As principal investigator, I write this administrative supplement to our current trial, Pediatric Quality of Life and Evaluation of Symptoms Technology Response to Pediatric Oncology Symptom Experience (PediQUEST Response) which employs a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) approach to investigate if early palliative care consultation assisted by electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes (e-PROMS) and real-time feedback reports improve health related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptom burden in children with advanced cancer as well as parental psychological distress compared to usual care. I plan to add Dr. Ijeoma Julie Eche to our research team as a post-doctoral research fellow for the nearly two-year remainder of the grant period. As an early stage African-American nurse scientist, Dr. Eche is well suited to build a program of research to improve cancer-related disparities in children with cancer and their families. She aspires to be a visionary leader on the vanguard of nursing science as she studies and develops interventions to support families facing pediatric cancer, while also educating the next generation of scientists. To prepare for this aspiration, she has the opportunity to train with me for the next two years, building the foundation and skills for a mentored career development award at an academic center of excellence as she begins her first tenure-track appointment as a nurse scientist. She will engage in didactic and continuing education along with practical experience as a co- investigator on the PediQUEST Response study. Ultimately, Dr. Eche plans to bring her previous and future training to bear on an academic position in which she excels in the tripartite mission of a tier one, research intensive school of nursing as an independent, extraordinary nurse scientist.
As there is a concerted effort by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve diversity of research workforce by recruiting and supporting eligible investigators from underrepresented backgrounds in health-related research, this supplement leverages the training opportunity and supports the development of a promising early career minority nurse scientist whose program of research focuses on improving cancer-related disparities in children with cancer through a National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)-funded study. This training opportunity in a mentored environment allows for attainment of a nurse scientist position.
| Bona, Kira; Wolfe, Joanne (2017) Disparities in Pediatric Palliative Care: An Opportunity to Strive for Equity. Pediatrics 140: |
