Betty Irene Moore Fellow publishes ethnography book about cancer care in India

February 26, 2025

By Megan Hansen

Virginia LeBaron, 2023 cohort Betty Irene Moore Fellow, published "Caring in Context: An Ethnography of Cancer Nursing in India."

Moved by the challenging conditions faced by nurses in India, Virginia LeBaron was inspired to write a book highlighting the need for more equitable global cancer care. As a 2023 cohort Betty Irene Moore Fellow, she aims to amplify this message and drive meaningful policy change.

LeBaron, Kluge-Schakat Associate Professor of Compassionate Care at the University of Virginia School of Nursing, recently published “Caring in Context: An Ethnography of Cancer Nursing in India.” Drawing on LeBaron’s research as a Fulbright-Nehru scholar in India, the book offers an account of how nurses navigate the challenges of providing cancer care in resource-limited settings, highlighting the need for global attention and advocacy.

“We must recognize the impossible situation we place nurses in when we ask them to provide care without basic infrastructure or resources. This demands a greater appreciation for the cultural and societal factors that shape how care is delivered and a deeper commitment to supporting nurses, who cannot care for others if we fail to care for them,” LeBaron said.

A photo taken by Virginia LeBaron shows a nurse in India preparing pre-chemotherapy medications without adequate protective gear.

During her Doctor of Philosophy program in 2011-2012, LeBaron traveled to India as a Fulbright-Nehru scholar to collect data for her dissertation, building on her long-standing commitment to global health. Since 2004, she had collaborated with the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research, working alongside palliative care groups in Nepal, India and parts of Africa. These experiences ignited her passion for improving cancer care and laid the foundation for her ethnographic research.

Observing and interviewing cancer nurses in India revealed the daily challenges and potential hazards they encounter in their work. LeBaron recounts a particularly troubling memory of working with nurses who had to administer chemotherapy without adequate protective gear.

"Chemotherapy is potentially very dangerous and it’s important to minimize your exposure as the nurse when giving these medications,” LeBaron explained. “Witnessing the nurses prepare and administer chemotherapy without gloves or respiratory protection was very difficult. To me, that is a prime example of unfairly asking nurses to care for others but putting them in harm’s way.”

Betty Irene Moore Fellows Virginia LeBaron and Michelle Litchman sit with Susan C. Reinhard, visiting professor with the fellowship program and Fellowship National Advisory Council member, during a Convocation 2023 event. 

By documenting the lived experiences of nurses in her book, LeBaron hopes to foster a greater awareness of global cancer care inequities and advocate for more equitable health policies. She is exploring the best methods for sharing her research with policymakers as part of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators program.

“The fellowship has allowed me to think more strategically about my role as a nurse leader and how we can leverage research to change policy,” LeBaron said. “For example, perhaps my research can influence policymakers to require pharmaceutical companies that ship chemotherapy treatments to resource-constrained settings to include protective gear for nurses along with the medications.”

As a nationally recognized expert in health and long-term care policy, Susan C. Reinhard is helping LeBaron and other fellows translate research into action to promote policy change. Reinhard, a visiting professor with the fellowship program and a founding Fellowship National Advisory Council member, serves as LeBaron’s program-appointed national mentor.

“Nurses have frontline experience that makes them powerful advocates for policy change,” Reinhard said. “Dr. LeBaron’s ethnographic research in India sheds light on systemic challenges, including gaps in care delivery and cultural barriers to treatment. These findings provide critical evidence to inform and shape policies that better address the needs of diverse communities. As part of this fellowship, we’re focused on identifying the most effective ways to share such insights with decision-makers.”

Virginia LeBaron shares her vision statement for her fellowship project during Convocation 2024. 

Ensuring everyone has access to quality cancer care is deeply important to LeBaron, who worked for many years as a palliative care nurse practitioner and oncology nurse before moving into a research-focused role. 

Her fellowship project focuses on developing and testing a mobile health solution to improve communication between people living with serious illness, such as cancer, and their providers.

“We currently don’t have great methods to measure how effectively clinicians communicate with patients and family members in the actual clinical setting,” LeBaron explained. “My fellowship project involves deploying an application our team developed, called CommSense, on a smartwatch that can audio-record conversations and provide actionable feedback to clinicians about their communication. For example, CommSense could let providers know how much medical jargon they are using or suggest asking more open-ended questions.”

LeBaron’s project has the potential to reduce health disparities by addressing communication barriers that can negatively impact health outcomes for vulnerable populations, including minoritized racial and ethnic groups and individuals with limited English proficiency.

Heather M. Young, fellowship national program director, said LeBaron’s book and work in the fellowship program highlight the potential for nurse leaders to drive meaningful policy change and improve health care delivery on a global scale.

“Dr. LeBaron’s dedication to amplifying the voices of nurses and addressing disparities in cancer care offers hope for more equitable and compassionate health care systems. By translating research insights into actionable solutions, she’s paving the way for innovations that can truly transform care for individuals with cancer worldwide,” Young said.