Bio

Dr Sonia Onyeka MBBS MRCGP (UK) is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Department of Dermatology at Stanford University under the auspices of Professor Eleni Linos.

She received her medical degree from St. George's University of London and attained a Merit for excellence in Medical Sciences. She completed her internship at the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in central London, achieving commendations for being an exemplary trainee. During this time, she became co-chief resident and received a Merit award for outstanding e-portfolio. Dr Onyeka went on to complete her residency in General Practice (Family Medicine) at the King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in South London and became the South London GP trainee representative for her cohort.

Dr Onyeka discovered her passion for dermatology whilst working as a Family Medicine resident within a multicultural training setting and developed a keen interest in telemedicine as well as the management of dermatological conditions that disproportionately affect skin of color patients and the medically disenfranchised.

Dr Onyeka turned her endeavors to academia, inspired by the knowledge that medical research is a powerful manner with which to advocate for patients on a greater scale, her objective is to harness research to become an impactful stakeholder in the improvement of patient care. Her research focuses on the remote monitoring of dermatological conditions in the older adult and minority populations as well as the application of machine learning within dermatology.

She also enjoys mentoring and teaching students and serves on the leadership committee for the American Academy of Dermatology Geriatric Dermatology Expert Research Group. Dr Onyeka has been nominated for the Stanford Postdoctoral scholars Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Champion Award due to her notable efforts towards creating a more inclusive environment at Stanford. Sonia was also most recently elected as an executive member of the Stanford Black Postdoctoral Association.

In her free time, Dr Onyeka enjoys traveling, exploring new restaurants, watching sci-fi movies and playing various sports including badminton, tennis and most recently pickle ball. She delights in the performing arts due to her background as an amateur dancer and actress and enjoys attending plays and music concerts.

Honors & Awards

  • Merit for Medical Sciences, St George's, University of London (April 2016)
  • Postdoctoral Scholars Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Champion Award nominee, Stanford University (July 2023)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Leadership committee, American Academy of Dermatology Geriatric Dermatology Expert Research Group (2023 - Present)

Professional Education

  • B of Medicine and B of Surgery, University Of London (2016)
  • Diploma, Unlisted School (2021)
  • MRCGP, Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (UK), General Practice (2021)
  • MBBS, St George's, University of London, Medicine (2016)

Stanford Advisors

Community and International Work

  • The Interactive Technology for Skin: Community Outreach, Research, and Education, California

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    No

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    No

  • Stanford Skin Health Outreach, California

    Topic

    Skin education community outreach

    Partnering Organization(s)

    Google

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    No

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    No

Contact

  • Academic
    sonyeka@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Dermatology Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5168

All Publications

  • Telehealth Utilization and Associations in the United States During the Third Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Population-Based Survey Study in 2022. JMIR public health and surveillance Kim, J., Cai, Z. R., Chen, M. L., Onyeka, S., Ko, J. M., Linos, E. 2024; 10: e51279

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changed the landscape of clinical practice in the United States; telehealth became an essential mode of health care delivery, yet many components of telehealth use remain unknown years after the disease's emergence.OBJECTIVE: We aim to comprehensively assess telehealth use and its associated factors in the United States.METHODS: This cross-sectional study used a nationally representative survey (Health Information National Trends Survey) administered to US adults (≥18 years) from March 2022 through November 2022. To assess telehealth adoption, perceptions of telehealth, satisfaction with telehealth, and the telehealth care purpose, we conducted weighted descriptive analyses. To identify the subpopulations with low adoption of telehealth, we developed a weighted multivariable logistic regression model.RESULTS: Among a total of 6252 survey participants, 39.3% (2517/6252) reported telehealth use in the past 12 months (video: 1110/6252, 17.8%; audio: 876/6252, 11.6%). The most prominent reason for not using telehealth was due to telehealth providers failing to offer this option (2200/3529, 63%). The most common reason for respondents not using offered telehealth services was a preference for in-person care (527/578, 84.4%). Primary motivations to use telehealth were providers' recommendations (1716/2517, 72.7%) and convenience (1516/2517, 65.6%), mainly for acute minor illness (600/2397, 29.7%) and chronic condition management (583/2397, 21.4%), yet care purposes differed by age, race/ethnicity, and income. The satisfaction rate was predominately high, with no technical problems (1829/2517, 80.5%), comparable care quality to that of in-person care (1779/2517, 75%), and no privacy concerns (1958/2517, 83.7%). Younger individuals (odd ratios [ORs] 1.48-2.23; 18-64 years vs ≥75 years), women (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.09-1.61), Hispanic individuals (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.05-1.80; vs non-Hispanic White), those with more education (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.03-2.87; at least a college graduate vs less than high school), unemployed individuals (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.02-1.54), insured individuals (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.25-2.69), or those with poor general health status (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.30-2.13) had higher odds of using telehealth.CONCLUSIONS: To our best knowledge, this is among the first studies to examine patient factors around telehealth use, including motivations to use, perceptions of, satisfaction with, and care purpose of telehealth, as well as sociodemographic factors associated with telehealth adoption using a nationally representative survey. The wide array of descriptive findings and identified associations will help providers and health systems understand the factors that drive patients toward or away from telehealth visits as the technology becomes more routinely available across the United States, providing future directions for telehealth use and telehealth research.

    View details for DOI 10.2196/51279

    View details for PubMedID 38669075