Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Lovoria Williams
Growing up the daughter of a tobacco farmer in Christian County, Kentucky, Dr. Lovoria Williams witnessed many behaviors that are indicative of Kentucky’s health disparities. She also observed the power of health ministries in churches, as her mother was a gospel singer who traveled the state singing in congregations. This combination of childhood experiences informed her desire to be a nurse from a young age.
Dr. Williams spent most of her career in Georgia before her Kentucky roots called her home. Joining UK in January 2018, her current research focuses on improving health outcomes in African-American faith-based communities.
African Americans have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure and are more likely to die of lung cancer than white Americans. While there are many causes, disparities in health resources—including access to care and education— are a large part of the equation.
“My desire is to eliminate health inequities as it relates to racial ethnic minorities and the medically underserved,” Dr. Williams said.
Through a method of community-based participatory research, Dr. Williams trains an individual from each congregation to deliver an evidence-based intervention that focuses on weight management, lowering blood pressure, increasing cancer screening awareness, or quitting tobacco. One intervention, her Fit Body & Soul weight management program, has enrolled 600 participants. To date, it is the largest diabetes prevention program ever conducted in African- American churches.
Dr. Williams’ ability to collaborate with these communities and initiate programs with their support and involvement is key to the application of her research. It is central to the determined compassion with which she conducts her work.
“It’s not just me as researcher telling them what’s wrong and providing a way to fix it. If it comes from the community and is something they are passionate about, it’s something that will be enduring,” she said.
