Kara Carter, M.S.W., L.M.S.W.
I am interested in studying issues pertaining to end-of-life with an emphasis on the unique characteristics of rurality. I plan to examine the upstream drivers of health disparities and mesosystem level interventions that promote health equity.
My professional experience began in the non-profit realm, providing advocacy services within a domestic violence shelter. I began to see how loss comes in many forms, and people respond in very different ways. While working at the Iowa City VA Health Care System I became interested in post-traumatic stress and post-deployment adjustment. Happenstance led me to hospice, the most rewarding social work role I have had. Hospice rounded out my views of grief and loss, unveiling the idea that it is humanly possible to have "good grief."
Research Interests
End-of-life care, traumatic loss, unanticipated loss, parental loss as a child, bereavement, carried grief, moral injury, loneliness, isolation, rural health disparities, and rural aging.