About

Benika Dixon, DrPH, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the School of Public Health, Texas A&M University. Her educational background includes a Doctor of Public Health in Epidemiology and Environmental Health from Texas A&M University, obtained in 2020, an MPH from Southern Connecticut State University earned in 2011, and a BS in Chemistry from Spelman College completed in 2005. Her research interests focus on environmental exposure, disaster epidemiology, environmental justice, health disparities, and rapid needs assessments. She is engaged in teaching field epidemiology, outbreak investigation, disaster epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, and environmental justice, contributing to the academic and practical training of students in public health.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Medicine
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Geography
• Internal medicine
• Physical therapy
• Archaeology
• Criminology
• Public relations
• Virology
• Law

Selected publications

• Trust, Privacy, and Data Governance in Public Health Surveillance: A Mixed-Methods Study in Two Hispanic Communities in Texas (Preprint)

  2026-03-17

  articleOpen access

  <sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Public health surveillance relies on public trust, particularly for voluntary systems such as syndromic surveillance that are governed primarily through data-use agreements rather than by statute. In historically underrepresented communities, willingness to participate may depend on perceived community benefit, safeguards against misuse, and meaningful involvement in data governance. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> To examine how trust, perceived benefits, and privacy concerns shape willingness to participate in public health surveillance among two underrepresented Hispanic communities in Texas. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> We conducted a mixed-methods study in a semi-rural Hispanic colonia in Hidalgo County along the US–Mexico border and an urban industrial community in Harris County near Houston. Bilingual promotoras administered in-person household surveys (N=100; 50 per site) assessing perceptions of health information, preferences for data sharing and governance, and privacy-related attitudes. We summarized responses descriptively and compared results by site. We content-coded open-ended survey responses and performed thematic analysis of Spanish-language focus groups (Hidalgo n=12; Harris n=7; Harris recruited n=8 with 7 attending) to contextualize quantitative findings. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> Support for surveillance was high when framed around community benefit and trusted health actors. Most respondents agreed that personal health information should be collected to inform public health decisions even when privacy risks exist (Hidalgo 76%; Harris 82%). A large majority in both sites supported sharing health data with public health authorities even if this required access to personally identifiable information (Hidalgo 78%; Harris 78%). However, concerns differed by site: Hidalgo respondents more often worried that collected data would not benefit their community, whereas Harris respondents more often worried about information being shared beyond intended recipients or used for secondary purposes. Across both sites, respondents strongly endorsed participating in decisions about what data are collected and how they are used. Qualitative findings echoed a “necessary risk” perspective—participants expressed privacy concerns but described willingness to share information for public health protection when governance limits, safeguards, and reciprocity were credible. Four primary themes emerged from the focus group data: 1) Participants understand the basics of disease surveillance, 2) Support for information sharing is driven by wanting to help others, 3) Individuals do not feel comfortable sharing information that could identify them, and 4) Personal experience with injustice and discrimination reduces willingness to share information. </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> Underrepresented Hispanic communities expressed conditional support for public health surveillance, including identifiable data use when perceived as necessary for community protection. Trust appears to depend less on blanket data minimization than on transparent, enforceable governance: clear purpose limitation, protections against non-health uses of data, and mechanisms for community involvement and feedback. </sec>

  PublisherDOI

• Converging crises in the carceral environment: how the COVID-19 pandemic challenged excessive heat policies and practices in Texas prisons

  Disaster Prevention and Management An International Journal · 2026-04-15

  article

  Purpose This study analyzed qualitative survey responses from people incarcerated in Texas prisons about their experiences with excessive heat-related policies and practices in 2020. The focus of the study is to understand how policies and practices related to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted incarcerated persons' experiences with accessing resources intended to mitigate the risk of heat illness associated with excessive or extreme heat exposure. Design/methodology/approach The data included surveys from 152 persons incarcerated in Texas prisons in 2020. The analysis focused on qualitative responses to questions about their experiences with excessive heat-related policies and practices regarding access to certain resources (water, ice, showers, air-conditioned respite areas and commissary items). Participant's descriptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those experiences were analyzed. Findings Pandemic-related policies and practices such as lockdowns, quarantines and even social distancing requirements severely restricted incarcerated persons' access to resources. Incarcerated people described resenting correctional officers for restricting their ability to protect themselves as well as for not following policies or practices in place to get resources to incarcerated people in the midst of converging disasters (extreme and excessive heat exposure and the COVID-19 pandemic). Originality/value Policies and practices related to the management of excessive and extreme heat exposure in the prison environment were incompatible with those used to mitigate the risk of contracting COVID-19. Interventions such as air-conditioning and improved ventilation, could work to mitigate both the risk of heat-related illness and COVID-19.

  PublisherDOI

• Cohesive Cities and Resilient Cities: Are they the Same?

  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Jails and prisons often fail to protect incarcerated people during natural disasters

  2024-11-12

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Punishment and survival – incarcerated persons' experiences with extreme heat in Texas prisons

  Disaster Prevention and Management An International Journal · 2024-09-17 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Purpose The impact of extreme heat on prisons and carceral facilities is becoming increasingly visible, yet remains overlooked by scholars, practitioners and policymakers. Prisons are a unique type of infrastructure designed to severely limit and control the movement of hundreds and even thousands of individuals as a form of punishment. This leads to many significant challenges to mitigating the risk of heat-related illness in prisons and other carceral spaces that have remained overlooked across many disciplines including emergency management, disasters, corrections and public health. Design/methodology/approach For this study, we analyzed 192 surveys from incarcerated persons in state prisons throughout Texas to understand how incarceration and the punitive prison environment create challenges to managing extreme heat in prisons. Findings We found that characteristics of modern incarceration, including communal distribution of resources, crowded conditions and a lack of agency for incarcerated people, create barriers to accessing resources during periods of extreme heat. Furthermore, the punitive nature of the prison environment as manifested in the relationship between staff and incarcerated persons and certain prison policies also create barriers to incarcerated persons accessing resources to reduce their risk of heat-related illness and death. Social implications These issues are particularly relevant to the health and safety of incarcerated persons during periods of extreme temperatures but also speak broadly to the implications of incarceration, disaster risk, and the advancement of human rights for incarcerated people. Originality/value This article addresses a gap in the literature by including the perspectives of persons incarcerated in Texas prisons experiencing extreme heat and implicates the characteristics of incarceration and punishment in the production of disaster risk.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exploring first-generation student experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on their social isolation: a photovoice project

  Journal of American College Health · 2024-06-21 · 1 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to use photovoice to explore first-generation student experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on their social isolation, as well as what contributed to or alleviated their social isolation. PARTICIPANTS: Nine undergraduate students who identified as first-generation and who experienced feeling socially isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic were included in this study. METHODS: purposive sampling. Moreover, semi-structured interviews that incorporated the SHOWed technique were conducted with participants. In addition, First & Second Cycle Coding was used to help analyze participant interviews. RESULTS: A total of 11 themes emerged from this study that depicted their experience of feeling isolated, as well as what contributed to and alleviated their isolation. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of capturing first-generation students' experiences to help lessen the influence of social isolation among this group and ensure their academic success.

  PublisherDOI

• Assessing Self-Rated Physical Health Scores Following Repeat Exposure to Anthropogenic and Natural Hazards in Houston, TX

  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness · 2024-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Research connects health outcomes to hazard exposures but often neglects the nature of the exposure or repeated events. METHODS: We undertook a cross-sectional study (N = 1,094) from a representative sample in the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (HMSA). Respondents were recruited using Qualtrics panels, targeting individuals reflecting the population of the HMSA. Physical composite scores (PCS) were calculated using the SF-12v2. RESULTS: Among the hazards (hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, chemical spills, industrial fires), only chemical spills showed a dose-response: physical health scores declined significantly with repeated exposures. This decline persisted after multiple linear regression. Covariates including sex, race, age, education, and chemical exposure affected PCS, but chemical spill exposure remained the most significant, negatively affecting PCS even after adjusting for other factors (coef =-2.24, 95% CI, -3.33 to -1.15). CONCLUSION: Grasping the effects of hazards, especially repeated ones, can guide emergency management in mitigation, recovery, and preparedness efforts.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Collaborative Approach to Addressing Environmental Injustice in Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas

  Environmental Justice · 2023 · 4 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Public relations

  Decades of research have revealed that environmental justice communities experience higher amounts of pollutants and the subsequent public health impacts when compared with majority communities throughout the United States. This reality is underscored within regions that also experience the confluence of anthropogenic and natural hazards, such as neighborhoods located in Houston, TX. Despite substantial knowledge of the poorer health conditions, there still exist many barriers when attempting positive environmental and public health change or interventions within these communities. This paper discusses an ongoing collaborative effort within Fifth Ward, a location that garnered national attention in 2019 due to a discovery of a cancer cluster. To address these, and other, existing inequitable conditions, a participatory research and place-based project was developed with on-the-ground organizations such as the Coalition of Community Organizations, and academic institutions. Four approaches and best practices are discussed: (1) community advocacy, (2) citizen science efforts and academic partnerships, (3) research in action approaches, and (4) information sharing policies. This transdisciplinary approach to public health and resilience seeks to establish a better-informed public, understanding of environmental conditions, and co-learning alongside a diverse team of interest groups, residents, and stakeholders.

  PublisherDOI

• Developing and implementing a photovoice project: Social isolation, COVID‐19, and first‐generation students

  Public Health Nursing · 2023-03-17 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• College Athletic Programs Thwart the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  JAMA Network Open · 2022-02-09 · 3 citations

  letterOpen access

  The study by Schultz et al 1 adds to mounting evidence suggesting the effectiveness of robust surveillance and response programs, such as those implemented for collegiate athletes, in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. 1The authors analyzed SARS-CoV-2 testing data for students from select colleges and universities in the US during the 2020 to 2021 academic year, comparing athletes with nonathletes.Despite the high-risk nature of activities in which athletes are engaged, almost all schools reported lower positivity among athletes compared with their nonathlete counterparts.Of 4 million SARS-CoV-2 tests at 12 US institutions, an overall 50% risk reduction was observed in athletic program testing, suggesting that collegiate athletics programs were associated with a protective outcome during the COVID-19 pandemic.Concern over the health of college athletes is certainly not new; it is a routine subject of health-preservation initiatives by athletic conferences, university policies, and individual athletic programs.However, in the time of COVID-19, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) led with early and aggressive recommendations for contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine in an effort to monitor, mitigate, and manage SARS-CoV-2 infections and exposures. 2There is an ongoing and growing interest in the association of such efforts with SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission.Athletics activities, from training to competition, present constant challenges to the control of infectious diseases.Sports-associated events and activities can facilitate airborne, respiratory, person-to-person, and environmental transmission of viruses, bacteria, and other agents, including those with outbreak potential.Physical contact, close proximity, increased respiration, shared equipment and facilities, and travel-related experiences may aid transmission among players, athletic and event staff, and attendees and even across communities where events take place.In fact,

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Garett Sansom

  Texas A&M University

  2 shared

• Eduardo Gandara

  The University of Texas at San Antonio

  2 shared

• Katie R. Kirsch

  Texas A&M University

  2 shared

• Lindsay Sansom

  Texas A&M Health Science Center

  2 shared

• Emilce Santana

  Texas A&M University

  2 shared

• Fayola Jacobs

  2 shared

• Elfreda Samman

  Texas A&M Health Science Center

  2 shared

• Maya DeConge

  University of Houston

  2 shared