Training Details

Training Modules
  • Overview and Social Determinants of Health: African American Perspectives on Health, Living and Dying
  • Comprehensive Patient Evaluation
  • Grief & Bereavement
  • Hospice Care: Contemporary Challenges and Best Practices
  • Culturally Appropriate Communication
  • Pain Assessment and Treatment in a Complex Subjective World 
  • Spirituality in End-of-Life Care
  • Patient-Centered Decision Making

Who Should Attend

Health care professionals and other caregivers working with African American patients and families facing serious and life-limiting illnesses in hospitals, hospices, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, and office-based settings:

  • Physicians
  • Nurses
  • Social workers
  • Pharmacists
  • Chaplains & other clergy
  • Psychologists
  • Counselors
  • Hospital & hospice administrators
  • Family caregivers

Learning Objectives

At the end of the APPEAL training, participants should be able to:

  1. Discuss the cultural beliefs, values and traditions of African Americans which may impact end-of-life care.
  2. Describe the impact of racial disparities throughout the health care continuum (diagnosis to death) and their relevance to the experience of African Americans at life's end.
  3. Discuss barriers to quality care for African Americans with advanced serious illness and develop strategies to improve the care of American Americans at life's end.
  4. Demonstrate basic competencies in the comprehensive evaluation of African Americans facing life-limiting illness, including assessment and management of physical, social, emotional, and spiritual suffering across health care settings-ambulatory care, acute hospital care, and community-based hospice care.
  5. Demonstrate strategies for effective communication with patients and families at the end of life which respect individual and cultural beliefs, values and preferences.
  6. Demonstrate strategies for working effectively with an interdisciplinary team and describe the unique and complementary role of each team member in the care of African Americans with life-limiting illness across health care settings.

Training Methods

APPEAL makes use of a wide spectrum of teaching modalities, including text, PowerPoint slides, interactive activities and a DVD of first-hand accounts from African American patients and care providers describing their experiences in multiple health care settings.