Desai lauded as child life Research Fellow
Dr. Priti Desai, a certified child life specialist and a longtime expert in examining children and families’ coping with complex heart defects and other healthcare experiences, was inducted as a Research Fellow by the Association of Child Life Professionals.
She is one of 10 fellows in United States or Canada to earn this distinction. As a Research Fellow, she will serve as a subject matter expert, consult on research-related matters and promote research competency within the child life community through one-on-one mentorship and consultation to ACLP committees.
Desai is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, who exemplifies community engaged research and service. She founded camp WholeHeart in 2005, an annual camping weekend to provide positive life experiences for children and teenagers living with complex heart defects in eastern North Carolina, and studies the impact felt at Camp WholeHeart. She notes that participating in medical specialty camps with peers with similar health conditions helps lead to reduced feelings of isolation, increased self-esteem, and creates lasting friendships among campers.
Dr. Priti Desai said it is her privilege to gain trust in children and help unmask misconceptions to build their confidence in navigating stressful situations. (contributed photos)
Desai is passionate about building capacity for pediatric psychosocial care in low- and middle-income countries through training providers. She is a volunteer leader with Operation Smile and is an honorary faculty for Operation Smile Academy. Her Psychosocial Care Capacity Building course is available to learners worldwide through the OSA platform. Desai considers herself a “glocal” servant leader focused on increasing resilience in children and families facing healthcare challenges as well as promoting sustainability of the workforce through working with child life students at ECU, presenting research nationally and internationally, and engaging in training of pediatric psychosocial care providers worldwide.
Desai continues to volunteer directly with children at camp WholeHeart, and through Operation Smile.
“Children often mask their feelings and fears about their healthcare experiences,” she said. “It is my privilege to gain their trust and help unmask those misconceptions to build their confidence in navigating stressful situations.”
Desai received child life profession’s highest accolade, the Distinguished Service Award in 2013. Her past child life work experiences include at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She has founded a child life program in India, and formerly worked for the health education organization Centre for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness. She earned her doctorate in human development and family studies, as well as a master’s in child development, from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India; her MPH from Emory University in Atlanta; and BA in psychology from Gujarat University, India.
Dr. Priti Desai, third from left, in Virginia Beach, taking a seaside break with an international group of psychosocial care provider colleagues attending an Operation Smile training program.