Professor Holly Nelson-Becker, Division Lead for Brunel Social Work, has received a Ralph and Eve Seelye Charitable Trust Fellowship Award for 2019. The School of Nursing, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences will host her.
Dr Rosemary Frey in the School of Nursing and Prof Christa Fouche from the Faculty of Education and Social Work were the nominators of the award. Dr Frey has organised a schedule of speaking and other engagement as part of the fellowship. Dr Frey is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Nursing. Her research interests are rooted in social psychology and culture as well as social justice issues in health research, looking particularly at issues surrounding palliative care and end-of-life for marginalized groups.
Sponsored by the Seelye Charitable Trust established in 2006, the goal is to attract distinguished persons who are leaders in their field and to host internationally recognized experts for guest lectures and seminars.
Prof. Nelson-Becker will be presenting at the School of Nursing, for the Faculty of Education and Social Work, a Te Ārai Seminar at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, North Shore and Mercy Hospices, the Institute of Healthy Ageing, Waiora Waikato Hospital, and the Selwyn conference among other venues during her stay. Many of her presentations will involve her work in palliative care, hospice, and spiritual perspectives relevant to healthcare.
Prof. Nelson-Becker has been invited as a special guest by the Te Ārai Kaumātua (elders) advisory group (Te Ārai Palliative Care and End of Life Research Group, University of Auckland) hui (meeting) to review the themes of an indigenous qualitative end of life study, Pae Herenga. The study was led by Dr. Tess Moeke-Maxwell of the School of Nursing, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences.
The Pae Herenga study gathered over 60 stories and 16 digital stories (using both face to face interviews and digital story workshops) to develop a deeper understanding of indigenous traditions employed by Māori at end of life. The indigenous customs encompass the values and practices employed by family carers, rongoā (plant medicine) healers, tohunga (spiritual practitioners) and Māori palliative care and health care professionals.
The visit will provide a fruitful opportunity for both dissemination of knowledge and for building future collaborations.
Reported by:
Professor Holly Nelson-Becker
+44 (0)1895 267935
Holly.Nelson-Becker@brunel.ac.uk