Francesca A Williamson
Assistant Professor of Learning Health Sciences, Medical School
Faculty Associate, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research
[email protected]

Available to mentor
Francesca A Williamson
Assistant Professor
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  • Center Memberships
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    About

    Francesca (FW) Williamson, PhD (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist and qualitative methodologist by training, specializing in social interactional research, equitable learning systems, and health equity. FW leads the HEiRS Lab, a research collective investigating how real-world health, learning, and research practices and processes enable or hinder equity and justice within and beyond learning health systems. She uses multiple methods and ethnomethodology/conversation analysis approaches to study interactions in various health contexts. Most recently, she has studied healthcare interactions in pediatric oncology and urology settings, focusing on decision-making and disease evaluation activities that elicit or warrant significant emotional responses, hesitance, distrust, or decisional dilemmas. FW is currently a Putnam Scholar with the Academy of Communication in Healthcare. Her primary goal is to forward research and praxis to advance more humanizing, healing interactions, systems of care, and futures.

    Qualifications
    • Putnam Scholar
      Academy of Communication in Healthcare, United States, 2026
    • Health Systems Science Scholar
      American Medical Association, Chicago, 2023
    • Health Equity Research Scholar
      Indiana University School of Medicine, United States, 2023
    • Postdoctoral Fellow
      Butler University, Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability, 2021
    • PhD
      Indiana University Bloomington
    • BS
      Washington State University
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Rogel Cancer Center
    • Center Member
      Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine
    • Center Member
      Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Perceptions of blame among black women during prenatal care: A mixed methods study
      Dove-Medows E, Walsh AR, Williamson FA. Patient Education and Counseling, 2025 Jun 1; 135: DOI:10.1016/j.pec.2025.108707
    • Journal Article
      Association between clinician team segregation, receipt of cardiovascular care and outcomes in valvular heart diseases
      Bolakale-Rufai IK, Knapp SM, Bisono JQ, Johnson A, Moore W, Yankah E, Yee R, Trabue D, Nallamothu B, Hollingsworth JM, Watty S, Williamson F, Pool N, Hebdon M, Ezema N, Capers Q, Blount C, Kimbrough N, Johnson D, Evans J, Foree B, Holman A, Lightbourne K, Brown D, Edmonds BT, Breathett K. ESC Heart Failure, 2025 Feb 1; 12 (1): 564 - 572. DOI:10.1002/ehf2.15078
      PMID: 39420596
    • Journal Article
      Urology HEIRS: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study for Video-Based Research on Physician-Family Communication in Pediatric Urology Visits
      Williamson FA, Lester JN, Mattei JK, Misseri R, Koehlinger J, Meldrum K, Kaefer M, Rink R, Roth J, Szymanski KM, Whittam B, Dangle PP. Journal of Urology, 2024 Oct 1; 212 (4): 600 - 609. DOI:10.1097/JU.0000000000004126
      PMID: 38985890
    • Journal Article
      Editorial to special section: Examining question use in clinical contexts with children and youth
      Lester JN, Williamson FA, O'Reilly M. Patient Education and Counseling, 2024 Apr 1; 121: DOI:10.1016/j.pec.2023.108108
      PMID: 38123376
    • Journal Article
      Questions to promote child-centered care in racially discordant interactions in pediatric oncology
      Williamson FA, Lester JN, Woods C, Kaye EC. Patient Education and Counseling, 2024 Apr 1; 121: DOI:10.1016/j.pec.2023.108106
      PMID: 38123375
    • Chapter
      Leveraging Reflective Interventionist Conversation Analysis to Advance Racial Health Equity
      Williamson FA, Lester JN. Palgrave Studies in Discursive Psychology, 2024 Jul 11; Interventions in Health Care Interaction, 215 - 238. DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-59551-6_8
    • Journal Article
      Leveraging Resident-As-Teacher Training for Health Equity Education: A Transformative Approach
      Williamson FA, Sharp SN, Hills GD, Dilly CK, Nabhan ZM. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 2024 Jan 1; 36 (2): 222 - 229. DOI:10.1080/10401334.2022.2147529
      PMID: 36409564
    • Journal Article
      Barriers and Facilitators of Health and Well-Being in Informal Caregivers of Dementia Patients: A Qualitative Study
      Duplantier SC, Williamson FA. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023 Mar 1; 20 (5): DOI:10.3390/ijerph20054328
      PMID: 36901336