Eliasu Yakubu: PhD HIS student profile

By Nicole Versaevel, HIS Program Coordinator

Eliasu's hometown: Welembelle, Ghana

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Growing up, Eliasu wanted to be a medical officer. However, during high school he also began to take an interest in computers. Eliasu ended up finding a field that combined both his desire to be in the Health sector, with his fascination with computer technologies: Health Informatics. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Health Informatics, and a master’s degree in Community Health, he has immersed himself in the field with positions in Ghana and Laos in Southeast Asia with the World Health Organization, and South Sudan with UNICEF.

For 10 years, Eliasu worked with Ghana Health Service as a Health Information Officer. In this role, a key accomplishment for Eliasu was successfully leading his District team in the implementation of electronic health records system across 23 facilities.

His decision to apply to the PhD program in Health Information Science (HIS) at Western University was informed by his desire to "explore evolving areas in technology and how those areas apply to health…. specifically looking at data analytics and artificial intelligence." He's also passionate about the impact of interactive health communication on health care, and has made this a research interest.

Eliasu has thoroughly enjoyed his time in the Health Information Science PhD program so far. He finds the program interesting, full of learning opportunities and he feels that his skills and capacities are being enhanced. He particularly enjoys how engaging classes are and how supported he feels to make contributions.

Eliasu feels fortunate to have met other students from different backgrounds who offer their diverse perspectives, something which he finds provides a context for further learning. He credits this to the strong team at Western that support students.

"Western has a very strong Health Informatics team that supports students to gain requisite skills and knowledge for the future."
In the PhD HIS program, Eliasu has also been able to enhance his teaching skills - one of his goals coming into the program. As a Teaching Assistant for the undergraduate Health Ethics course, he's been able to connect with Health Sciences students and share his knowledge in the second term of his HIS PhD.

Fun Fact

You will find Eliasu playing football with his friends every Wednesday and Saturday, or watching his favourite football team in the English Premier League: Manchester United.

Although not a fan of cold winter days, Eliasu is enjoying his time in Canada. And if you ever get a chance to get to know him, you'll find that he's very animated and quite talkative! 

What’s next for Eliasu? Eliasu has found his home in Health Informatics, and would like to make contributions in the field through both research and practical applications within health care settings. He is driven to go where services are needed and hopes to continue to explore the role of Health Informatics in patient health care communication.

Self-motivated and "driven by desire to achieve something for myself and to contribute to health care system," Eliasu's passion for Health Informatics is sure to make a significant impact.