Shivani Kaushik, PhD, MSSW

(She, Her, Hers)

Assistant Professor of Teaching

Social Work

Other Titles: BSW, BA
Office: ARTS 153
Email: shivani.kaushik@ubc.ca

Research Summary

End-of-life care; grief and loss; correctional health care; compassionate release policies; capital punishment; aging; existentialism; qualitative measures

Courses & Teaching

SOCW 551 - Advanced Social Work Theory and Practice

Biography

• Dr. Kaushik is an end-of-life care social worker with over ten years of experience in the clinical field.
• Clinical experience: Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Postpartum, Long-term Care, Complex Chronic Diseases, End-of-life Care & Bereavement Counseling (individual and group).
• Her research interests are aimed towards end-of-life care interventions in correctional settings, including peer-caregiving models of care and compassionate release policies.
• Has presented at over 30 conferences on correctional health care in Canada, the US, and Australia.

Websites

Google Scholar

Degrees

PhD in Social Work - Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO)
Masters of Science in Social Work - Columbia University (New York City, NY)
BSW - University of Calgary (Calgary, AB)
BA in Sociology, Psychology - McGill University (Montreal, QC)

Selected Publications & Presentations

Selected Publications

Kaushik, S. (2025). Terminal Justice: Where Compassionate Care Meets Capital Punishment. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, 21(3), 180–183.

Kaushik, S., & Currin-McCulloch, J. (2022). Dying for a change: A systematic review of compassionate release policies. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 19(1), 47–62.

Kaushik, S., & Currin-McCulloch, J. (2022). Louisiana State Penitentiary: A textual analysis of correctional staff views on end-of-life care. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 28(4), 220–226.

Currin-McCulloch, J., Chen, Q., Kaushik, S., Sparks, D., & Jones, B. (2022). The Courage to Continue: Healthcare Social Worker’s Resilience During COVID-19. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care.

Currin-McCulloch, J., Kaushik, S., & Jones, B. (2021). “When Will I Feel Normal?”: Disorienting Grief Responses Among Young Adults With Advanced Cancer. Cancer Nursing.

Currin-McCulloch, J., Chapman, B., Carson, C., Fundalinski, K., Hays, M., Budai, P., & Kaushik, S. (2021). Hearts above water: Palliative care during a pandemic. Social Work in Health Care.

Selected Presentations

Kaushik, S. (ant. 2026, June). “Dying for a Change: A Systematic Review of Compassionate Release Policies.” Paper presented at the meeting of The Joint Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development, Nairobi, Kenya.

Kaushik, S. (2025, October). “Dying for a Change: A Systematic Review of Compassionate Release Policies.” Paper presented at the meeting of The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association Conference (CHPCA), Nanaimo, BC.

Kaushik, S. (2025, April). “Terminal Justice: Where Compassionate Care Meets Capital Punishment”. Paper presented at the meeting of the Academic and Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health, Austin, TX.

Kaushik, S. (2024, October). “Motivational Factors of Peer-Volunteer Caregivers in End-of-Life Programs: A Qualitative Study” Paper presented at the meeting of the National Commission of Correctional Health Care (NCCHC), Las Vegas, NV.

Kaushik, S. (2024, April). “To Emerge from the Shadows”: Motivational Factors of End-of-life Care Peer Volunteers. Paper presented at the meeting of the Academic and Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health, Phoenix, AZ.

Kaushik, S. (2024, March). Panelist for “Canada: Aging Behind Bars”. Consulate General of Canada. New York City, NY.

Kaushik, S. (2022, April). Louisiana State Penitentiary: A Textual Analysis of Correctional Staff Views on End-of-life Care. Paper presented (as 30-minute educational session) at the meeting of the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) General Assembly, Santa Fe, NM.

Kaushik, S. (2021, September). End-of-life Care in Correctional Settings: A Scoping Literature Review. Paper presented at the meeting of the Oceanic Palliative Care Australia Conference 2021, Virtual.