UAB Nurse Erin Currie Earns Grant to Examine Pediatric Care for Infants in Deep South

Erin Currie, PhD, MSN, RN, an assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing, has received a grant to examine the pediatric palliative care needs of infants and neonatal intensive care units in the Deep South. The two-year, $154,000 grant from the National Palliative Care Research Center will make a big difference in the health care of children in this region.

Currie tells the Birmingham Business Journal, “Pediatric palliative care – which focuses on comprehensive and holistic care for the families and helps with quality of life, symptom management and spiritual suffering – adds a layer of support for seriously ill infants and their parents. Pediatric palliative care is a comprehensive safety net for parents, and I am going to focus my research efforts on increasing access to that safety net for them.”

Currie is the only nurse among the five recipients of the grant this year. Her research will explore the impact and quality of pediatric palliative health care service for this historically underrepresented population which has experienced many health disparities due to geographic, societal, and cultural factors.

By studying infant medical records and interviews with parents following an infant’s death in the NICU, Currie will identify unmet needs encountered during the child’s hospitalization to help improve the pediatric palliative care provided in the Deep South. Currie will be collaborating with the NICUs at Children’s Hospital of New Orleans, Baston Children’s Hospital in Jackson, MS, and Children’s of Alabama.

To learn more about Currie’s career in nursing and study of pediatric palliative care, visit here.