Agbemenu among first to receive Changemakers in Family Planning award

Kafuli Agbemenu, assistant professor in the UB School of Nursing, has been named one of the first recipients of the Changemakers in Family Planning grant awards from the Society of Family Planning.

The 18-month, $73,000 award, funded by the Society of Family Planning Research Fund, seeks to build and support an inclusive, multidisciplinary and skilled group of scholars of color, with a shared focus on family planning.

Agbemenu is one of 16 scholars across the nation to receive the award, which will fund the development of research interests, skill advancement, mentorship and networking opportunities. Recipients also receive complimentary membership in the Society of Family Planning and attendance to the organization’s annual meeting.

“This grant offers an incredible opportunity to develop my skills to advance the science of culturally congruent family planning interventions,” says Agbemenu, who is also a certified transcultural nurse.

Agbemenu’s research focuses on reproductive health outcomes in vulnerable populations of women, with a particular focus on family planning in African immigrants and refugees.

Her recent research findings include the discovery that African refugee women experience healthier pregnancies than women born in the United States despite receiving less prenatal care; and that when it comes to sex education, acculturation can occur three times faster than average for sub-Saharan African immigrant mothers, who were found to rarely pass down cultural views regarding sex to their children.

She has also published studies that found cultural differences between clinicians and Somali Bantu women affect the uptake of family planning in the population.

Agbemenu received a doctorate in nursing, a master’s degree in nursing and a master of public health from the University of Pittsburgh, and a bachelor’s in nursing from UB.