Kramer honored for research in end-of-life care

Research done by University of Wisconsin–Madison social work professor Betty Kramer on end-of-life care has won her the Distinguished Researcher Award from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

The award recognizes outstanding research on end-of-life care that contributes to enhanced hospice and palliative care.

Kramer’s research focuses on understanding the experience of family members caring for older adults with chronic and terminal illnesses to enhance services provided to those individuals.

Her work has strengthened the understanding of the predictors of positive and negative caregiver experiences and has highlighted the experience of male caregivers, who had been largely neglected in previous studies.

Kramer, who is also a member of the university’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, is currently examining the structures, processes and policies that influence the coordination of end-of-life care in the Wisconsin Family Care program.

Kramer’s ongoing research also evaluates the risk factors of family conflict at the end of life. the impact of end-of-life care barriers and quality on the death experience for the patient and the psychological well being of bereaved family members.

The award was presented Oct. 23 at the group’s annual convention in Dallas.