Do you have a family member on hospice care? How are you coping with the anticipation of that loved one’s death? Would you be willing to participate in a confidential, anonymous study to help a university researcher better understand anticipatory grief?
Kylie Rogalla is an assistant professor at Indiana University South Bend in the Counseling & Human Services department. Her primary area of research interest is in grief and loss. She’s also a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and a doctoral candidate in the Counselor Education and Supervision program out of the University of Northern Colorado.
Kylie’s dissertation study is focused on people who are anticipating a loss. The eligible participant is a family member or friend of an individual who has been given a terminal prognosis, such as late stage cancer, advanced Alzheimer’s, and other chronic life-limiting illness. You must be 18 years of age or older. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and it’s available both online and in hard-copy form. You can even win a $50 gift card at a store of your choice for participating!
“I sincerely understand that anticipatory grief is a difficult time to ask anyone to participate in a scientific study,” Kylie said. “My interest in this area stems from a two-fold perspective. First, I lost my father to an acute cancer seven years ago in September.”
“The anticipatory window, from the time I learned of his prognosis until his passing, was only four months. To me, that was the most confusing and frightening time of my grief. I didn’t know what to feel or what was normal to feel. No one, including mental health professionals, seemed to know what to say to me. I’m hoping this research can shed light into this area, from a strength-based perspective.”
“Secondly, a vast majority of what we know about grief from a research viewpoint comes post-loss. I’m hoping to help us better understand the pre-loss phenomenon, so that we can improve our services as practitioners in the thanatology field.”
If you can help Kylie and participate in this study, please get in touch with her. Here’s her information:
Kylie B. Rogalla, M.S., LPC, NCC
Acting Assistant Professor
Counseling & Human Services
School of Education
Indiana University South Bend
krogalla@iusb.edu
(574) 520-4606