Date & Time: Wednesday September 30th, 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET - 11:00am PT/2:00pm ET
Presented by: Aadya Bhatia, LCSW, OSW-C
While the death experience is difficult across different cultures and languages, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations, or minority ethnic communities, face unique barriers in accessing equitable, compassionate and inclusive palliative and end-of-life care. Across literature, language discordance, poor health literacy, cultural stigma, mistrust of healthcare providers and systems, inadequate access to professional interpretation services, a lack of involvement of community partnership in the development of cross-cultural trainings, and a lack of culturally-responsive and reflective clinical practices, all lead to a breakdown in care-communication, and a reduced quality of care for CALD patients. Inadequacy in addressing these barriers can result in feelings of isolation among CALD patients, uninformed and aggressive treatment decisions and overall poor health outcomes. Evidence suggests that tailoring health education and communication tools to diverse languages may support palliative care decision-making and promote language justice for CALD patients. This virtual presentation explores and addresses clinicians’ challenges in navigating cultural differences, and provides insights on reflective and practical, cross-cultural training approaches which expand existing theoretical knowledge, and utilize insights from the lived-experiences of community members and language interpreters. Additionally, this presentation contains a group activity-based learning component, which incorporates and reinforces the aforementioned themes through practical application and collaborative peer learning.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will learn to recognize how differences in culture and language impact the end-of-life experiences of minority ethnic communities or Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) patient populations.
- Participants will learn to identify tools such as; skilled-medical interpretation services, in-language resources for advanced care planning, culturally informed decision-making models factoring in family-caregiving values, and trust-building activities, which may all be applied in a clinical setting.
- Participants will be provided with the opportunity to implement the above tools and techniques in an educational group activity where they can practice their skills in real time and discuss the learning-implications with their peers.
About the Speaker:
Aadya Bhatia, LCSW, OSW-C (she/her) is a bilingual oncology and palliative care social worker at Northwell Health Cancer Institute in Rego Park, where she provides culturally responsive care in English, Hindi, and Urdu. She facilitates a monthly Hindi-speaking cancer support group for women, fostering community and emotional support for participants across the South Asian diaspora.
An incoming DSW candidate at NYU Silver School of Social Work, Aadya earned her MSW from NYU Silver in 2022, and completed both the Zelda Foster Palliative and End-of-Life Care (PELC) Fellowship, as well as the Social Sector Leadership Diversity (SSLD) Fellowship. She is also an alumna (2023) and incoming mentor (2026) of Northwell's Clinical MAP-IT Fellowship.
Drawing on six years of clinical experience across organizations like, Catholic Charities, Mount Sinai, and Northwell Health, Aadya's work lies at the intersection of oncology, palliative care, grief, bereavement, and health equity. Her clinical practice and scholarship examine how culture, language, and identity shape experiences of serious illness and end-of-life care, with a particular focus on expanding access to compassionate, person-centered care for historically underserved communities.
Aadya has presented her clinical work and research at Northwell Health (2025), Red Door's Oncology Professionals Conference (2023–2025), NYU Silver (MSW Orientation Panel, 2024; Guest Lecturer, 2024–2025), Hunter College (2025–2026), Fordham University (2026), and the national SWHPN Annual Conference (2026). Whether providing direct clinical care, mentoring emerging professionals, or contributing to scholarship, she is guided by a commitment to equity, cultural humility, and ensuring that every person facing serious illness is met with dignity, compassion, and kindness.