Structural Racism and Engagement of Family Caregivers in Serious Illness Care

Disparities in palliative care delivery and outcomes are well-described in the US, but the path toward improving outcomes is unclear. US clinicians, researchers, and policy leaders are grappling with addressing the reality that structural racism affects patient-level outcomes through a complicated web of factors including limited access to palliative care and institutional racism in healthcare delivery systems. In this lecture, the conceptual framework and approach to measuring the impact of structural racism on the health outcomes of hospitalised patients with serious illness will be discussed.

About the speaker

Dr Tjia is a physician health services researcher at UMass Medical School, Massachusetts with over 15 years of experience conducting studies focused on improving care delivery for patients from vulnerable populations. Dr Tjia was a hospice medical director, a palliative care consultant, and nursing home clinician. In 2015, Dr Tjia was named a Cambia Sojourns Scholar for Leadership in Palliative Care.

About the seminar series 

The Cicely Saunders Institute Open Seminar Series events are free to attend.

This seminar is worth CPD (1 credit) pending from the Royal College of Physicians.

The series aim is to optimise opportunities for local, national and international networking within palliative care and rehabilitation. We facilitate seminars to assist in improving practice, education and policy, and the integration of research and clinical endeavours.