Toolkit Developed to Teach Palliative Care Providers Culturally Responsive Communication Skills

Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Scholars Leadership Program has partnered to conduct a research study with Jennifer Needle, MD, MPH, Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Needle and colleagues will be using a qualitative approach to build educational materials and communication tools for providers working with pediatric Somali, Native American, Latinx, and Hmong patients and communities. 

As palliative care is intended for patients with serious or potentially life-threatening diseases, communication and understanding are vital for discussing procedures and practices of palliative care along with making important decisions regarding care and treatment plans. By researching and developing educational materials and tools for physicians to utilize to bridge the gap in communication, healthcare disparities and overall treatment of patients can be improved, decreasing the stress and pressure on patients and their families during an already difficult time. To read more about Dr. Needle’s research and her work in decreasing healthcare disparities, please follow this link.