Elizabeth_AnionwuProfessor Elizabeth Anionwu

RN PhD CBE FRCN

Elizabeth Anionwu is Emeritus Professor of Nursing at Thames Valley University. She was formerly Head of the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice (Faculty of Health and Human Sciences at Thames Valley University). She is also Vice-Chairperson of the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal.

Her involvement with Mary Seacole is an altogether fitting role for someone who has been greatly influenced by the pioneering nurse who became a heroine of the Crimean War. However, it’s the multi-ethnic aspects of nursing and midwifery education, and the practice issues of sickle cell and thalassaemia that have been the drivers in Elizabeth’s career. She says she chose this area of nursing because of her own mixed ethnic heritage and because they were aspects of health care that she saw were not being addressed.

She reckons the most satisfying achievement in her career – thus far – came in 1979 when she was involved in setting up the first nurse-led sickle cell/ thalassaemia information and counselling centre in Brent. This service became the model for many other towns and cities.

What Elizabeth would most like to see in her lifetime is a time when everybody understands that the term "multi-ethnic" includes people of all ethnic groups "not just those from black and minority ethnic communities".

She lives in London.

Publications

Elizabeth Anionwu is publisher of the Mary Seacole website at www.maryseacole.com.

Since the late 1970s, she has written extensively in the nursing press on both Mary Seacole and developments in her clinical area, and has contributed articles and chapters to various publications. Her most recent publications include:

  • Anionwu, EN (July, 2005) A short history of Mary Seacole, London: Royal College of Nursing.
  • Olujohungbe, A and Anionwu, EN (2005) "Leg ulcers in sickle cell disorders" in Morrison et al. (editors) Leg ulcers: a problem based learning approach, Edinburgh: Elsevier Limited.
  • Oteng-Ntim, E; Lupton, M; Mensah, S; Anionwu, EN and Steer, P (2004) "Sickle cell disease and pregnancy" in Studd, John (editor) Progress in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 16, pp.73-82, London: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.
  • Anionwu, EN (2004) Forum: a multi-ethnic approach to care is vital, Nursing Times, 100 (40), p.18.
  • Anionwu, EN (2004) "Sickle cell disorders and thalassaemia: the challenge for health professionals and resources available" . in Okpala, IE (editor) Practical management of haemoglobinopathies, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Limited.
  • Anionwu, EN (2004) Forum: Nursing input is crucial to genetics policy, Nursing Times, 100 (25), p.18.
  • Anionwu, EN (2004) The Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice, Primary Nursing Care, Journal of the Community and District Nursing Association, pp.16-17.
  • Anionwu, EN (2004) Forum: Recognition to inspire modern nurses, Nursing Times 100 (13), p.18.
  • Anionwu, EN (2004) Review: Profiling black South African nurse pioneers: promoting the black biography, Nursing Times Research, 9 (1), p. 73.
  • Anionwu, EN (2004) Forum: Are nurses really more uncaring today? Nursing Times,100 (2), p.16.
  • Oteng-Ntim, E: Okpala, IE and Anionwu, EN (2003) Sickle cell disease in pregnancy, Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 13, pp. 362-368.
  • Anionwu, EN (2003) Forum: It’s time for a statue of Mary Seacole, Nursing Times, 99 (32), p.17.
  • Anionwu, EN (2003) Forum: Genetics is fundamental to quality care, Nursing Times, 99 (16). p.15.
  • Anionwu, EN (2003) "Genetic screening for sickle cell and thalassaemia: can we learn anything from the UK experience?" in Levinson, R and Reiss, M (editors) Key issues in bioethics. A guide for teachers. London: Routledge Falmer.
  • Anionwu E.N. (2003) Questions we should ask about research into community nursing practice – a multi-ethnic perspective: Response to the paper presented by Jean McIntosh. Primary Health Care Research and Development. 4: 147-153
  • Anionwu, EN (2003) Forum: Some are more equal than others, Nursing Times, 99 (2), p. 17.
  • Aspinall, PJ; Dyson, SM and Anionwu, EN (2003) The feasibility of using ethnicity as a primary tool for antenatal selective screening for sickle cell disorders: pointers from the research evidence, Social Science and Medicine, 56, pp.285-297.
  • Aspinall, PJ and Anionwu, EN (2002) The role of ethnic monitoring in mainstreaming race equality and the modernisation of the NHS: a neglected agenda? Critical Public Health, 12, (1), pp. 1-15.
  • Anionwu, EN (2002) Leg ulcers and sickle cell disorders, Nursing Times, 98 (25), pp. 56-57.
  • Anionwu, EN (2001) Screening and genetic counselling in sickle cell disease, Archives of Ibadan Medicine, 2 (2), pp. 54-56.
  • Anionwu, EN (2001) Improving access and quality for ethnic minority women, discussion 4, Margaret Mahoney 2000 Symposium: "Quality health care for women in the US and UK", in Women’s Health Issues, 11(4), pp.367-370.
  • Anionwu, EN and Atkin, K. (2001) The politics of sickle cell and thalassaemia, Buckingham: Open University Press.
  • Sookhoo, D; Adams, J and Anionwu, EN (2000) In the melting pot, Nursing Times, 96 (29), pp. 40-41.
  • Atkin, K; Ahmad, WIU and Anionwu, EN (2000) "Service support to families caring for a child with a sickle cell disorder or thalassaemia major: parents’ perspectives" in Ahmad, WIU (editor) Ethnicity, disability and chronic illness, Buckinghamshire: Open University Press.
  • Anionwu, EN (2000) Review: patient perceptions of crisis pain management in sickle cell disease: a cross-cultural study, Nursing Times Research, 5 (3), p. 214.
  • Olujohungbe A, and Anionwu E.N. (2007) Leg Ulcers in sickle cell disorders. Chapter 22, pages 383-390 in Leg Ulcers: A Problem-Based Learning Approach. Editors Morison M.J; Moffatt C.J and Franks P.J. Edinburgh: Mosby Elsevier Ltd.
  • Sookhoo D and Anionwu E.N. (2006) An exploratory study into the recruitment of black and minority ethnic students to a sponsored NHS trust cancer nursing education programme. Diversity in Health and Social Care. 3: 27-34.