Our Mission

The mission of the Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Communication and Training (RESPECT) Center is to build a collaborative, interdisciplinary scientific community of researchers and clinicians to work together to advance the science of communication in palliative and end-of-life care across the lifespan.

RESPECT Co-Directors Dr. Greg Sachs, Dr. Joan Haase, and Dr. Susan Hickman

About the RESPECT Center

The goals of the Center are to:

  • Accelerate the development of innovative descriptive and intervention research trials relevant to communication and decision-making in children, adolescents, adults, and elders with serious and/or life-threatening illness
  • Develop new community partnerships for translational science to enhance palliative and end-of-life care research and practice
  • Create mentorship opportunities for developing scholars who will become the next generation of productive, passionate palliative and end-of-life care researchers

The RESPECT Center is funded through the IUPUI Signature Center Initiative and the generous support of the IU School of Nursing; the IU School of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics; the IU Simon Cancer Center; and IU Health.