Kafuli Agbemenu, PhD, MPH, RN, CTN-A
Assistant Professor
ADDRESS:
School of Nursing
University at Buffalo
201D Wende Hall
Buffalo, NY 14214-8013
PHONE: 716-829-6023
EMAIL: agbemenu@buffalo.edu
The development of culturally-targeted reproductive health education is urgently needed. Health care professionals also need to understand that refugee women are likely to have histories of trauma and, therefore, need care delivered from a trauma-informed perspective.
Kafuli Agbemenu is an alumna who earned her BS from UB School of Nursing. She went on to earn an MPH with a focus on behavioral and community health science and global health, as well as her MS and PhD in Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research areas of interest include adolescent reproductive health and women's health in the African immigrant population. She teaches NSG 410, Public Health Nursing for Population Health, and NGS 509, Ethics for Healthcare Professionals, in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.
Education
- PhD, University of Pittsburgh
- MPH, University of Pittsburgh
- MSN, University of Pittsburgh
- BSN, University at Buffalo, the State of New York
Areas of Research
- Reproductive health outcomes of women in the African immigrant and refugee community
- Health disparities
- Reproductive health education
- Access to reproductive health care
- Pregnancy intention and contraceptive use
Teaching Responsibilities
- NSG 410 Public Health Nursing for Population Health
- NGS 509 Ethics for Healthcare Professionals
- NGC 632 Interpreting Health Care Policy
Recent Publications
Agbemenu, K., Aidoo-Frimpong, G., Auerbach, S., & Jaffri, A. (2020). HIV attitudes and beliefs in U.S.-based African refugee women. Ethnicity and Health. Advance online publication. http://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2020.1740175
Agbemenu, K., Auerbach, S., Ely, G., Aduloji-Ajijola, N., & Wang, H. H. (2020). Family planning trends among community-dwelling African refugee women. Public Health Nursing. Advance online publication. http://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12725
Agbemenu, K., Banke-Thomas, A., Ely, G., & Johnson-Agbakwu, C. (2019). Avoiding obstetrical interventions among US-based Somali migrant women: A qualitative study. Ethnicity and Health, 1-16. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2019.1613519
Agbemenu, K., Auerbach, S., Murshid, N. S., Shelton J., & Amutah-Onukagha, N. J. (2019). Reproductive health outcomes in African refugee women: A comparative study. Journal of Women’s Health, 28(6), 785-793. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2018.7314
Banke-Thomas, A., Agbemenu, K., & Johnson-Agbakwu, C. (2019). Factors associated with access to maternal and reproductive health care among Somali refugee women resettled in Ohio, United States: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21(5), 946-953. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0824-4
Swan, L. E. T., Auerbach, S. L., Ely G. E., Agbemenu, K., Mencia J., & Araf N. R. (2020). Family planning practices in Appalachia: Focus group perspectives on service needs in the Context of Regional Substance Abuse. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(4), 1198. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041198
Agbemenu, K., Auerbach, S., Murshid, N., Amutah-Onukagha, N., & Shelton, J. (2019). Reproductive health outcomes in African refugee women: A comparative study. Journal of Women’s Health. Advance online publication. http://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2018.7314
Agbemenu, K., Auerbach, S., & Shelton, J. (2019). Reproductive health characteristics of African refugee women: Introduction to an at-risk population in Western New York. Association of Black Nursing Faculty Newsletter, 13(1), 4-6.
Agbemenu, K., Banke-Thomas, A., Ely, G., & Johnson-Agbakwu, C. (2019). Avoiding obstetrical interventionsamong US-based Somali migrant women: A qualitative study. Ethnicity & Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2019.1613519
Banke-Thomas, A. O., Agbemenu, K., & Agbakwu-Johnson, C. (2018). Factors associated with access to maternal and reproductive health care among Somali refugee women resettled in Ohio, United States: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Immigrant Minority Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0824-4
Ely, G. E., Hales, T. W., Jackson, D. L., Kotting, J., & Agbemenu, K. (2018). Access to choice: Examining differences between adolescent and adult abortion fund patients. Journal of Health and Social Care in the Community, 26(5), 695-704. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12582
Agbemenu, K., Volpe, E. M., & Dyer, E. (2017). Reproductive health decision making among U.S. dwelling Somali Bantu refugee women: A qualitative study. Journal of Clinical Nursing. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/jocn.14162
Covington-Ward, Y., Agbemenu, K., & Matambanadzo, A. (2017). "We feel like it was better back home": Stress, coping and health in a U.S. dwelling African immigrant community. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. (In Press).
Agbemenu, K. (2016). Acculturation and health behaviors of African immigrants living in the United States: An integrative review. ABNF Journal, 27(3), 67-73.
Agbemenu, K., Devido, J., Hannan, M., & Doswell, W. (2016). Exploring the experience of African immigrant mothers providing reproductive health education to their daughters aged 10 to 14 years. Journal of Transcultural Nursing. doi:10.1177/1043659616681848
Agbemenu, K., Terry, M. A., Hannan, M., Kitutu, J., & Doswell, W. (2015). Attitudes and beliefs of African immigrant mothers living in the US towards providing comprehensive sex education to daughters aged 12–17 years: A pilot study. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 1-7. doi:10.1007/s10903-015-0292-z
Yang, K., Woomer, G. R., Agbemenu, K., & Williams, L. (2014). Relate better and judge less: Poverty simulation promoting culturally competent care in community health nursing. Nursing Education in Practice, 14(6), 680-685. doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2014.09.001. [Epub ahead of print].
Agbemenu, K., & Schlenk, E. A. (2011). An integrative review of comprehensive sex education for Adolescent Girls in Kenya. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43, 54–63.
Honors and Awards
- Excellence in Research Scholarship Award, UB School of Nursing, 2020
- First Place, Faculty Posters, School of Nursing Virtual Poster Session, Fall 2020 (Family Planning Research in African Immigrant and Refugee Women: A Scoping Review)
- Changemakers in Family Planning, Society of Family Planning, 2019
- Civic Engagement Research Fellowship, 2015-16
- Gregory J. Dimitriadis Mentoring Fellowship, 2015-16
- Research Award, Sigma Theta Tau Eta Chapter, 2013
Grants
Previous
A Comprehensive Examination of the Reproductive Health Status of African Refugee Women Living in Buffalo, NY
Term: 2019
Funding source: Patricia H. Garman Behavioral Health Nursing Endowment Fund
Phases 1 and 2: Family Planning in Appalachia: An Assessment of Unmet Needs in the Context of the Opioid Epidemic
Term: 2019
Funding source: Society of Family Planning (through UB School of Social Work)
Reproductive Health Outcomes of African Refugee Women Living in Erie County
Term: 2017-2019
Funding source: Association of Black Nursing Faculty
Biomarkers in Vulnerable Populations
Term: 2018
Funding source: Gregory J. Dimitriadis Research Mentoring Fellowship
Determining Risky Sexual Behaviors and Reproductive Health Needs of Opiate-using Women in Rural Appalachia: A Secondary Data Analysis
Term: 2017
Funding source: The Appalachia Grant Society for Family Planning