PHD Candidate - Medical
Biography
Julie Brunetta studied medicine and is currently pursuing a PhD in pediatric palliative care at the Centre of Expertise in Palliative Care at the University Medical Centre Utrecht. She is working with a multidisciplinary research team (M.C. Kars, S.C.C.M. Teunissen, and J.C. Fahner) to explore how to effectively communicate with children facing life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses and their caregivers about their values, preferences, and goals for future medical care and treatment. This process is known as advance care planning. The team's focus areas include: 1) further development of an age-appropriate tool to facilitate these conversations with children and their caregivers and 2) training health care providers in advance care planning. In 2021, J. Brunetta, J.C. Fahner, and M.C. Kars were awarded a prize for one of the best abstracts at the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC) congress for their work on communicating end-of-life care with children and their parents. Additionally, in 2022, the research team conducted a review* on age-appropriate communication tools for advance care planning.
*Brunetta J, Fahner J, Legemaat M, van den Bergh E, Krommenhoek K, Prinsze K, Kars M, Michiels E. Age-Appropriate Advance Care Planning in Children Diagnosed with a Life-Limiting Condition: A Systematic Review. Children (Basel). 2022 Jun 3;9(6):830. doi: 10.3390/children9060830. PMID: 35740767; PMCID: PMC9221719
