Ep. 27 - Racial and Cultural Competence in Palliative Care

In this episode, we welcome Amisha Parekh de Campos, PhD, MPH, RN, CHPN to the show where she speaks on the research that she is conducting surrounding people of color in end-of-life care. Amisha speaks on the importance of incorporating race into practice to best serve our minority populations and how we can advocate for our patients of color.

About Amisha:

Amisha Parekh de Campos, PhD, MPH, RN, CHPN has a joint appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Connecticut School of Nursing, and Quality and Education Coordinator of the Middlesex Health Hospice Program, Middletown, CT. Amisha received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Connecticut (2020), and BS and MPH in Global Health from George Washington University (2001 & 2005). She received her BSN from the University of St. Joseph in 2009; additional certifications include hospice and palliative care (CHPN). Amisha started her career in public health by establishing public health clinics and training community health workers in rural areas of south India and the Dominican Republic. She led initiatives on the prevention of HIV, tuberculosis, and mosquito-borne illnesses with community, government, and private organizations.

For the past ten years, Amisha has worked in hospice home care in various leadership roles, including community liaison and clinical supervisor. Currently, she manages research, quality, education, and orientation for the Hospice Homecare program, which serves approximately 150,000 people in Connecticut. In addition, Amisha is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut, School of Nursing working towards enhancing the palliative care curriculum and education among undergraduate students. She is a Robert Wood Johnson, Future of Nursing Scholar (2017-2020) and Jonas Scholar for Chronic Health (2017-2020). In 2019, Amisha received the 2019 Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation Scholarship to fund a study in advance care planning through simulation with registered nurses. She is the 2021 recipient of the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse of the Year and recipient of the 2021 Young Investigator Award from the Connecticut Coalition to Improve End-of-Life Care. Amisha was also featured in the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing.

Amisha’s program of research focuses on end-of-life care communication. Her dissertation focused on simulation among registered nurses in advance care planning communication.

Working at a community health system, she has noticed the disparities in end-of-life care among people of color. With her public health background and working with communities, she would like to assess the barriers and facilitators to end-of-life care and provide interventions to expand EOL services to this population.