About

Annie Ro is an Associate Professor in the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health at the University of California, Irvine. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.P.H. from UC Berkeley, and earned her Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of Michigan in 2011. Following her doctoral studies, she was a UC President's Postdoctoral Scholar at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health from 2011 to 2013. Her academic and research career is centered on public health demography with a particular focus on the social determinants of immigrant health. Ro investigates four interrelated influences on immigrant health: conditions in the sending country, the social context of reception in receiving countries, cultural adaptation processes, and individual demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, and education. Her work contributes to understanding how these factors shape health outcomes among immigrant populations, addressing critical issues in social epidemiology and health demography.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Medicine
• Computer Science
• Geography
• Gerontology
• Political Science
• Demographic economics
• Family medicine
• Psychiatry
• Nursing
• Gender studies
• Demography
• Environmental health

Selected publications

• Frontmatter

  New York University Press eBooks · 2026-02-25

  book-chapterOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Consistent Enrollment in a Health Care Coverage Program Is Associated With Fewer Type 2 Diabetes-Related Emergency Department Visits for Uninsured Immigrants

  Medical Care · 2026-05-12

  article1st authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Undocumented immigrants face significant barriers maintaining regular health care, which could lead to emergency department (ED) visits for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Local health coverage programs like MyHealthLA (MHLA) in Los Angeles County can improve disease management by providing regular access to care. This study examines the relationship between enrollment patterns in MHLA and ED utilization for T2D-related conditions, focusing on how the duration of enrollment impacts the likelihood of ED visits. RESEARCH DESIGN: We analyzed 115,690 ED encounters from 44,333 MHLA patients in the Los Angeles Department of Health Service (LADHS) between 2016 and 2020. There were 5 categories based on enrollment 12 months before the ED encounter: (1) continuously enrolled ≥6 months, (2) newly enrolled for <6 months, (3) consistently unenrolled for ≥6 months, (4) newly unenrolled <6 months, and (5) never enrolled, who visited the ED before ever enrolling in MHLA. RESULTS: Patients continuously enrolled in MHLA were less likely to visit the ED for short-term T2D complications, suggesting that consistent primary care helps manage chronic conditions and reduce ED use. Conversely, patients newly enrolled or unenrolled had higher odds of T2D-related ED visits, indicating that enrollment lapses may worsen disease management. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of continuous access to primary care and the potential benefits of Medicaid expansion for undocumented adults in California. Health systems should prioritize continuity of care to improve chronic disease management and reduce avoidable ED visits in underserved populations.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 1 of A qualitative study on the transition to full-scope Medi-Cal among older Latino patients in California

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Supplementary Material 1

  PublisherDOI

• Part I Conceptualizing Family Legal Vulnerability

  New York University Press eBooks · 2026-02-25

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  PublisherDOI

• About the Authors

  New York University Press eBooks · 2026-02-25

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• Index

  New York University Press eBooks · 2026-02-25

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• References

  New York University Press eBooks · 2026-02-25

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• Appendix C Multivariate Regression Analyses and Results

  New York University Press eBooks · 2026-02-25

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  PublisherDOI

• Appendix A UC PromISE Data Collection Methods

  New York University Press eBooks · 2026-02-25

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 2 of A qualitative study on the transition to full-scope Medi-Cal among older Latino patients in California

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Supplementary Material 2

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Margaret D. Whitley

  39 shared

• BongKyoo Choi

  University of California, Irvine

  37 shared

• Andrew Young

  University of the Pacific

  18 shared

• Senxi Du

  University of California, Los Angeles

  16 shared

• Nancy L. Fleischer

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  12 shared

• Gilbert C. Gee

  University of California, Los Angeles

  11 shared

• Courtney Hanlon

  11 shared

• Helen Yang

  University Health Network

  9 shared

Labs

• Annie Ro LabPI