Dissertation
From Deficit Analysis to Adaptive Capacity: An Organizational-Theory Approach to Health System Resilience in Nigeria
Abstract: Global health policy defines health systems in low and middle-income countries by their deficits, yet some severely constrained systems demonstrate unexpected capabilities during crises. This dissertation explains this puzzle through longitudinal analysis of Nigeria’s health system across three major crises (2014-2024). I develop the Crisis-Induced Adaptive Capacity framework, demonstrating that repeated crisis exposure builds adaptive capacity when three mechanisms operate: reconfiguring organizational capabilities, cultivating reliability-seeking behaviors, and institutionalizing learning processes. The framework advances organizational theory and provides practical guidance for strengthening health systems operating under constraint, where resource increases remain unlikely but capability development through deliberate organizational learning is achievable.
Published
Giwa, A. (2025), The Social Paradox of Women's Autonomy and Child Mortality in Tanzania: A Multi-Level Analysis with Policy Implications. Sociological Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.70019
Mirzaei, S., Giwa, A., & Bar, E. (2025). Missing from the Curriculum: A Content Analysis of Labor Politics in International Relations Textbooks. Journal of Political Science Education, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2025.2553335
Giwa, A., Ngakam, J., Mirzaei, S. and Ikuomola, A.D. (2025), Emerging Dependencies: GCC States and Sub-Saharan African Healthcare Labor Migration Through World Systems Theory. World Medical & Health Policy. https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.70037 (theoretical)
Giwa, A. (2025), Trust as Foundation: Can Nigeria's New Health Workforce Policy Stem the Migration Tide?. International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 40: 494-498. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3879 (perspective)
Under review/revise and resubmit
Giwa A., The Capability Conversion Problem: Why Resource Mobilization Fails to Strengthen Health Systems in Low-Resource Settings
Giwa, A. Nyey Mainasara., Domain Specificity in Mass Political Attitudes: Immigration Views and Health Policy Preferences
Giwa, A. Crisis-Induced Adaptive Capacity: A Framework for Understanding How Resource-Constrained Health Systems Learn from Repeated Emergencies (Under review)
Giwa, A., Cash Transfers and State Hesitation in Sub-Saharan Africa
Public Facing
Giwa, A. (2025). Attacks on Women’s Bodies Reveal the Logic of Genocide in Sudan: Sexual violence and the destruction of medical infrastructure are not separate catastrophes. The New School’s Public Seminar. Link
Mirzaei, S., Bar, E., & Giwa, A. (2025). Textbook Analysis Guide and Exercise for Undergraduate Methods Courses. APSA Educate. Link.