Tracy Schroepfer

The current and future growing diversity and aging of the United States are two significant population trends that already are having an enormous impact on America’s health care system. Insuring that all communities have access to necessary health care services, receive care that incorporates and honors their cultural beliefs, and are afforded the opportunity to experience a good death is essential. Dr. Schroepfer’s research focuses on determining the best strategies for meeting the psychosocial, cultural and spiritual needs of terminally ill elders, as well as strategies for reducing health disparities faced by medically underserved communities in Wisconsin. Her current projects include: 1) developing an instrument to assess the psychosocial, cultural and spiritual needs of terminally ill elders, 2) gaining a deeper understanding of the wish to hasten death (WTHD), 3) determining the role control plays in the dying process of terminally ill elders, and 4) exploring the barriers and facilitators regarding the participation of Wisconsin African American, Native American and Latino communities in biomarker research.