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Contact Details

Phone
+64 21 062 0068
Email
lis.heath@otago.ac.nz
Position
Professional Practice Fellow, PhD Student
Department
Department of Medicine (Dunedin)
Qualifications
MN RN
Research summary
Palliative care education, self-efficacy and attitudes
Teaching
Module Convener Palliative and End of Life Care vertical module; Co-Convener 4th year Medicine Module; Lead Tutor Early Professional Experience programme for third year medical students at Otago Medical School. I also developed the Ambulatory Medicine programme for 4th and 5th year medical students.
Memberships
  • Department of Medicine Teaching Committee
  • Aotearoa National Palliative Medicine Curriculum Committee
  • Palliative Care Nurses New Zealand
Clinical
I have many years’ experience working in Hospice Palliative care, both as a Registered Nurse and as an educator. I maintain close contact with the Otago Community Hospice and remain clinically active there. Prior to that, I spent many years working in acute hospital settings, predominantly in neurosurgery / neurology as well as internal medicine, coronary care and older person's health.

Research

I am currently undertaking a PhD exploring medical and nursing graduates' preparation, self-efficacy and attitudes towards providing palliative and end-of-life care. This mixed methods research is being carried out in three phases:

  • Phase One is a national, online survey of undergraduate medical and nursing education programmes
  • Phase Two is a national online survey of medical and nursing graduates' self-efficacy and attitudes towards providing palliative and end-of-life care, with an extended demographic survey one year post-qualification
  • Phase Three is interviews with a group of participants from the Phase two survey to explore their experiences of caring for patients at the end of life, including factors that influenced their self-efficacy and attitudes towards providing palliative and end-of-life care during their undergraduate training

This research is timely considering the ageing population, increasing prevalence of life-limiting diseases and an impending shortage in the palliative care workforce in New Zealand.

Publications

Dew, R., Heath, L., & Egan, R. (2022). Narratives of loss: The impact of Covid-19 lockdown on experiences of loss, grief, and bereavement. Journal of Primary Health Care, 14(4), 345-351. doi: 10.1071/HC22090

Heath, L., Egan, R., Iosua, E., Walker, R., Ross, J., & MacLeod, R. (2022). Palliative and end of life care in undergraduate medical education: A survey of New Zealand medical schools. BMC Medical Education, 22(1), 530. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03593-3

Heath, L., Egan, R., Ross, J., Iosua, E., Walker, R., & MacLeod, R. (2021). Preparing nurses for palliative and end of life care: A survey of New Zealand nursing schools. Nurse Education Today, 100, 104822. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104822

Heath, L., Egan, R., Ross, J., Iosua, E., Walker, R., & MacLeod, R. (2020). Teaching palliative care skills. Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, 26(10), 16-17.

Latta, L., & MacLeod, R. (2018). Palliative care education: An overview. In R. D. MacLeod & L. Van den Block (Eds.), Textbook of palliative care. (Online ed.) Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-31738-0_95-1

Latta, L., & MacLeod, R. (2018). Palliative care education: An overview. In R. D. MacLeod & L. Van den Block (Eds.), Textbook of palliative care. (Online ed.) Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-31738-0_95-1

Chapter in Book - Research

Dew, R., Heath, L., & Egan, R. (2022). Narratives of loss: The impact of Covid-19 lockdown on experiences of loss, grief, and bereavement. Journal of Primary Health Care, 14(4), 345-351. doi: 10.1071/HC22090

Journal - Research Article

Heath, L., Egan, R., Iosua, E., Walker, R., Ross, J., & MacLeod, R. (2022). Palliative and end of life care in undergraduate medical education: A survey of New Zealand medical schools. BMC Medical Education, 22(1), 530. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03593-3

Journal - Research Article

Heath, L., Egan, R., Ross, J., Iosua, E., Walker, R., & MacLeod, R. (2021). Preparing nurses for palliative and end of life care: A survey of New Zealand nursing schools. Nurse Education Today, 100, 104822. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104822

Journal - Research Article

Heath, L., Egan, R., Ross, J., Iosua, E., Walker, R., & MacLeod, R. (2020). Teaching palliative care skills. Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, 26(10), 16-17.

Journal - Research Article

Latta, L., Tordoff, D., Manning, P., & Dent, J. (2013). Enhancing clinical skill development through an Ambulatory Medicine Teaching Programme: An evaluation study. Medical Teacher, 35(8), 648-654. doi: 10.3109/0142159X.2013.801553

Journal - Research Article

Latta, L., & Ross, J. (2010). Exploring the impact of palliative care education for care assistants employed in residential aged care facilities in Otago, New Zealand. Sites, 7(2), 30-52.

Journal - Research Article

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