The 2024-25 Wall Award recipient discussed her preliminary findings on the experiences of mothers caring for children with serious illnesses.
Eileen O’Shea, DNP, APRN, PCNS-BC, CHPPN, professor of nursing in the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies and director of the Kanarek Center for Palliative Care, presented her findings on pediatric palliative care at the annual Robert E. Wall Lecture, one year after her research proposal won the prestigious Wall Award.
Initiated in 1994, the Robert E. Wall Award program is the pinnacle of faculty recognition at Fairfield University. Its purpose is to foster scholarly research and artistic creativity and to celebrate the outcome of those efforts within the University community.
In her lecture, Dr. O’Shea presented the results of her qualitative research study on the day-to-day experiences of Connecticut parents who care for children with serious illnesses at home. The study collected and analyzed thick descriptions from eight mothers within this underrecognized population to better understand, from their perspective, the experiences of families requiring ongoing medical, financial, psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual assistance.
“I am deeply honored to have received the Wall Award recognizing excellence in research and am equally grateful that I had an opportunity to better understand how Connecticut families are managing the care of seriously ill children at home,” Dr. O’Shea said.
Even though pediatric palliative care is an established healthcare specialty that enhances the quality of life for children living with serious or life-threating illnesses and their families, a significant gap remains in palliative care for Connecticut families. Dr. O’Shea’s study highlights the urgent need for coordinated community-based pediatric palliative care services and resources.
One recent effort to close the gap, she noted, was the formation of the Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition of Connecticut, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing palliative care services through advocacy, workforce education, and increased public awareness. In her role as board president of the state-based coalition, Dr. O’Shea continues her decade-long collaboration with fellow board member Robin Kanarek ’96, BSN, RN, HonD, president of the Kanarek Family Foundation and founder of Fairfield’s Kanarek Center.
“There are lots of opportunities, both public and private, where funding can make a huge difference,” Dr. O’Shea said. “The Wall Award and Fairfield University gave me a chance to move this worthy cause a step in the right direction.”
All tenured faculty are eligible for the Wall Award, which grants a semester-long sabbatical to pursue a proposed research project. Submissions are considered by the provost, deans, and chair of the faculty research committee. The 2025-26 Wall Award was presented to associate professor of business analytics Jie Tao, DSc, whose research studies the detection of suicidal ideation in social media through artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
