Biography

Fernando I. Rivera, PhD, is a professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida. He has established an ongoing research program in the fields of medical sociology/sociology of health, race and ethnicity, and the sociology of disasters. In the area of health, he has studied the differential patterns of health among Puerto Ricans in the United States by analyzing different social indicators such as: perceived discrimination, residential segregation, and socioeconomic status and their impact on Puerto Rican health.  In the area of race and ethnicity, he has studied racial relations among college students, the process of incorporation of Puerto Ricans to Central Florida, and several aspects of the Puerto Rican diaspora in the US including, health disparities, culture, and discrimination, among others.  For the study of disasters, his work has emphasized on disaster resiliency and the importance of social and economic indicators in promoting resilience to the process of preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery to disasters. He has expanded his disaster resilience work, particularly as it relates to community resilience, to the study of restoration and resilience for an on-going National Science Foundation research grant.

Research Interests

Sociology of Health/Medical Sociology
Disasters
Race and Ethnicity

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