Melissa
Bellin,
PhD, MSW
Associate Professor, Chair of Health Specialization
University of Maryland School of Social Work
Dr. Melissa Bellin is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work where she is Chair of the Health Specialization. Dr. Bellin's integrated body of research, teaching, and service focuses on child and family adaptation to chronic pediatric health conditions.
Presenting at the Nexus Summit:
Background: Research shows only 30% of Americans have advance directives (ADs). The lack of ADs may create challenges for families and health care professionals (HCPs) who must make critical, medical decisions on a patient’s behalf with limited information. HCPs are particularly suited to lead advance care planning (ACP) conversations. However, inconsistent implementation of ACP material in academic curricula may contribute to HCPs’ perceptions of low self-efficacy and discomfort in leading ACP, which represent significant barriers to care delivery. This intervention advanced prior…