D.I.S.E.-DEMENTIA IMMERSION SIMULATION EXPERIENCE

Lyda C. Arévalo-Flechas, PhD, MSN, RN has earned national and international recognition for her research on the factors influencing Latino/Hispanic caregivers‘ perception of the experience of caring for a relative with Alzheimer‘s disease. Her nursing career spans more than 35 years, including working as an operating room nurse, serving as an officer in the United States Army Nurse Corps, teaching university students and as a researcher.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Dr. Arévalo-Flechas’ research interests include Latino/Hispanic caregiving, the concepts of caregiver satisfaction and duty fulfillment, and formulation of culturally informed theory of caregiving. Dr. Arévalo-Flechas is a bilingual and bicultural investigator with special interest in the cultural and linguistic competency of intervention programs for Latinos/Hispanics. She is active in mentoring healthcare professions students in the planning and implementation of clinical demonstration programs, community outreach, service learning programs, and study abroad experiences. Her teaching areas of interest are focused on gerontology, end-of-life care, family caregiving,  and cultural competence in the delivery of patient and family-centered health care services. Dr. Arévalo-Flechas is one of a handful of bilingual Hispanic PhD prepared registered nurses in the nation.

Dr. Arévalo-Flechas’ professional achievements include being a John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) Patricia Archbold Scholar (2006-2008), and a JAHF Claire M. Fagin Fellow (2008-2010). She also completed a STAR Health Disparities Fellowship at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (2015).  In 2011 she was inducted into the University of Texas System Academy of Master Teachers as a Distinguished Teaching Professor. She received the Presidential Excellence in Teaching Award from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), where she also held the William F. Castella Endowed Professorship in Aging Research. She was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2013, and is the recipient of the 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing Research Dissemination Award.   Dr. Arévalo-Flechas received her BSN from State University of New York at Binghamton, and her MSN and PhD from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She served as a caregiving expert panelist for AARP and wrote a monthly column for several years for AARP en español. She led the validation of the cultural and linguistic adaptation of the Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers in Spanish, and validated the translation using biomarkers. Dr. Arévalo-Flechas’ TEDx talk “All Alzheimer’s Caregivers are Not Created Equal” is used in cultural competence programs in health care professions, training of formal and informal caregivers, and caregiver support groups.
In addition, Dr. Arévalo-Flechas has contributed to the Morningside Ministries Caregiving Institute (mm.Learn.org) with the talk Caregiving as seen by Latino caregivers and its Spanish version ¿Cómo vemos los Latinos la experiencia de cuidar de los nuestros?  Her work and involvement in the caregiving community have been featured in the Miami Nuevo Herald, and The Washington Post.

Dr. Arévalo-Flechas directs the Dementia Caregiver Program at the Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital, and is the developer of the Dementia Immersion Simulation Experience (DISE) at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System.