Jiayun Xu

Areas of Expertise

• family caregivers
• work-family
• palliative care
• end-of-life care
• advance care planning

HHS Signature Research Area(s)

• Healthy Lifestyles and Vital Longevity
• Sustainable Organizations and Thriving Communities

School of Nursing Research Area(s)

• Care of the Older Adult
• Family, Maternal and Child Health

Biography

Trained as a nurse and scientist, I have twelve years of experience working with adults and their families across the illness trajectory. My training has spanned across a variety of serious illnesses, but the common thread has been the influence of patient-caregiver interactions (i.e. communication, decision making) on outcomes. My program of research focuses on chronic illness family caregiving for adults with an emphasis on end-of-life family preparedness. I am personally invested in this research because of my own family’s poor experience with the end of life for my grandmother, and seeing families suffer at the end-of-life as a clinician.

My main goal is to help families have a positive end of life experience and be able to communicate better about difficult future illness decisions. I have completed multiple projects using existing family caregiving data to understand the work-family interface in serious illness caregiving, and communication and decision making in family caregiving. I am building expertise in intervention studies with the current grants I am leading or participating in. I am currently on three neurological illness grants, one family caregiver grant, and one palliative care grant: (1) Parkinson’s patient-caregiver dyad end of life decision making K23 grant from the National Institutes of Health and a Purdue internal award to supplement (Role- PI); (2) Parkinson’s patient-caregiver cohort grant funded through the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience (Role- Co-I); (3) family and medical leaves training for supervisors in the workplace SBIR/STTR from the National Institutes of Health (Role- Co-I); and (4) palliative care needs assessment in the local West-Lafayette, Lafayette community (Role- Mentor).

Education

• PhD, 2015, Johns Hopkins University
• BSN, 2010, University of Pittsburgh
• RN
• Respecting Choices First, Next, and Advanced Steps Facilitator Certifications

Current Courses

• NUR 680 - Doctorate of Nursing Practice Cognate I

Selected Publications

• Baumblatt, G.L., Xu, J., Hanson, G., Masevich, O., Wendel, P., Karavattuveetil, G., Phillips, J. (2021). When nurses are also family caregivers: The impact on organizations, individuals, and care. Nursing Outlook. 70(3), 381-390. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2021.12.001.
• Hebdon, M.C.T., Xu, J., Clayton, M.R., Mooney, K., Ellington, L. (2021). Balancing work and hospice caregiving—A closer look at burden, preparedness, and mental health. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 63(2), 283-292.
• Xu, J., Liu, P.J., Beach, S. (2020). Multiple caregivers, many minds: Family discord and caregiver outcomes. Gerontologist. 61(5), 661-669.
• Xu, J., Ellington, L., Heyman, R., Vadaparampil, S., Reblin, M. (2019). Money matters: An analysis of advanced cancer couples’ communication about financial concerns. Supportive Cancer Care. 28(5), 2239-2246. doi: 10.1007/s00520-019-05045-z.

Selected Honors/Awards

• Ross-Lynn Faculty Summer 2021 Supplement Award - Purdue University - June 2021
• Faculty Engagement Award for Families Tackling Tough Times Together program - Team member, Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences - April 2021
• Research Scholar - Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association - October 2017
• American Academy of Nursing, Jonas Policy Scholars Program - May 2016

Selected Grants

• PI, Preparing Patient-Caregiver Dyads with Parkinson’s Disease for End of Life Decision Making. National Institute of Nursing Research (K23NR019099). Period: 07/21 - 06/24.
• Co-Investigator, Family Supportive Supervisor Training and Workplace Assessment Tool. National Institute of Aging Research (R42AG050347). Kossek E. (PI). Period: 03/21 - 02/23.
• Mentor, Palliative Care Needs from Provider Perspectives. Indiana Nurses Foundation. Tordinova H. and Paterson I (Co-PIs). Period: 03/22 - 02/23.

Professional Affiliations

• International Neuropalliative Care Society (INPCS), Research Committee member
• American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), Scholar Poster Work Group Co-Chair
• Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), member
• Gerontological Society of American (GSA), member