Faculty and Staff Profile

Shirley Timmons

Educational Background

PhD Nursing Science
University of South Carolina

MN Community Health/Nursing Education
University of South Carolina

BS Nursing
University of South Carolina

Courses Taught

NUR3110: Health Promotion Across the Lifespan
NUR3071: Family and Community Health Clinical (undergraduate-RN-BS clinical)
NUR3300: Research in Nursing (undergraduate-BSN)
NUR4060: Professional Transitions for Nurses (RN-BS)
NUR4140: Community Health (undergraduate-2nd degree BS)
NUR4141: Community Health Clinical (undergraduate-2nd Degree)
NUR4151: Community Health Nursing Clinical (undergraduate-BSN clinical)
NUR8010: Advanced Family and Community Health (graduate-MS)
NUR8480: Health Policy and Economics (graduate-MS)
NURS H3280: Honors Seminar I

Profile

Dr. Timmons is an American Nurses Credentialing Center certified faith community nurse and National League for Nurses certified nurse educator with clinical experience in research and management of population health and health promotion interventions--especially targeting racial/ethnic defined populations. Complementing publications are within peer reviewed journals including Journal of Health Disparities: Research and Practice; Journal of Religion and Health; Nursing Education Perspective; Journal of Best Practices in Health Professions Diversity: Research, Education, and Policy; Journal of Nurse Practitioners; Journal of Christian Nursing; Health Care for Women International, Health Education Research, and Africa Insight. She currently, serves as reviewer for a) Community Engaged Scholarship for Health; b) Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research; c) Journal of Christian Nursing (Reviewing Editor: 2013); d) Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved; e) Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice; f) Journal for Nurse Practitioners; g) Journal of Religion and Health; h) Family and Community Health: The Journal of Health Promotion and Maintenance; I) Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute; J) National Institute of Health Early Career Reviewer program--Center for Scientific Review; k) International Institute for Qualitative Methodology; and l) Women's Health Issues. // She is also director of the South Carolina Public Health Preparedness Student Corps: A 2022 CDC Public Health Workforce Development grant award (4.8m) designed to increase access to an interdisciplinary and sustainable pipeline of culturally competent students for emergency and public health response within local, state, and global communities (www.scphpsc.com).

Research Interests

Dr. Timmons recognizes an early role as the Southeast director of the Bureau of Primary Health Care's "Health Disparities Collaboratives" as illuminating due to its nationwide launch to reduce disparities among underserved populations within federally qualified health centers. That experience was pivotal in realizing multifaceted healthcare dynamics and needs of minoritized populations. Therefore, she prioritizes practice and research that address the impact of social determinants--especially intergenerational economic and educational mobility on health behavior and outcomes. She has garnered > $5,000,000 for research and programmatic support toward this work. Her contribution to science is refinement of knowledge about cultural factors that influence health disparities experienced by African Americans born in the United States compared to Caucasian counterparts. Since spirituality has played a critical role in quality of life of African Americans (pre- and post-enslavement) and religious affiliation is a vital social, physical, and emotional support, my research identifies aspects of the African American-faith based dynamic that fosters “health.” For example, academic-community partnerships that target vulnerable African Americans must incorporate equity in decision-making about health outcome goals that include culturally relevant human resources (i.e., diverse African American workforces) and material/environmental resources (i.e., evidence-based, church-based health promotion interventions). For example, my research uncovers and highlights the positive influence of equitable decision-making to weight-management, illicit drug use recovery, hypertension and cardiometabolic health, and HIV/AIDS prevention among underserved African Americans. Dr. Timmons emphasizes that health equity goals must be informed by evidence and managed through academic-community partnerships that include target communities and culturally relevant and adequate resources. This guidance is especially relevant for African Americans where social determinants of health, compromised by structural oppression, continue to predict wellness and longevity.

Research Publications

1. Moore de Peralta, A., Prieto Rosas, V., Smithwick, J., Timmons, S.M., & Torres, M. E. (2022). A contribution to measure partnership trust in community-based participatory research and interventions with Latinx communities in the United States. Health Promotion Practice.
2. Khademi, A., Zhang, D., Giabbanelli, P.J., Timmons S.M., Luo, C., & Shi, L. (2018). An agent-based model of healthy eating with applications to hypertension. In P. Giabbanelli,V. Mago, & E. Papageorgiou (Eds.), Advanced data analytics in health smart innovation, systems, and technologies, vol. 93, (pp. 43-58). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77911-9_3
3. Harris, E., Messias D.K., Timmons, S.M., Felder, T.M., & Estrada, R.D. (2018). Rest among African American women: The current state of the science. Holistic Nursing Practice, 32(3). 143-148. doi:10.1097/HNP.0000000000000262
4. Timmons, S.M., Shi, L., & Khademi, A. (2017). Priority Hypertension Management Strategies for At-Risk African Americans as Perceived by Medical Clinicians and Academic Scholars. The Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 10(1), 220-236.
5. Timmons, S.M. (2015). Review and evaluation of faith-based weight-management interventions that target African American women. Journal of Religion and Health, 54(2), 798-809.
6. Kent, D.C. & Timmons, S.M. (2013). Therapeutic environmental effects on analgesic
requirements in post anesthesia care unit phase I. Virginia Henderson International Nursing e-Repository. http://hdl.handle.net/10755/304855
7. Samples, T., Howe, L., Timmons, S.M., & Richardson, E. (2013). African American nursing students' perceptions about mentoring. Nursing Education Perspectives, 34(3), 173-177.
8. Moore, D., Onsomu, E.O., Timmons, S.M., Abuva, B.A., & Moore, C. (2012). Communicating HIV/AIDS through African American churches in North Carolina: implications and recommendations for HIV/AIDS faith-based programs. Journal of Religion and Health, 51(3), 865-78. doi: 10.1007/s10943-010-9396-x.
9. Timmons, S.M. (2012). Evaluating program outcomes in faith communities. In M. Stanhope & J. Lancaster (Eds.), Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community (8th ed.) (pp. 981). Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby
10. Timmons, S.M. (2012). African American faculties’ career decisions about a
predominantly Caucasian institution in the United States. Journal of Best Practices in
Health Professions Diversity: Research, Education, and Policy, 5(1), 709-724.
11. Timmons, S.M. (2011). What is a Christian faith-based recovery program? The Journal of Christian Nursing, 28(3), 158-161.
12. Rose, M., Timmons, S.M., Amerson, R., Reimels, E., & Pruitt, R. (2011). Facilitators and barriers in cardiac rehabilitation participation: An integrative review. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 7(5), 399-408.
13. Timmons, S.M. (2012). A Christian faith-based recovery theory: Understanding God as sponsor. Journal of Religion and Health, 51(4), 1152-1164.
14. Memmer, S.E., Howe, L., Timmons, S.M., Nilson, L.B., & Parker, V. (2011). Evaluation of the effectiveness of “the village”: A pharmacology education teaching strategy in nursing education perspectives. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32(5), 338-341.
15. Frisch, A.M., Johnson, A., Timmons, S.M., & Weatherford, C. (2010). Nurse practitioner role in preparing families for pediatric outpatient surgery. Pediatric Nursing, 36(1), 41-47.
16. Timmons, S.M. (2010). Pressing toward the goal. Journal of Christian Nursing, 27(3), 233.
17. Timmons, S.M. (2010). African American church health programs: What works? Journal of Christian Nursing, 27(2), 100-105.
18. Timmons, S.M. (2009). Pastors' influence on research-based health programs in church settings. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 3(2), 92-102.

Honors and Awards

2026 James E. Clyburn Health Equity Award-2026
2024-25 College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences MILLION DOLLAR CLUB
2024 APHA Community Health Planning and Policy Development Public Health Spotlight Award
nominee
2024 SC Nurses Association Daisy Award nominee
2023 AACN Diversity Leadership Fellow
2015 Faculty Scholar: Clemson University School of Health Research
2011 Member Scholar: International Institute for Qualitative Methodology
2011 Ambassador: National League for Nursing
FUNDED & APPROVED GRANT AWARDS as PI:
EXTRAMURAL
• 2023 Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response (CDC- RFA-TP18-1802) - Supplement. South Carolina public health preparedness student corps. Role: Director: $1,837,811. Funded: $4,801,635
• 2022 Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response (CDC- RFA-TP18-1802) - Enhanced. South Carolina public health preparedness student corps. Role: Director. Funded: $2,963,824
• 2017 Health Resources Services Administration. Workforce initiative in nursing diversity. Role: PI. Co-investigators: Drs. Nicole Davis & Veronica Parker. Approve/not Funded: $1,408,463
• 2016 Health Resources Services Administration: Workforce initiative in nursing diversity. Role: PI. Co-investigators: Drs. Nicole Davis and Veronica Parker. Approved/not Funded: $255,578
• 2013 Health Resources Services Administration. The online center for nurse workforce diversity. Role: PI. Co-Investigators: Drs. Nicole Davis, Veronica Parker, Christine Hernandez, Deidre Morrison; Ms. Portia Botchway, Ms. Janice Lanham. Funding: approved/not Funded: $673,700
INTRAMURAL
• 2015 Clemson University School of Nursing Mary Lohr Faculty Endowment Award. Perceptions of BSN enrollment and completion by underrepresented minority RNs. Role: PI. Funded: $8,000
• 2015 Clemson University Research Committee Grant. Developing a population health decision tool: Hypertension intervention simulation to address racial disparities in high blood pressure. Role: PI. Co-Investigators: Drs. Amin Khademi & Lu Shi. Funded: $6,800

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