Pernilla Pergert

I am an Associate professor (docent) of Paediatric Care Science and the leader of the Childhood Cancer Healthcare Research group at KI. Since the beginning of 2024, I am Senior lecturer in caring science, with a focus on care ethics at Uppsala university. Furthermore, I am a paediatric/adolescent nurse specialist with approximately 13 years of clinical experience from paediatric cancer care at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital/Solna.

I perform research and education in intercultural care and clinical ethics, and work with clinical ethics support in various national and international networks and organisations, such as:

• European Clinical Ethics Network (ECEN)
• NOPHO/NOBOS working group in ethics (WGE) in paediatric oncology
• Ethics Council of the Swedish Society of Nursing

I have also been active in several international collaborations, for example:

• International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP)
• Nursing Specialists of the WHO, Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC)
• Grounded Theory (GT) Advisory and Action Committee and the Grounded Theory Alliance

I was awarded SIOP Nursing Leadership Award 2022. The Nursing Leadership Award is bestowed upon any present or past member of the Society for his/her substantial contributions to paediatric oncology nursing.

Areas of interest/competence: clinical ethics, clinical ethics support services, global health, grounded theory method, intercultural care, nursing/healthcare research, paediatric oncology nursing, qualitative research methodology.

I perform research in two closely related areas: intercultural care and clinical ethics.
Intercultural care includes studies on experiences and main concerns of healthcare professionals, patients, parents, and interpreters in childhood cancer care. The results include different obstacles to intercultural care relationships and how they can be handled. A questionnaire on communication over language barriers (CoLB-q) has been developed, translated to the Nordic languages, and used in a Nordic study.

Clinical ethics includes studies on the ethical climate and moral distress, as well as research on ethics case reflection (ECR) rounds in the healthcare team and clinical ethics support for healthcare professionals, patients, and parents in childhood cancer care. Questionnaires on the ethical climate (HECS-S) and moral distress (MDS-R) have, after cultural adaptation and translation to the Nordic languages, been used in Nordic studies in paediatric cancer care. Furthermore, research is carried out to evaluate a training programme in facilitating ECR rounds, as well as specific outcomes of ECR rounds and the effects on patient care.

Classic Grounded Theory was the method I used in my dissertation to study patterns of behaviour snd core categories of the studies include: “Facading in transcultural relationships”, and “Protecting professional composure”. I continue using and teaching Grounded theory.

I teach intercultural care, clinical ethics, grounded theory method, and qualitative methodology. In addition, I am the educational leader and examiner of a national education in “Paediatric Oncology Nursing” in cooperation with continuing professional development at KI and the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund. I am also part of the organizing and training team for a Nordic educational program in facilitating ECR rounds in the care team, on behalf of the NOPHO/NOBOS working group in ethics, in collaboration with Bert Molewijk, Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands.

I have completed 18 credits of pedagogical education in higher education.