – A Systematic Review". Hispanic Health Care International;21(4):228-234. doi: 10.1177/15404153231187381. Epub 2023 Jul 12. Review. PubMed PMID: 37437132.
4. Ruiz, A., Luebke, J., Moore, K., Vann, A. D., Gonzalez, M., Jr, Ochoa-Nordstrum, B., Barbon, R., Gondwe, K., & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2022). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on help-seeking behaviours of Indigenous and Black women experiencing intimate partner violence in the United States. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 10.1111/jan.15528. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15528
5. Hawkins, M. M., Yang W., Ruiz, A., Weinhardt, L.S., Watson, R.D., Weitzel, J.L., Alexa A. (2022). Heart Attack Symptom Knowledge among Hispanics in the United States: National Health Interview Survey 2014 and 2017. International Journal of Health, Wellness & Society, 12(2), 129-144.
6. Graf, M., Ruiz, A., Luebke, J., Olukotun, O., Kendrick, A., Shaw, L., Lopez, A. A., Snethen, J., Silvestre, E., & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2022). Application of Postcolonial Feminist Theory, Chicana Feminist Thought, and Black Feminist Thought in Analyzing the Mental Health Needs of Latina Migrant Farmworkers: A Shared Legacy. Advances in Nursing Science, 45(1), 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANS.0000000000000399
7. Deal, E., Hawkins, M., Del Carmen Graf, M., Dressel, A., Ruiz, A., Pittman, B., Schmitt, M., Krueger, E., Lopez, A., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Kako, P. (2022). Centering our Voices: Experiences of Violence Among Homeless African American Women. Violence Against Women. 10778012221117599. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801222111759
8. Hawkins, M., Wang, Y., Ruiz, A., Weinhardt, L., Watson, R., Weitzel, J. & Lopez, A. (2022) Heart Attack Symptom Knowledge among Hispanics in the United States, National Health Interview Survey 2014 and 2017. International Journal of Health, Wellness, and Society. 12(2), 129-144.
9. Ruiz, A.M., Luebke, J., Klein, K., Moore, K*., Gonzalez, M., Dressel, A.E., & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2021). An integrative literature review and critical reflection of intersectionality theory. Nursing inquiry, e12414.
10. Ruiz, A., Luebke, J., Klein, K., Hawkins, M., Callari-Robinson, J*., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L (2021). The Role of Hegemonic Masculinities in the Lives of Ethnic Minority Women. Advances in Nursing Science. 44(1).
11. Hawkins MM, Schmitt ME, Adebayo CT, Weitzel J, Olukotun O, Christensen AM, Ruiz AM, Gilman K, Quigley K, Dressel A, Mkandawire-Valhmu L. (2021). Promoting the health of refugee women: a scoping literature review incorporating the social ecological model. Int J Equity Health, 20(1):45. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01387-5. PMID: 33485342; PMCID: PMC7825239.
12. Dressel, A., Mkandawire, E., Gondwe, K.W., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Nordin, S., Vilakazi, N., Scheer, V., Kako, P., Ngui, E., Neiman, T., Ruiz, A., Luebke, J., & Minjale, P. (2020). The Intersection of Food Insecurity and Health for Rural Malawian Women at End of Life. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 26(7), 372–382. https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2020.26.7.372
13. Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Kendall, N., Dressel, A., Wendland, C., Scheer, V., Kako, P., Neiman, T., Valhmu, W., Ruiz, A., Luebke, J., Merriman, A., Kishindo, L., & Egede, L. (2020). Women’s work at end of life: The intersecting gendered vulnerabilities of patients and caregivers in rural Malawi. Global Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2020.1730930
14. Weitzel, J., Luebke, J., Wesp, L., Del Carmen Graf, M., Ruiz, A., Dressel, A., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2020). The role of nurses as accomplices against racism and discrimination: An analysis of key resistance movements of our time. Advances in Nursing Science. 43(2).
15. Luebke, J., Hawkins, M., Lucchesi, A., Weitzel, J., Deal, E., Ruiz, A., Jorns, J., & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L (2020). The Utility of Using a Postcolonial and Indigenous Feminist Framework in Research and Practice about Intimate Partner Violence against American Indian Women. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 32(6), 639–646. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659621992602
16. Wesp, L. M., Scheer, V., Ruiz, A., Walker, K., Weitzel, J., Shaw, L., Kako, P. M., & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2018). An Emancipatory Approach to Cultural Competency: The Application of Critical Race, Postcolonial, and Intersectionality Theories. Advances in Nursing Science, 41(4), 316–326. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANS.0000000000000230

The Intersection of Climate Change and Gender-Based Violence: An Examination of the Social and Environmental Determinants of Displacement from Natural Disasters Among Women (Ruiz, A)

Pediatric and Reproductive Environmental Health Scholars (PREHS) Southeastern Environmental Exposures and Disparities (SEED) K12

Funding Period: 07/01/24 – 06/30/25

Examining the Healthcare Models Impact on Black and Indigenous Women’s Experiences of Secondary Victimization Following Sexual Assault: A Maricopa-county Based Pilot Study (Ruiz, A)

Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation

Funding Period: 03/14/24 – 10/14/25

A Pilot Study Measuring Healthcare Experiences of Discrimination and Trauma Integrated Services on Secondary Victimization Among Sexual Assault Survivors (Ruiz, A)

Institute for Social Science Research

Funding Period: 03/01/23 – 03/01/24

Examining Secondary Victimization Within the Nurse-Patient Relationship (Ruiz, A)

International Association of Forensic Nurses

Funding Period: 02/14/21 – 02/14/22

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