Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

I. International migration, immigrant well-being, and policy:

 

20. da Luz Scherf, E., Naseh, M., and Lee, J. (2026). Immigration Policies as Social Determinants of Health Among International Students in the United States. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Online First. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-026-01948-2

 

19. Lee, J., Naseh, M., Sarvenaz, T., Badiezadeh, S., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2026). Health Impacts of Migration and Policy on the Iranian Diaspora. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Online First. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-025-01844-1

 

18. da Luz Scherf, E., & Badiezadeh, S. (2025). Immigration Policy as a Social Determinant of Health among Brazilian Immigrants in the United States: A Narrative Review. Health Care Analysis, 33(1), 76–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10728-024-00499-7

 

17. Zanatta, M.L.A.L., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2019). The Role of Rights-Based Social Work in Contemporary Latin American Diasporas: The Case of Venezuelan Migrant Children. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 4(4), 238-247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-019-00104-1*

 

(*Cited in Research on Social Work Practice, and The British Journal of Social Work)

II. Public health, health equity, and health-related topics:

16. Bride, B. E., Hatcher, S., & da Luz Scherf, E. (Accepted Nov. 2025). Personal Trauma History and Secondary Traumatic Stress Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Trauma Impact. Forthcoming in Social Work (NASW Press).

 

15. Lee, H. Y., Malele-Kubanga, K., Won, C.R., da Luz Scherf, E., & Park, G. Y. (2025). Empowering Rural Alabama: The Critical Role and Challenges of Community Health Providers in Healthcare Delivery During the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Welfare Policy and Practice, 11(2), 49-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.37342/swpp.2025.11.2.49

 

14. da Luz Scherf, E. (2024). Addressing Discrimination and Healthcare Disparities for Sexual and Gender Minorities in South Africa: A Human Rights-Based Perspective. Journal of Health Management, Ahead-of-Print. https://doi.org/10.1177/09720634231216025

 

(Cited in the high-impact journal Nurse Education Today, and in Sexuality & Culture, among others)

 

13. da Luz Scherf, E., & Viana da Silva, M. V. (2023). Brazil’s Yanomami Health Disaster: Addressing the public health emergency requires advancing criminal accountability. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 01–05. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1166167*

 

(*Cited in high-impact journals such as Nature Communications, The Lancet Regional Health, Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, and in a Policy Report of the European Commission/European Union)

 

12. da Luz Scherf, E., Alves Lima Zanatta, M. de, Viana da Silva, M. V., & da Silva, J. E. (2022). Health Care Access by Transgender Persons in South Africa: Gender-based Discrimination, Human Rights Violations, and the Role of the African Human Rights System. Journal Health and Technology, 1(4), 01–22. https://doi.org/10.47820/jht.v1i4.25 *

 

(*Cited in the prestigious, high-impact International Journal of Transgender Health, as well as in BMC Global and Public Health, and Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, among others)

 

11. da Luz Scherf, E., Viana da Silva, M., & S. Fachini, J. (2021). The management (or lack thereof) of COVID-19 in Brazil: implications for human rights and public health. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 14(2), 158-174. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhrh-09-2020-0085 *

 

(*Cited in multiple high-impact journals such as Urban Studies, Organization, and the International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services, among many others)

III. Social work education, practice, and research:

10. Giorgio Cosenzo, L. A., Scales, J., Hossain, M.D. S., Nwatu, U., Taer, H., da Luz Scherf, E., Bell, A. (Accepted May 2026). Harvesting Hope: A case example of experiential, community-engaged learning implemented in collaboration with a community garden, BSW, and PhD students. Forthcoming in the Journal of Social Work Education.

 

9. da Luz Scherf, E. (2024). Anti-Racist Values in Portuguese Baccalaureate Social Work Education: A Content Analysis Study. International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 21(2), 86-114. https://doi.org/10.55521/10-021-208

 

8. da Luz Scherf, E. (2023). Latin American perspectives on Indigenous Social Work: In search of mind, body, and soul. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 19(1), 155–165. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801221140460

 

7. da Luz Scherf, E. (2021). Challenges in making school social work a reality in Brazilian schools. International Social Work, 66(2), 590–596. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211031965 *

 

(*Cited in the Journal of Social Work)

IV. Human rights and global social problems:

6. da Luz Scherf, E., & Viana da Silva, M. V. (2023). Oil giant, climate savior, or somewhere in between? Human rights and the Norwegian climate paradox. International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 10(3), 227-243. https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJPLAP.2024.139509

 

5. da Luz Scherf, E., Alves Lima Zanatta, M. de L., & Tumenas Mello, E. (2020). Gender-Awareness amongst Brazilian Children Enrolled in Primary Education: Implications for Women’s Rights & Equality. Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies, 9(1), 25–50. https://doi.org/10.17583/generos.2020.4865

 

4. Viana da Silva, M.V., da Luz Scherf, E., & da Silva, J.E. (2020). The Right to Data Protection Versus “Security”: Contradictions of the Rights-Discourse in the Brazilian General Personal Data Protection Act (LGPD). Revista Direitos Culturais/Cultural Rights Review, 15(36), 209-232. https://doi.org/10.20912/rdc.v15i36.18

 

3. Viana da Silva, M.V., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2020). Dream the impossible dream? An ecosocialist account of the human right to a healthy environment. Direito Ambiental & Sociedade [Environmental Law & Society], 10(2), 35-60. https://doi.org/10.18226/22370021.v10.n2.02

 

2. da Silva, J.E., da Luz Scherf, E., & Viana da Silva, M.V. (2019). In Tech We Trust? Some General Remarks on Law in the Technological Era from a Third World Perspective. Journal Juridical Opinion, 17(25), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.12662/2447-6641oj.v17i25.p107-123.2019

 

1. Souza, I.F., Leme, L.R., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2018). Creating bridges between international relations theory and international human rights law: constructivism and the role of Brazil in the Inter-American system of human rights. Brazilian Journal of International Law, 15(3), 179-197. https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v15i3.5653

Book Chapters

3. da Luz Scherf, E. (2022). Critical perspectives on social work and social policy practice with vulnerable migrants in an era of emergencies. In A. Jolly, R. Cefalo, & M. Pomati (Eds.), Social Policy Review 34 (1st ed., pp. 134–157). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.46692/9781447365815.008

 

2. da Luz Scherf, E., Viana da Silva, M.V., & da Silva, J.E. (2021). Indigenous Rights, Necropolitics and the 'Daily Genocides' of Brazil’s Native and Traditional Peoples. In T. Ribeiro Teles (Ed.), Língua(gens), Literaturas, Culturas, Identidades e Direitos Indígenas no Brasil [Languages, Literature, Culture, Identity, and Indigenous Rights in Brazil] (1st ed., pp. 172-180). BAGAI. http://dx.doi.org/10.37008/978-65-89499-57-2.23.04.21

 

1. da Luz Scherf, E. (2018). Manaus' massacre as a result of the crisis in the Brazilian penitentiary system: an analysis in the light of international human rights law. In A. Jobim do Amaral et al (Eds.), Anais do 8º Congresso Internacional de Ciências Criminais – PUCRS [Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on Criminal Sciences – Global Criminology Section], Vol. 3 (1st ed., pp. 121-140). Tirant Lo Blanch.

Book Reviews

da Luz Scherf, E. (2025). Review of the book Just Health: Treating Structural Racism to Heal America by D. B. Matthew. Families, Systems, & Health, 43(1), 162–164. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000942

 

da Luz Scherf, E. (2020). Mary Mee-Yin Yuen, Solidarity and Reciprocity with Migrants in Asia: Catholic and Confucian Ethics in Dialogue. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 29(4), 553-555. https://doi.org/10.1177/0117196820983983

Conference Proceedings

Giorgio Cosenzo, L., da Luz Scherf, E., & Ruggiano, N. (2024). Unveiling the association between social isolation and sleep disturbances among Latinx older women and men. Innovation in Aging, 8(Suppl._1), 1174–1174. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae098.3762

Policy Briefs (non-refereed)

 

da Luz Scherf, E. (2026, May). Protecting Immigrant Farmworkers and Securing America’s Agricultural Workforce: A Policy Brief (Policy Brief). Council on Social Work Education’s Doctoral Student Policy Fellowship. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11059.39206

Review Protocols (non-refereed)

Gill, S. J., Alfonso, A., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2025). Hispanic/Latinx Patients’ Experiences of Prejudice in Outpatient Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review Protocol. OSF Registries. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/2T6NP

Revise and Resubmit

3. da Luz Scherf, E. Anti-immigration policies are a threat to global health and democracy: a commentary and call to action. R&R in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.

Under Review

2. da Luz Scherf, E. (Submitted June 2026). Protecting Immigrant Farmworkers’ Health and Well-Being and Securing the U.S. Agricultural Workforce: A Policy Brief. Under review in the International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care.

 

1. da Luz Scherf, E. (Submitted Nov. 2025). Addressing Anti-Racism and Diversity in the Social Work Undergraduate Curriculum in Portugal: A Qualitative Pilot Study. Under review in the Journal for Social Work Scholar-Practitioners.

Under Preparation

da Luz Scherf, E., Giorgio, L.C., & Cheatham, L. P. Moving up or going down? Examining the association between occupational mobility and self-esteem among Latinx migrant workers in the United States. Target journal: Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology.

 

da Luz Scherf, E., Mehrara, L., Bruce, N., & Naseh, M. (TBC). Mapping the Health Profile of Brazilian Immigrants in the United States: A Scoping Review. Target journal: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

International Peer-Reviewed Publications (titles translated from Portuguese)

Journal Articles

I. Migration studies:

15. Viana da Silva, M.V., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2020). Advances and Challenges in Implementing Public Policies for the Protection of the Social Rights of Older Migrants in Brazil. Revista Eletrônica da Faculdade de Direito de Franca, 15(1), 215-228. https://doi.org/10.21207/1983.4225.951

 

14. da Luz Scherf, E., & Viana da Silva, M.V. (2020). "The Canadian Citizenship is a Privilege, Not a Right": Migration and Securitization in the Promised Land. Brazilian Review of Canadian Studies, 20, 1-36. https://doi.org/10.15210/interfaces.v20i0.19069

 

13. Viana da Silva, M.V., da Silva, J.E., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2020). The Role of the Canadian Supreme Court in Defending the Rights of Migrant Persons: Subverting the State of Exception by the Routes of Judicial Activism. Journal of Contemporary Public Law, 1(2), 85-110. http://www.rdpc.com.br/index.php/rdpc/article/view/124

 

12. da Luz Scherf, E., & Viana da Silva, M.V. (2020). Child Migration and International Relations: Theoretical Neglect versus Child Protagonism. Revista Relações Internacionais no Mundo Atual, 28(3), 269-297. http://revista.unicuritiba.edu.br/index.php/RIMA/article/view/4138

 

11. Zanatta, M.L.A.L., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2019). Child Migration and the United Nations Regime for the Protection of Human Rights. Caderno de Relações Internacionais, 9(17), 105-134. https://doi.org/10.22293/2179-1376.v9i17.989

 

10. de Oliveira, A.C.D.C., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2019). Rights-Based Social Work as a Tool for Realizing the Human Rights of Venezuelan Migrant Children in Latin American Countries. Revista TOMO, 34, 241-286. https://doi.org/10.21669/tomo.v0i34.9933

 

9. da Luz Scherf, E., & Milindre Gonzalez, R. (2018). Forced migration and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar: Rohingya – no territory, nation, or rights. Revista de Iniciação Científica em Relações Internacionais, 5(10), 37-73. https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2318-9452.2018v5n10.37368

 

II. Human rights issues:

8. da Luz Scherf, E., Viana da Silva, M.V., & da Silva, J.E. (2021). A Few Considerations on Human Rights in the Biotechnological Era: Normativity Versus Dignity. Revista Direito e Justiça: Reflexões Sociojurídicas, 21(41), 195-210. https://doi.org/10.31512/rdj.v21i41.636

 

7. Viana da Silva, M.V., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2020). The Justiciability of the Right to Education in the Inter-American System of Human Rights: A Possible Way Out for the Dismantling of the Brazilian Public Education System? Revista Humanidades & Inovação, 7(7), 350-367. https://revista.unitins.br/index.php/humanidadeseinovacao/article/view/2574

 

6. da Luz Scherf, E. (2019). Fundamental freedoms and the role of struggles for rights in the movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Revista Avant, 3(1), 26-30. https://ojs.sites.ufsc.br/index.php/avant/article/view/7005

 

5. da Luz Scherf, E., & Zanatta, M.L.A.L. (2019). Human rights and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of international commerce: the Barrick Gold miner and sexual violence against women in Papua New Guinea between 2006 and 2010. Revista Vertentes do Direito, 6(1), 161-181. https://doi.org/10.20873/uft.2359-0106.2019.v6n1.p161-181 

 

4. da Luz Scherf, E. (2019). The principle of minimum criminal intervention and the incarceration of minors in Brazil: From violations to the role of the Inter-American Human Rights System. Revista Jus Navigandi, 24(5790), 1-8. https://jus.com.br/artigos/67916

 

3. da Luz Scherf, E., & Milindre Gonzalez, R. (2018). Civil society and the fight for the recognition of fundamental liberties during peace negotiation processes: lessons from the civil war in Sierra Leone and the Lomé Peace Accord. Conjuntura Global, 7(2), 170-188. https://doi.org/10.5380/cg.v7i2.59393

 

2. de Souza, M.C.S.A., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2017). Business Management Towards Sustainable Development: The Dialogue Between Climate Change and Human Rights. Revista Jurídica da Escola Superior do MP-SP, 12(2), 68-86. https://es.mpsp.mp.br/revista_esmp/index.php/RJESMPSP/article/view/337

1. Hall, C.C., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2017). The Failure of the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights: The Case Cosme Rosa Genoveva, Evandro de Oliveira and Others v. Brazil. (Re)Pensando Direito, 7(14), 55-70.

Book Chapter

da Luz Scherf, E., & Rocha Leme, L. (2019). A theory of international justice for whom? Failures in the restrictive concept of human rights in Rawls’ The Law of Peoples. In M. Leal & A. Custódio (Eds.), Fundamentos Constitucionais das Políticas Públicas [Constitutional Foundations of Public Policy], Vol. 1 (1st ed., pp. 186-198). EDUNISC. http://hdl.handle.net/11624/2723