Associate Professor & Deputy Director of the PAHO Collaborating Center for Quality and Safety in Nursing and Midwifery
Dr. Natalia Villegas Rodriguez is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, and Deputy Director of the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Quality and Safety in Nursing and Midwifery at UNC. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nursing from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, completed her PhD in Nursing at the University of Miami, and postdoctoral fellowship in health disparities at El Centro, the NIMHD-funded Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research (2P60MD002266). She is a Registered Nurse, nurse-midwife, and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She was an associate professor of clinical at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (UM SONHS, 2012-2019) before joining UNC as an associate professor in 2020.
Dr. Villegas is an internationally recognized researcher whose work focuses on women’s health, HIV prevention, stigma reduction, and culturally tailored, technology-based interventions that address health disparities among Latino populations in the United States and globally. Her research also examines the intersection of HIV with substance use, mental health, and intimate partner violence. Since joining UNC SON, Dr. Villegas has developed a sustained and well-funded program of research. Over the past six years, she has contributed to 20 intramurally and federally funded research projects, including roles as Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, mentor, and consultant.
Dr. Villegas funded work as PI includes a study to assess the feasibility and acceptability of Infección de Amor (Infectious Love), a soap opera intervention to reduce HIV risk in Latinas (NC TraCS Pilot Award 550KR262124, 2021-2023) and an R34 randomized controlled pilot study evaluating a culturally tailored, dramatized (telenovela-style) HIV prevention intervention for Latinas (NIDA, R34DA053887, PI: Villegas, 2022-2025). She also has been a co-investigator in a R25 project addressing intimate partner violence in maternal health research (NINR, R25NR021325, PI: Williams, 2024-2026), and an R21 study examining intersectional stigma and resilience among Latinx sexual minority men to improve HIV testing and PrEP uptake (NIMHD, 1R21MD016356, PI: Masa, 2021-2024). Her work is widely disseminated in high-impact, interdisciplinary journals, including AIDS Education and Prevention, Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Qualitative Health Research, and PLOS One. She has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles, with a significant portion produced during her time at UNC, and her work has been cited extensively, reflecting her influence in the field.
Dr. Villegas has led and collaborated on numerous global health initiatives, particularly across Latin America. Her work spans both research and educational efforts across different countries. A central component of Dr. Villegas’s global research program has been addressing health disparities among women, adolescents, and other vulnerable populations across Latin America, Africa, and the United States. Her international research includes Chile, Guatemala, Malawi, Ecuador, Mexico, and other Latin American and Caribbean settings, addressing HIV prevention, maternal and reproductive health, gender-based violence, adolescent health, stigma, nursing education, and social determinants of health. Her research in Chile established the foundation for culturally responsive HIV/STI prevention, including an internet-based intervention for young Chilean women, and subsequently expanded to HIV vulnerability among Hispanic women in the US, culturally tailored prevention, technology-based interventions, and the intersection of HIV with gender, IPV, and substance use. Her scholarship also includes HIV prevention research collaborations with comadronas in rural Guatemala and research in Malawi examining violence, sexual behaviors, and stigma among young girls and adolescents living with HIV. Dr. Villegas has established a strong international research collaboration in Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands in collaboration with Ecuadorian institutions and government agencies and with support from the Center for Galapagos Studies, Universidad de San Francisco de Quito, Universidad de Guayaquil School of Nursing, and the Galápagos Science Center.
Dr. Villegas has demonstrated a sustained commitment to global education through teaching, curriculum development, international training, student exchange, and cross-cultural academic collaboration. Her commitment to global education and research capacity building includes serving as Director of the NIMHD-funded Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training (MHIRT) program at UM SONHS (1T37MD008647, 2016–2018), where she trained and mentored minority undergraduate and second-degree students in global health disparities research. Her teaching portfolio includes courses focused on global and cultural health, such as International Health: Transcultural Nursing and the Global Health Disparities Research Institute at the UM SONHS, as well as Culture and Nursing Care at the SON. Across these roles, Dr. Villegas has mentored students in both classroom and international settings, serving as course coordinator and clinical instructor during study abroad programs and supporting the development of students’ competencies in culturally responsive care and global health research. Her dissertation committee and faculty mentorship activities have therefore extended her global research impact beyond her own scholarship by supporting emerging investigators conducting research in diverse international settings.
Dr. Villegas was appointed a Faculty Affiliate of the Global Social Development Innovations (GSDI) initiative at the UNC School of Social Work in 2022 and is also affiliated with the Galápagos Science Center. In the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Miami, she collaborated as an expert in the development and implementation of the Training of Human Resources for Health to Improve the Quality of Maternal Health Care in Latin America and the Caribbean (2016–2018), titled “Strengthening Maternal Health in 8 Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean,” a program available on the PAHO/WHO platform (2016-2018). Through the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery at UNC (2023–present), she has served as a bilingual content expert on patient safety and collaborated with nursing partners in Ecuador to advance scientific productivity. In 2026, she was appointed Deputy Director of the PAHO Collaborating Center for Quality and Safety in Nursing and Midwifery at UNC.
Dr. Villegas’s contributions to nursing extend beyond academia. Her research has informed policy, with findings from her research (Villegas et al., 2013) cited in the 2013 White House Interagency Federal Working Group Report, Addressing the Intersection of HIV/AIDS, Violence Against Women and Girls, and Gender-Related Health Disparities. Since 2021, she has served as a Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR) Ambassador, advocating for nursing research funding and workforce development, and in 2021 was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). In 2024, Dr. Villegas was appointed to the North Carolina Institute of Medicine Task Force on the Future of the Nursing Workforce, contributing to the report Time for Action: Securing a Strong Nursing Workforce for North Carolina.
Dr. Villegas’s scholarship reflects a sustained commitment to advancing global nursing and addressing health disparities through international collaboration, community engagement, innovative interventions, education, and research capacity building.
2025-2028: Fulbright Specialist Roster
2023-2025: Thorp Faculty Engaged Scholar
2021-Present; Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN)
2020-Present: Sigma Theta Tau, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, Alpha Chapter, (Member)
2013: March of Dimes, Women’s Health Nurse of the year. Florida
2010: Sigma Theta Tau Beta Chapter Dissertation Award
2009: Golden Key International Honor Society, University of Miami
2012-Present: Sigma Theta Tau, School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Miami, Beta Tau Chapter (Member and former Vice President and Counselor)
My Bibliography NIH (Full list of publications)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/natalia.villegas%20rodriguez.1/bibliography/public/
Selected Publications
HIV research and Stigma
Masa, R., Burns, A., Baruah, D., Villegas, N., Martinez, J. O., & Operario, D. (2026). Welcoming or warning signs? Providers’ perspectives on stigma experiences and practices in HIV prevention services for young Hispanic/Latino sexual minority men in North Carolina. Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care. https://doi.org/10.1177/23259582261458953
Villegas, N., Norris, A.E., Cianelli, R., Fernandez-Pineda, M., Toledo, C. (2023). Infección de amor (Infectious Love): Development and acceptability of a telenovela/soap opera intervention for HIV prevention for Latinas. AIDS Education and Prevention, 35(6), 421–438.
Villegas, N., Maganga, L., De Oliveira, G., Iriarte, E., Baeza, M.J., Fernandez, M., Toledo, C., Ojukwu, E., Fernandez Sanchez, H., & Cianelli, R. (2025). Perspectives of Latinas regarding the influence of socio-cultural factors on HIV prevention. Global Qualitative Nursing Research. 10.1177/23333936251400703
Cianelli, R., De Santis, J., Iriarte, E., De Oliveira, G., Williams, R., Reaves, R., Castro, J., Hodge, S., Thomas, S., Edwards, C., Baeza Robba, M.J., Villegas, N., & Peragallo Montano, N. (2025). SEPA+PrEP-BW intervention: A feasible and acceptable HIV prevention intervention for cisgender heterosexual Black women. Plos One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0336435
Ojukwu, E., Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., De Oliveira, G., & Kalu, V. (2022). A Qualitative Study on Social Determinants of HIV Treatment Engagement among Black Older Women Living with
HIV in Southeastern United States. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care: JANAC, 33(2), 211–223. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/JNC.0000000000000299. PMID: 35195612
Maganga, L., Villegas, N., Rocha, L., & Cianelli, R. (2025). “All they see is those three letters”: Exploring the effects of stigma among older black women living with HIV.” Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 12, 23333936251348064. https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936251348064
De Santis, J.P., Provencio-Vasquez, E., Radusky, P.D., Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., & Peragallo Montano, N. (2023). Living in stealth: A grounded theory study of transgender women’s barriers to HIV prevention services and interventions. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 37(1):17-39. doi: 10.1891/RTNP-2022-0044.
Peragallo, N., Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., Gonzalez-Guarda, R., Williams, W., & De Tantillo, L. (2018). Evaluating a culturally tailored HIV risk reduction intervention among Hispanic women delivered in a real-world setting by community agency personnel. American Journal of Health Promotion, 33(4), 566-575. doi: 10.1177/0890117118807716. PMID: 30354190.
McCabe, B.E., Schaefer Solle, N., Gattamorta, K, Villegas, N., Cianelli, R., Mitrani, V.B., & Peragallo, N., (2016). Development and evaluation of a psychometric condom use self-efficacy measure in Spanish and English. HIV Clinical Trials, 17(5), 212-217. doi: 10.1080/15284336.2016.1213487. Epub 2016 Aug 5. PMID: 27491797; PMCID: PMC5062954.
Villegas, N., Cianelli, R., Gonzalez-Guarda R., Kaelber, L., Ferrer, L., Peragallo, N. (2013). Predictors of self-efficacy for HIV prevention among Hispanic women in south Florida. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 24(1), 27-37. doi:10.1016/j.jana.2012.03.004. Epub 2012 Jul 13. PMID: 22795758; PMCID: PMC3474856.
Substance Use, Mental Health, and Intimate Partner Violence
Williams, J.R., Burton, C.W., Grant, G.G., Hatcher, A., Villegas, N., & Sheffield-Abdullah, K. (2026). A decision-making framework for selecting intimate partner violence measures in health research. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 58, e70120. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.70120
Baeza, M. J., De Santis, J. P., Cianelli, R., Metheny, N., Villegas, N., & Iriarte, E. (2024). Sources of Well-Being for Hispanic Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner
Violence: A Scoping Review. Hispanic Health Care International: The official journal of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, 22(3), 178–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/15404153231210858
Baeza, M.J., Cianelli, R., De Oliveira, G., Villegas, N., De Santis, J.P., Iriarte, E., Peragallo Montano, N. (2023). Disparities in resource availability, psychological intimate partner violence, and depression among Hispanic women. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 44(5), 357–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2023.2195500
De Oliveira, G., Cianelli, R., Solorzano, A., Villegas, N., Iriarte, E. (2023). Biopsychosocial Factors of Depression Among Hispanic Women Aged ≥ 50 Years. Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services, 61(11), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20230523-04
Villegas, N., Choudhury, S.M., Mitrani, V.B., & Guerra, J. (2017). Mothers in substance abuse recovery: Perspectives on motivators, challenges and family involvement. International Journal of High Risk Behaviors & Addiction, 6(1): e32558. Doi: 10.5812/ijhrba.32558. Epub 2016 Feb 17. PMID: 30873391; PMCID: PMC6412135.
Global Research
Rizo, C. F., Chapman, M., Masa, R., Villegas Rodriguez, N. V., Cholota, G., Avilés, K. C., Violante, N., & McGlothlin, S. (2026). Exploring the needs of Galápagos youth using photovoice. International Journal of Social Welfare, 35(2), e70067. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.70067
Nogueira, N.F., Salazar A.S., Hernandez L., Orr J., Beato P., Alcaide M.L., Peragallo Montano N., Cianelli R., Villegas N., Jones D.L., Orrego Dunleavy V. (2023). Acceptability, Suitability, and Feasibility of an Evidence-Based Intervention to Reduce HIV Risk Behaviors: Engaging Comadronas in HIV prevention in Rural Guatemala. AIDS education and Prevention: official publication of the International Society for AIDS Education, 35(2), 101–113. https://doi.org/10.1521/aeap.2023.35.2.101
Berger, K., Cianelli, R., Valenzuela, J., Villegas, N., Blanquez, C., Toledo, C., Ramírez-Barrantes, R. (2021). Motivation for critical thinking in Nursing students in Chile. Hispanic Health Care International, 19(2):131-137. doi:10.1177/1540415320970110. PMID: 33243019.
Muheriwa Matemba, S.R., Cianelli, R., Leblanc, N.M., Zhang, C., De Santis, J., Villegas, N., McMahon, J.M. (2022). Associations between home- and school-based violent experiences and the development of sexual behavior in young adolescent girls in the rural southern region of Malawi. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10):5809. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19105809. PMID: 35627344; PMCID: PMC9141795.
Mendez-Ruiz, D., Villegas-Pantoja M., Alarcón-Luna, N., Villegas, N., Cianelli, R., & Peragallo, N. (2020). Prevención del consumo de alcohol y transmisión de virus de inmunodeficiencia humana: Ensayo clínico aleatorizado [Prevention of alcohol use and human immunodeficiency virus transmission: a randomized clinical trial]. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 28, e3262. Epub May 11, 2020. ISSN 1518-8345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.3393.3262.
Irarrazabal, L., Ferrer, L., Villegas, N., Sanhueza, S., Molina, Y., & Cianelli, R. (2016). Mujeres que consumen sustancias y su vulnerabilidad frente al VIH en Santiago de Chile [Women who use substances and their vulnerability to HIV in Santiago of Chile]. Hispanic Health Care International, 14(2), 89-93. doi: 10.1177/1540415316647978. Epub 2016 May 10. PMID: 27257222; PMCID: PMC5715660.
Ferrer, L., Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., Reed, R., Hufstader, T., Bernales, M., Irarrazabal, L., Lara, L., Repetto, P., & Peragallo, N. (2016). Exploring the masculine identity in the context of HIV prevention in Chile. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 48(2) 128-138. doi:10.1111/jnu.12190. PMID: 26930046.
Villegas, N., Cianelli, R., Santisteban, D., Lara, L., & Vargas, J (2016). Factores que influencian la adquisición de infecciones de transmisión sexual y VIH en mujeres jóvenes chilenas que participaron en la intervención online I-STIPI [Factors that influence the acquisition of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in Chilean young women who participated in the online intervention I- STIPI.] Hispanic Health Care International, 14 (1), 47-56. 10.1177/1540415316629682. PMID: 27257190; PMCID: PMC5715657.
Culturally tailored interventions and culturally responsive approaches and Technology based Interventions
Wang, X., Song, L., Vondenberger, A., Yu, F., Liu, J., Delgado, R., Svatek, R., Villegas Rodriguez, N., Rivera, L., Bonnen, M. (2026). Cultural adaptation of a web-based ostomy care intervention for Hispanic cancer patients and caregivers: A mixed methods study. JMIR Cancer. 10.2196/70354.
Iriarte, E., Villegas, N., Stonbraker, S., Cook, P., Baeza, M.J., Cianelli, R., Toledo, C., Erlandson, K.M., & Jankowski, C. (2025) Development and Acceptability of ViviendoPositivos: A Culturally Tailored Telenovela (Soap Opera) Intervention to Improve Self-management among Latinos with HIV. PLoS One, 20(6): e0326930. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326930
Iriarte, E., Baeza, M. J., Villegas, N., Cianelli, R., Stonbraker, S., Cook, P., & Jankowski, C. (2025). Telenovela (Spanish Soap Opera) Interventions on Latino Health: A Scoping Review. Hispanic Health Care International: The official Journal of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, 15404153241257929. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/15404153241257929
Guan, T., Cook, P., Xu, S., Ranzinger, L.H., Conklin, J.L., Alfahad, A., Ping, Y., Shieh, K., Barroso, S., Villegas, N., & Song, L. (2023). Family-based psychosocial interventions for adult Latino patients with cancer and their caregivers: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 14:1052229. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1052229
Villegas, N., Cianelli, R., De Tantillo, L., Warheit, M., Peragallo, N., Ferrer, L., & Patel, S. (2018). Assessment of technology use and technology preferences for HIV/STI prevention among Hispanic women. Hispanic Health Care International, 16(4), 197-203. doi: 10.1177/1540415318808828. PMID: 31185747; PMCID: PMC6568264.
Villegas, N., Santisteban, D., Cianelli, R., Ferrer, L., Ambrosia, T., Peragallo, N., & Lara, L. (2014). The development, feasibility and acceptability of an internet based STI-HIV prevention intervention for young Chilean women. International Nursing Review, 61(1), 55-63. doi: 10.1111/inr.12080. PMID: 24512261; PMCID: PMC4002211.
Cianelli, R., Lara, L., Villegas, N., Bernales, M., Ferrer, L., Kaelber, L., & Peragallo, N. (2013). Impact of Mano a Mano-Mujer, an HIV prevention intervention, on depressive symptoms among Chilean women. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 20(3), 263-72. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2012.01907.x. Epub 2012 Mar 27. PMID: 22452388; PMCID: PMC3401514.
Urrutia, M.T., Villegas, N., & Poupin, L. (2010). Garantías Explicitas en Salud: Conocimiento y Fuentes de Información de un grupo de mujeres atendidas en el programa AUGE Cáncer Cérvico-uterino [Explicit guarantees in health: knowledge and knowledge sources in women attending in the AUGE cervical cancer program] Revista Chilena de Obstetricia y Ginecología, 74(3), 221-226. https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-75262010000400002
Cianelli, R., Urrutia, M.T., Ferrer, L., Poupin, L., Masalán, P., & Villegas, N., Arratia, A., & Ferrer, X. (2009). Desarrollo de la investigación en enfermería: Estudio diagnóstico [Nursing research development: analysis study]. Revista Investigación y Educación en Enfermería. XXVII(1), 112-119. ISSN 0120-5307.
Childbearing Research/ Women’s Health
Toledo, C., Quidley-Rodriguez, N., Cianelli, R., & Villegas Rodriguez, N. (2025). A Qualitative Study of Postpartum Women’s Lived Experiences During COVID-19. Journal of midwifery & women’s health, 70(2), 308–314. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13704
Toledo, C., Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., De Oliveira, G., Gattamorta, K., Wojnar, D. & Ojukwu, E. (2022). The significance of breastfeeding practices on postpartum depression risk. Public Health Nursing, 39(1): 15-23. doi: 10.1111/phn.12969. Epub 2021 Sep 12. PMID: 34510526. PMID: 34510526
Ojukwu, E. N., Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., Gatamorta, K., De Oliveira, G., Duthely, L. (2023). Predictors and social determinants of HIV treatment engagement among postpartum Black women living with HIV in Southeastern United States. Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN),79(11), 4365–4380. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15712
Fernandez-Pineda, M., McCabe, B., Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., Peragallo Montano, N., & Ferrer, L. (2023). Assessment of Miscarriage Factors among Latinas who live in the U.S.: A cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, 4, https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2023.1127695
Villegas, N., Cianelli, R., Ceriser, K., Fernandez-Pineda, M., Jacobson, F., Lin, H.H., Sanchez, H., Davenport, E., Zavislak, K. (2021). Development and evaluation of a telehealth-based simulation to improve breastfeeding education and skills among nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice, 57, 103226. PMID: 34649128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103226
Fernandez-Pineda, M., Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., Matsuda, Y., Iriarte, E., Fernandez, M., & Peragallo M. (2021). Preferred HPV and HPV vaccine learning methods to guide future HPV prevention interventions among rural Hispanics. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 60, 139-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2021.04.026145. PMID: 33962303.
Villegas, N., Cianelli, R., Fernandez, M., Henderson, S., Sierra, S., Alfonso, Y., & Jackson, C. (2016). Assessment of breastfeeding clinical skills among nursing students using the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Investigación en Educación Médica, 5(20), 244-252. Doi.org/10.1016/j.riem.2016.04.001.
Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., Azaiza, K., Henderson, S., Hooshmand, M., & Peragallo, N. (2015). Developing and testing an online breastfeeding training among undergraduate nursing students. Clinical Nursing Studies, 3(1), 82-88. doi:10.5430/cns.v3n1P82. Epub 2014 Dec 1. PMID: 27766266; PMCID: PMC5069066.
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator
Mentor Role
Consultant Role
Expertise:
