Jessica Williams

Jessica Williams is a full-time, tenured Professor and Program Director of the Undergraduate Health Care Management Program at the Department of Health Services Administration, School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She also serves as a Scientist at the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education (COERE) in the UAB School of Medicine. Dr. Williams holds a PhD in Health Education/Health Promotion and an MPH in Epidemiology from UAB’s School of Public Health. Her research focuses on health equity, improving healthcare access, doctor-patient communication, and smoking cessation interventions.

Dr. Williams teaches Research Methods in the undergraduate program and Essentials of Health and Human Disease (Population Health) in the master’s programs. Her work includes developing multicomponent interventions to reduce racial bias among healthcare staff and exploring the role of narratives in smoking cessation programs. She has contributed to studies on healthcare disparities, including payer mix effects on patient discrimination and hospital system impacts on readmission rates for African American men.

Her research integrates digital health tools, such as asynchronous counseling platforms for tobacco treatment, and evaluates the effectiveness of web-based interventions in dental and primary care settings. Dr. Williams has also examined the implementation of e-referrals to improve access to smoking cessation resources, emphasizing the importance of patient engagement and provider collaboration.

Her academic roles include leadership in program development, curriculum design, and mentorship through initiatives like The Forge student-alumni mentoring program. Her work bridges clinical practice, public health policy, and organizational behavior to advance equitable healthcare systems.