Dr. Joy P. Deupree
Joy P. Deupree, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FAAN, is a board certified women’s health nurse practitioner and professor in the UAB School of Nursing where she teaches health policy and has an active program of research studying the promotion of health for underserved and vulnerable populations, focusing on the social determinants of health and health literacy and equity and advocating to reduce health disparities.
In 2006, Dr. Deupree and five NP colleagues co-founded the Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama. Her advocacy for all nurses to practice to the full extent of their training and education led her to dedicate more than 10 years to NPAA leadership positions strategizing with stakeholders in Alabama to reduce barriers to practice and improve access to care. As president of NPAA from 2012 to 2013, she championed numerous legislative and regulatory efforts that exponentially increased practice opportunities for NPs to improve access to care for rural Alabamians.
She was one of 20 nurses nationwide selected for the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellowship (2014-2017). Leveraging her fellowship funding, Dr. Deupree engaged stakeholders in Alabama to create a statewide task force that brought awareness to the challenges of limited health literacy, which led to a Health Literacy Summit in 2015 and establishment of the Alabama Health Literacy Initiative. Her expertise in health literacy led the Institute of Healthcare Advancement to engage her as one of eight subject matter experts to develop and continue accreditation for the only Health Literacy Certificate program offered globally.
Dr. Deupree was a faculty member in the UAB School of Nursing from 1999 to 2019 where she held numerous leadership positions and in 2019 became professor and Associate Dean for Practice Innovation, Partnerships and Policy at the University of South Carolina. In 2023, she returned to the UAB School of Nursing as a professor and Director of Health Policy Partnerships in the Office of Clinical and Global Partnerships.
Her leadership positions have included gubernatorial appointments to the Alabama Board of Nursing, Alabama Black Belt Commission, Child Death Review Board, and the Governor’s Health Care Improvement Task Force. As an Ambassador for the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research, she meets with congressional leaders to advocate for increased funding for nursing research and is an active Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
Dr. Deupree earned her BSN and MSN from the UAB School of Nursing in 1994 and 1997, respectively. In 2011, she earned her PhD in Health Behavior and Health Promotion via a joint program from UAB and The University of Alabama.
Dr. Deupree is a published author, consultant, and sought-after speaker, having presented more than 200 lectures at the state, regional, national, and international levels in the past 10 years.