Fatima Karaki, MD

MSP Physician

Fatima Karaki, M.D., is an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Medicine. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Michigan and completed her internship and residency at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Karaki cares for adult inpatients on the hospital medicine service and resident inpatient service at San Francisco General Hospital.

Dr. Karaki is the founder and director of the Refugee and Asylum seeker Health Initiative (RAHI) at UCSF, which fosters academic activity, research, education, advocacy, and community awareness in refugee health. Her academic and clinical interest is in refugee and asylum seeker health, with a focus on the Syrian refugee crisis in the Middle East. She is a founding member and board member of the North American Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers (NASRHP) and co-chair of its Research Committee.

Dr. Karaki collaborates with national and international experts to advance refugee health research and education in order to improve the quality of refugee healthcare. She has provided emergency medical relief to patients in refugee camps and slums throughout Europe, the Middle East and India. She has volunteered and performed research in Beirut, Lebanon; Lesvos, Greece; and along the Balkan route in Europe, in the context of the Syrian refugee crisis. She has also worked and done research in the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh. She developed and directed the first graduate level course in refugee health at UCSF.

Dr. Karaki is passionate about clinical teaching, diversity in medicine, and physician well-being. She has taught Social and Behavioral Sciences, Foundations of Patient Care, and serves as a Clinical Microsystems Clerkship preceptor in the Bridges curriculum, in addition to teaching on inpatient wards. Her work includes developing novel programs to increase physician well-being and caregiver support at UCSF, and she serves as a Schwartz rounds steering committee member at ZSFG.
Education
2017 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training, University of California
Residency, 2013 - Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis
Internship, 2011 - Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis
Doctorate of Medicine, 2010 - Medical School, University of Michigan
Bachelor of Science, 2006 - Faculty of Arts and Sciences, American University of Beirut
Publications
  1. Hidden
    Journal of immigrant and minority health

    Brewer SE, Zeidan AJ, Dawson-Hahn EE, Agrawal P, Talavlikar R, Barnett ED, DiVito BM, Hauck FR, Wieland ML, Gren LH, Karaki FM, Payton C. Development of a Refugee Health Research Agenda in North America. Journal of immigrant and minority health 2024. PMID: 39419935


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    Journal of immigrant and minority health

    Zhang M, Payton C, Gurung A, Anglewicz P, Subedi P, Ali A, Ibrahim A, Haider M, Hamidi N, Atem J, Thang J, Wang S, Kim C, Kimball SL, Karaki F, Nazhat N, Abouagila M, Yun K. COVID-19 Infection and Contact Tracing Among Refugees in the United States, 2020-2021. Journal of immigrant and minority health 2022. PMID: 36586088


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    JMIR formative research

    Abou-Arraj NE, Maddah D, Buhamdan V, Abbas R, Jawad NK, Karaki F, Alami NH, Geldsetzer P. Perceptions of, and Obstacles to, SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Among Adults in Lebanon: Cross-sectional Online Survey. JMIR formative research 2022. PMID: 36383635


  4. Hidden
    "Are Telehealth Visits Feasible for Vulnerable Patients?"

    Chalmiers MA, Karaki F, Muriki M, Mody S, Chen A, de Bocanegra HT. Refugee women's experiences with contraceptive care after resettlement in high-income countries: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis. "Are Telehealth Visits Feasible for Vulnerable Patients?" 2021. PMID: 34971601


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    "Are Telehealth Visits Feasible for Vulnerable Patients?"

    Huynh BQ, Kwong LH, Kiang MV, Chin ET, Mohareb AM, Jumaan AO, Basu S, Geldsetzer P, Karaki FM, Rehkopf DH. Public health impacts of an imminent Red Sea oil spill. "Are Telehealth Visits Feasible for Vulnerable Patients?" 2021. PMID: 34926834


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    Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

    Zhang M, Gurung A, Anglewicz P, Subedi P, Payton C, Ali A, Ibrahim A, Haider M, Hamidi N, Atem J, Thang J, Wang S, Kim C, Kimball SL, Karaki F, Nazhat N, Abouagila M, Yun K. Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine Among Refugees in the United States. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) 2021. PMID: 34546812


  7. Hidden
    Health promotion practice

    Payton C, Kumar GS, Kimball S, Clarke SK, AlMasri I, Karaki FM. A Logic Model Framework for Planning an International Refugee Health Research, Evaluation, and Ethics Committee. Health promotion practice 2021. PMID: 34541906


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    Lancet (London, England)

    Jawad NK, Taweeleh LA, Elharake JA, Khamis N, Alser O, Karaki FM, Aboukhater L. Refugee access to COVID-19 vaccines in Lebanon. Lancet (London, England) 2021. PMID: 34022984


  9. Hidden
    Health equity

    Karaki FM, Alani O, Tannoury M, Ezzeddine FL, Snyder RE, Waked AN, Attieh Z. Noncommunicable Disease and Health Care-Seeking Behavior Among Urban Camp-Dwelling Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: A Preliminary Investigation. Health equity 2021. PMID: 34095705


  10. Hidden
    Journal of general internal medicine

    Maraj B, Harding-Theobald E, Karaki F. Correction to: Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Presenting as a Pulsatile Neck Mass: a Case Report and Review of Literature. Journal of general internal medicine 2018. PMID: 30306380


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    Journal of general internal medicine

    Maraj B, Harding-Theobald E, Karaki F. Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Presenting as a Pulsatile Neck Mass: a Case Report and Review of Literature. Journal of general internal medicine 2018. PMID: 29700788