{"id":243173,"date":"2026-04-07T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=243173"},"modified":"2026-04-06T11:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:13:13","slug":"palliative-care-on-a-global-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/04\/palliative-care-on-a-global-scale\/","title":{"rendered":"Palliative Care on a Global Scale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senior Hannah Hidalgo (NUR)\u00a0is\u00a0no stranger to Experiential Global\u00a0Learning\u00a0(EGL)\u00a0at UConn.\u00a0After completing her first\u00a0nursing program abroad last summer<\/a>, she\u00a0jumped at the opportunity to\u00a0attend another\u00a0transformative journey focused on palliative care in Belgium.<\/p>\n

“I personally wanted to\u00a0be able to better understand end-of-life care\u00a0and be introduced to different perspectives on it. I wanted to have\u00a0this\u00a0experience\u00a0going into my future career,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Hidalgo.<\/p>\n

The End-of-Life Belgium EGL program\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0part of the Nursing Capstone Course (NURS 4292) and consists of a two-week intensive experience sponsored by the University College of\u00a0Arteveldehogeschool\u00a0(Artevelde) in Ghent. To be considered for the course, nursing students must complete an application process through EGL that consists of essay questions on why they want to attend, what they think they will gain from it, and how they can contribute to the experience.<\/p>\n

The Interdisciplinary Program on Palliative and End-of-Life Care (IPPE) at Artevelde has run consistently at UConn since 2012 and has had a total of 92 students participate in the program. This year, eight UConn Nursing students were selected to attend.<\/p>\n

The IPPE is aimed at\u00a0offering\u00a0higher education on chronic and end-of-life care from an international, intercultural, and innovative perspective. Students participated in lectures,\u00a0workshops, and hands-on sessions focused on complementary\u00a0care, pain and\u00a0symptom\u00a0control, end-of-life decisions, and communication skills all surrounding palliative care.<\/p>\n

“The experience brought a holistic perspective on nursing, which I really enjoyed,\u201d said Hidalgo.\u00a0\u201cIt showed me that\u00a0small\u00a0things\u00a0like touch,\u00a0scent or just being present\u00a0and connecting to the patient\u00a0can make\u00a0a huge difference\u00a0in\u00a0their care.\u00a0For me, the\u00a0emphasis of this program\u00a0was\u00a0how to provide comfort to a patient.”<\/p>\n

The first week of the program is held online where students meet\u00a0their\u00a0peers from around the globe. They then travel\u00a0to Belgium for\u00a0in-person instruction. During this week\u00a0abroad, students stay in a hostel, where they interact with classmates from around the world.<\/p>\n

\"Group
UConn Nursing students and Amisha Parekh de Campos, Ph.D., MPH, RN, CHPN, during the End-of-Life Belgium EGL program in January. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Accompanying the students\u00a0was\u00a0Amisha Parekh de Campos, Ph.D., MPH, RN, CHPN, assistant clinical professor at the Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing. This\u00a0was\u00a0her third year attending and\u00a0participating\u00a0in the program.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0over 15 years of nursing experience in palliative care,\u00a0Parekh de Campos\u00a0knows how crucial it is for students to\u00a0gain broader insights\u00a0into this type of care, especially\u00a0from\u00a0a country\u00a0that\u00a0integrates it as part of\u00a0its\u00a0culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is\u00a0very little\u00a0in the undergraduate nursing\u00a0curriculum\u00a0that includes\u00a0palliative care,\u00a0hospice,\u00a0or end-of-life.\u00a0So, for\u00a0our students, they end up learning a lot about\u00a0the philosophy of\u00a0palliative care and\u00a0how\u00a0it works in Europe.\u00a0Along the way, the students\u00a0learn\u00a0about end-of-life care in the United States\u00a0and\u00a0are able to\u00a0talk about the culture of death and dying in the United States compared to Europe,”\u00a0said Parekh de Campos.<\/p>\n

While the days are\u00a0packed\u00a0with content, students\u00a0are able to\u00a0explore the city in the evenings.\u00a0The program also\u00a0integrates Belgium culture and the cultures represented by its students during\u00a0themed\u00a0parties\u00a0and events.\u00a0There are 10 countries represented in the\u00a0IPPE\u00a0program,\u00a0making it\u00a0a very diverse\u00a0cohort.\u00a0One night, they hosted an event\u00a0where\u00a0participants\u00a0set up a table that featured\u00a0items\u00a0and mementos from their respective\u00a0countries.<\/p>\n

Exploring and integrating everyone\u2019s cultures and professions\u00a0was one of Hidalgo\u2019s favorite aspects of\u00a0IPPE.\u00a0\u00a0While\u00a0the\u00a0program is only open to UConn Nursing\u00a0students\u00a0through the EGL\u00a0program, the IPPE\u00a0includes other healthcare professions: physical and occupational\u00a0therapists, social workers,\u00a0oral hygienists, and\u00a0so on.<\/p>\n

The differences in\u00a0professions and cultures\u00a0were\u00a0especially prevalent during group work.\u00a0The students were\u00a0paired\u00a0with\u00a0individuals\u00a0outside of\u00a0their\u00a0home country\u00a0and\u00a0with different majors.\u00a0When\u00a0given real-life patient scenarios, they\u00a0used their own perspectives\u00a0to collectively formulate a plan of care.<\/p>\n

“Even\u00a0though we all believed in different\u00a0care plans\u00a0for\u00a0helping\u00a0this one\u00a0patient,\u00a0we\u00a0listened to each other and\u00a0were\u00a0able to work together\u00a0and\u00a0adapt.\u00a0Nursing considers multiple care approaches and the willingness to adapt\u00a0and\u00a0learn is essential,\u201d said Hidalgo.<\/p>\n

\"Group
Hannah Hidalgo’s group for the End-of-Life Belgium EGL program in January. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another\u00a0component\u00a0of the program that Hidalgo loved was the workshops.\u00a0From reiki and aromatherapy to\u00a0dancing and singing, students participated in\u00a0a variety of modalities used in palliative care.\u00a0The\u00a0workshops\u00a0took\u00a0a holistic approach\u00a0that focused on the patient and the caregiver, allowing students\u00a0to connect to\u00a0their\u00a0own well-being so\u00a0they can\u00a0provide the best help for others.<\/p>\n

Parekh de Campos emphasized the importance of teaching palliative care and ensuring her students understand the range of options available to patients, particularly for nurses in the United States.<\/p>\n

“It’s really important for them to understand the way\u00a0palliative care\u00a0works in the U.S.\u00a0because it’s a lot different than in Europe,\u201d\u00a0she said. \u201cAll the students come away with the\u00a0knowledge to advocate,\u00a0and my advice to them is to be that voice for patients,\u00a0families and fellow clinicians.”<\/p>\n

For Parekh de Campos, this\u00a0program is just as\u00a0special to\u00a0her\u00a0as it is for her students.\u00a0She\u2019s\u00a0inspired\u00a0by her fellow colleagues in the\u00a0program,\u00a0and the relationships they form last long after the flight home.<\/p>\n

For Hidalgo, the trip was\u00a0an unforgettable experience, one that\u00a0she\u00a0will\u00a0carry\u00a0with her\u00a0post-graduation.<\/p>\n

“This trip made me learn so much about myself that I never would have expected. I thought I was going there to learn about end-of-life palliative care, but\u00a0once I came\u00a0back,\u00a0I realized I grew so much as a person,\u201d\u00a0said Hidalgo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing students travel to Belgium to gain educational and cultural insights into palliative care. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":229,"featured_media":243174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1877],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2655],"class_list":["post-243173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nur"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 21:11:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/229"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243173"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243386,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243173\/revisions\/243386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/243174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243173"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=243173"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=243173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}