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Urmeka Jefferson

TitleAssociate Professor
InstitutionRush University, College of Nursing
DepartmentWomen, Children and Family Nursing
AddressChicago IL 60612
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    Dr. Urmeka Jefferson received a PhD in nursing from Saint Louis University in 2012. She has over 16 years of clinical experience caring for mothers and critically-ill infants that revealed the impact of implicit bias on the provision of breastfeeding support. Dr. Jefferson seeks to expand best practices in maternal-child health that promote equity and social justice for African American parents. She has advanced the body of knowledge regarding infant feeding attitudes and intentions of college students and illuminated determinants of breastfeeding for African Americans. Dr. Jefferson has designed a mHealth intervention that combines multiple components to bridge the gap in breastfeeding support from hospital to home. As a 2021 Betty Irene Moore Fellow for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, she is leading breastfeeding research focused on technology that resonates with the cultural and contextual traditions of African American parents. This research centers the voices of African Americans to promote breastfeeding as a positive part of their community, provide access to equitable support services, and empower parents to meet their breastfeeding goals. This mHealth approach to breastfeeding support provides evidence for a vital public health strategy with potential to improve longer durations of breastfeeding that can advance health and reduce mortality.

    My ORCID ID is 0000-0003-1016-0086.
    My Scopus ID is 14056350800.


    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse selected publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
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    1. Keenan-Devlin LS, Smart BP, Hirschhorn L, Meier P, Jefferson U, Solomonides A, Wang CE, Handler A, Silver RK, Borders AEB. Clinically Integrated Breastfeeding Peer Counseling to Promote Breastfeeding Equity. Am J Perinatol. 2023 Jul 21. PMID: 37494586.
      View in: PubMed
    2. Gyamfi A, Jefferson UT, O'Neill B, Lucas R, Spatz DL, Henderson WA. Disparities in 6 Month Exclusive Breastfeeding in Ghana, Africa: A Scoping Review. J Hum Lact. 2023 08; 39(3):456-467. PMID: 36305494.
      View in: PubMed
    3. Gyamfi A, Spatz DL, Jefferson UT, Lucas R, O'Neill B, Henderson WA. Breastfeeding Social Support Among African American Women in the United States: A Meta-Ethnography. Adv Neonatal Care. 2023 Feb 01; 23(1):72-80. PMID: 35939758.
      View in: PubMed
    4. Anderson B, Cameron J, Jefferson U, Reeder B. Designing a Cloud-Based System for Affordable Cyberinfrastructure to Support Software-Based Research. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2022 Jun 06; 290:489-493. PMID: 35673063.
      View in: PubMed
    5. Jefferson UT, Reed AE, Rabbitte M. African American Mothers' Decision to Discontinue Breastfeeding and Switch to Formula. West J Nurs Res. 2022 01; 44(1):15-22. PMID: 34496680.
      View in: PubMed
    6. Jefferson UT, Bloom TL, Lewis KR. Infant Feeding Exposure and Personal Experiences of African American Mothers. Breastfeed Med. 2021 02; 16(2):124-130. PMID: 32865430.
      View in: PubMed
    7. Jefferson UT, Zachary I, Majee W. Employing a User-Centered Design to Engage Mothers in the Development of a mHealth Breastfeeding Application. Comput Inform Nurs. 2019 Oct; 37(10):522-531. PMID: 31414995.
      View in: PubMed
    8. Jefferson UT, Bibb D. A Breastfeeding Algorithm to Guide Bedside Health Care Practice for Term Newborns. Nurs Womens Health. 2019 Feb; 23(1):49-58. PMID: 30562477.
      View in: PubMed
    9. Conn VS, McCarthy AM, Cohen MZ, Anderson CM, Killion C, DeVon HA, Topp R, Fahrenwald NL, Herrick LM, Benefield LE, Smith CE, Jefferson UT, Anderson EA. Pearls and Pitfalls of Team Science. West J Nurs Res. 2019 06; 41(6):920-940. PMID: 30089443.
      View in: PubMed
    10. Jefferson UT. Support Interventions to Address Breastfeeding Challenges. West J Nurs Res. 2018 08; 40(8):1107-1109. PMID: 29644936.
      View in: PubMed
    11. Conn VS, Anderson CM, Killion C, Bowers BJ, Wyman JF, Herrick LM, Zerwic JJ, Smith CE, Cohen MZ, Benefield LE, Topp R, Fahrenwald NL, Titler MG, Larson JL, Varty MM, Jefferson UT. Launching Successful Beginnings for Early Career Faculty Researchers. West J Nurs Res. 2018 02; 40(2):153-174. PMID: 28831849.
      View in: PubMed
    12. Conn VS, Jefferson UT. Requiring Authorship Competence Among PhD Students. West J Nurs Res. 2017 Mar; 39(3):327-328. PMID: 30208790.
      View in: PubMed
    13. Jefferson UT. Breastfeeding Exposure, Attitudes, and Intentions of African American and Caucasian College Students. J Hum Lact. 2017 Feb; 33(1):149-156. PMID: 28135485.
      View in: PubMed
    14. Conn VS, Jefferson U, Cohen MZ, Anderson CM, Killion CM, Fahrenwald NL, Benefield LE, Titler M, Topp R, Smith CE, Loya J. Strategies to Build Authorship Competence Among PhD Students. West J Nurs Res. 2017 Mar; 39(3):329-355. PMID: 27272158.
      View in: PubMed
    15. Jefferson UT. Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Strategies and Vulnerable Populations. West J Nurs Res. 2016 May; 38(5):527-8. PMID: 27084923.
      View in: PubMed
    16. Goodman LR, Majee W, Olsberg JE, Jefferson UT. Breastfeeding Barriers and Support in a Rural Setting. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2016 Mar-Apr; 41(2):98-103. PMID: 26909723.
      View in: PubMed
    17. Majee W, Jefferson UT, Goodman LR, Olsberg JE. Four Years Later: Rural Mothers' and Employers' Perspectives on Breastfeeding Barriers Following the Passage of the Affordable Care Act. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2016; 27(3):1110-25. PMID: 27524755.
      View in: PubMed
    18. Conn VS, Zerwic J, Jefferson U, Anderson CM, Killion CM, Smith CE, Cohen MZ, Fahrenwald NL, Herrick L, Topp R, Benefield LE, Loya J. Normalizing Rejection. West J Nurs Res. 2016 Feb; 38(2):137-54. PMID: 26041785.
      View in: PubMed
    19. Conn VS, Topp R, Dunn SL, Hopp L, Jadack R, Jansen DA, Jefferson UT, Moch SD. Science on a Shoestring: Building Nursing Knowledge With Limited Funding. West J Nurs Res. 2015 Oct; 37(10):1256-68. PMID: 25601935.
      View in: PubMed
    20. Jefferson UT. Predictors of Breastfeeding Attitudes Among College-Educated African Americans. Res Theory Nurs Pract. 2015; 29(3):189-99. PMID: 26502555.
      View in: PubMed
    21. Jefferson UT. Looking beyond skin color: addressing heterogeneity in health disparities research. West J Nurs Res. 2014 Nov; 36(10):1307-8. PMID: 25288616.
      View in: PubMed
    22. Jefferson UT. Infant feeding attitudes and breastfeeding intentions of black college students. West J Nurs Res. 2014 Nov; 36(10):1338-56. PMID: 24326308.
      View in: PubMed
    23. Jefferson U. Attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions regarding infant feeding methods among black college students. West J Nurs Res. 2012 Dec; 34(8):1064. PMID: 22815179.
      View in: PubMed
    24. Jefferson UT. Pilot study to prevent early-onset Group B Streptococcal disease in newborns. Adv Neonatal Care. 2006 Aug; 6(4):208-19. PMID: 16890133.
      View in: PubMed
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