Assistant Professor
Education
Biography
Dr. Rockson Ansong is an Assistant Professor at the Capstone College of Nursing at The University of Alabama. He holds a Ph.D. in Nursing with a concentration in Population Health and Health Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston and an MSc in Medical Sciences from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, with multidisciplinary training in cardiovascular science, diabetes, ageing and health, and cancer studies. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a Diploma in Education from the University of Education, Winneba, in Ghana. Dr. Ansong is a registered nurse with more than 15 years of clinical, teaching, and research experience across Ghana, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Dr. Ansong’s research program advances stroke self-management science, with a particular focus on understanding and addressing implementation gaps in self-management support across the transition from hospital to home. His work examines how patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems can be better prepared and supported to facilitate effective self-management following stroke. He is particularly interested in developing and evaluating tools and interventions that strengthen patient and caregiver capacity, improve the delivery of self-management support, and promote sustained self-management and recovery after hospital discharge. His work is grounded in population health and informed by broader interests in cardiovascular health, chronic disease prevention and management, health equity, rural health, and health policy.
Dr. Ansong leads research focused on the development and validation of a self-management support tool for stroke survivors following hospital discharge, supported by The Rockefeller University’s Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar Award. He has published 29 peer-reviewed articles in journals including The Lancet Neurology, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Discover Public Health, PLOS Global Public Health, and Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
Prior to joining The University of Alabama, Dr. Ansong served as an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University and held teaching and research positions at nursing institutions in Ghana. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in population health, health promotion, advanced practice nursing, public health, medical-surgical nursing, and human anatomy. He is committed to mentoring students and preparing nurses to address complex population health challenges through evidence-based practice, research, and a focus on health equity.
Before transitioning to academia in the United States, Dr. Ansong practiced as a registered nurse in Ghana and worked in healthcare and health promotion roles in the United Kingdom. His international clinical, teaching, and research experiences inform his global perspective on population health and strengthen his commitment to developing research and educational approaches that address health disparities and improve health outcomes across diverse populations.