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Ethics Scholarship

Faculty within the Children’s Mercy Bioethics Center invest in seeing mentored capstone and fellowship projects through to publication or presentation while also engaging in their own scholarly work. Recent (2025- present) faculty publications and presentation are shared below:

Recent Publication from Faculty

  • Chan Poon KTC, Rent S, Pittman R, Lemmon ME, Izatt S, Kukora S. (2026). Interprofessional perspectives on withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy in the neonatal intensive care unit: A survey study. Journal of Perinatology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-026-02780-0
  • Garrett JR, Knackstedt AD, Kukora SK. (2026). Navigating ethical tensions when parents refuse medically recommended vaccination for children with underlying conditions. American Journal of Bioethics, 26(7), 106–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2026.2678941
  • Hadden I, Knackstedt A, Ellis K, Kukora S. (2026). Moral tensions at the bedside: A survey of neonatal nurses' perceptions of trisomy 18 care. Journal of Perinatology.
  • Kassa B, Melesse A, Etissa EK, Haile BW, Tekleab AM, Kukora S. (2026). Clinical ethics training needs among pediatricians and pediatric residents in Ethiopia: Conference-based cross-sectional survey. BMC Med Ethics. https:// doi.org/10.1186/s12910-026-01487-3
  • Kraft SA, Brickler A, Beretta A, Jain R, Kelsh A, Ahmad KA, Clapp JT, Dickert NW, Dorner RA, Guttmann KF, Katheria AC, Kukora S, Mooso BA, Weiss EM. (2026). Parent perspectives on neonatal research without prior consent: A mixed-methods interview study. BMC Med Ethics 27,111.
  • Weiss EM, Brickler A, Beretta A, Ahmad KA, Dickert NW, Dorner RA, Field E, Guttmann K, Katheria AC, Kukora S, Montoya-Williams D, Mooso BA, Kraft SA. (2026). Ethical considerations for using alternative methods of consent in neonatal clinical trials: Recommendations from a modified Delphi consensus process. Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal & Neonatal Edition, fetalneonatal-2025-330059. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2025-330059
  • Abadi M, Workneh R, Kukora S, Perez K, Valentine G, Barbut G, Kassa BB, Abayneh M, Rent S. (2025). The power of professional clinical ethicists in low- and middle-income countries: An Ethiopian perspective. American Journal of Bioethics, 25(3), 95–98.
  • Hansen K, Kukora S, Sherman AK, Feldman K. (2025). Mental health in pregnancy complicated by fetal anomaly: Depression screening and referrals in a single fetal care center. Journal of Perinatology, 45(6), 726–731. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-02118-8
  • Kukora S, Batell B, Ravi N, Zikmund-Fisher BJ, Thompson C, Mullan PB. (2025). Impact of improvisation training on medical students’ experience with medical communication in clinical rotations—A single-center mixed-methods study. Medical Science Educator. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-025-02478-6
  • Kukora S, Ryan K, Yan H, Clarke R, Arslanian-Engoren C, Pituch K. (2025). Development and acceptability testing of a tracheostomy decision support video for parents. PEC Innovation, 7, 100412.
  • McNolty LA, Garrett JR. (2025). Women’s democratic empowerment matters for child health. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 53(2), 296–297.
  • Rholl E, Krick JA, Leuthner SR, Pan AY, Challa SA, Kukora S. (2025). Neonatologists' perceptions of uncertainty: A national survey. Journal of Perinatology 45,1816–1817. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02292-3
  • Wozniak PS, Fernandes AK, Kukora S. (2025). Defining the threshold of birth: Ethical introduction of artificial placenta and artificial womb technology in the neonatal intensive care unit. Journal of Perinatology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02456-1
  • Yan H, Arslanian-Engoren C, Pituch KJ, Deldin PJ, Graham-Bermann SA, Kukora S. (2025). Parental values during tracheostomy decision-making for their critically ill child: Interviews of parents who just made the decision. Children, 12(9),1115. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12091115

Recent Presentations at Academic Meetings

  • Bergman H, Kukora S, Garrett JR, When Caution Becomes Discrimination: Analyzing Ethical Failures in Institutional Responses to Gender-Affirming Care Bans, 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, Indianapolis, IN. (October 2026)
  • Garrett JR, Against Medical Exceptionalism in Pediatric Bioethics. 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, Indianapolis, IN. (October 2026).
  • Thompson W, McGowan M, Garrett JR, Escandon R, Innovation or Experimentation: Ethical Governance of AI-Guided Drug Repurposing for Rare Disease, 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities (October 2026).
  • Chan Poon CK, Rent S, Lemmon M, Izatt S, Kukora S, Interprofessional Perspectives on Withdrawal of Life Supportive Therapy in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Survey Study, Pediatric Academic Societies 2026 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Boston, MA. (April 2026).
  • Hadden I, Knackstedt A, Ellis K, Kukora S, Moral Tensions at the Bedside: A Survey of Neonatal Nurses’ Perceptions of Trisomy 18 Care, Pediatric Academic Societies 2026 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Boston, MA. (April 2026).
  • Jeong S, Stage MA, Blum RH, Meyer EC, Ruben MA, Blanch-Hartigan D, Waisel DB, Kukora S, The Pediatric Anesthesia Informed Consent Tool (PACT) to Improve Patient and Parent Engagement: Development and Pilot Testing, Pediatric Academic Societies 2026 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Boston, MA. (April 2026).
  • Kraft S, Brickler A, Beretta A, Ahmad K, Clapp J, Dickert NW, Dorner RA, Field E, Guttmann K, Katheria A, Kelsh A, Kukora S, Montoya-Williams D, Mooso B, Natour M, Heck Ryan L, Sekhon S, Weiss SS, Weiss E, Ethical Considerations for Using Alternative Methods of Consent in Neonatal Clinical Trials: Recommendations from a Modified Delphi Consensus Process, Pediatric Academic Societies 2026 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Boston, MA. (April 2026).
  • Kukora S, Kassa BB, Asthma and Airway Management in Low-Resource Settings Workshop, Midwest Pediatric Conference for Medical Students, Children's Mercy Kansas City, MO. (April 2026).
  • Kukora S, Keyser Endelman E, Moerdler S, Hanson SG, Good Faith Conversations: A Medical Improv Workshop for Clinicians Navigating Religion and Belief at the Bedside, Pediatric Academic Societies 2026 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Boston, MA. (April 2026).
  • Reed D, Newman R, Etzenhouser A, Killough E, Kukora S, Ellis K, All the Gray: Developing a Bioethics Education for Pediatric Residents, Association of Pediatric Program Directors Spring Meeting, Association of Pediatric Program Directors, Denver, CO. (April 2026).
  • Reed D, Newman R, Killough E, Etzenhouser A, Kukora S, Ellis K, Working through Uncertainty: Implementation of a Bioethics Didactic for Pediatric Residents, Association of Pediatric Program Directors Spring Meeting, Association of Pediatric Program Directors, Denver, CO. (April 2026).
  • Watkins VS, Knackstedt A, Carter BS, Garrett JR, Lewis KO, Kukora S, Evaluating the Impact of a Certificate Program in Pediatric Bioethics for Interdisciplinary Healthcare Professionals on Professional Development and Practice. Pediatric Academic Societies 2026 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Boston, MA. (April 2026).
  • Daughtrey H, Garrett JR, Kukora S, Cintron C, Madrigal V, Kirsch R, Navigating Ethical Challenges in the Use of Single Ventricle Assist Devices for Children, 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, Portland, OR. (October 2025).
  • Ellis K, Kukora S, Garrett JR, Carter B, Comparing Models for Clinical Ethics Consultation: Which Approach is Best for Pediatrics?, 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, Portland, OR. (October 2025).
  • Kukora S, Knackstedt A, Watkins V, Carter B, A Review of the First 14 Years of a Novel Pediatric Bioethics Certificate Program for Interdisciplinary Pediatric Healthcare Professionals, 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, Portland, OR. (October 2025).
  • Wilson S, Kukora S, Gregory E, Subramanian S, Weiss E, Informed Non-dissent: An Underutilized Tool in the Intensive Care Unit, 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, Portland, OR. (October 2025).
  • Kukora S, Batell B, The Art of the Debrief in Medical Improv, Medical Improv Collaborative Conference, Medical Improv Collaborative, Kansas City, MO. (July 2025).
  • Batell B, Kukora S, “Improv”-ing Shared Decision-Making: Skills for Complex Communication in Goals-of-Care Conversations, Principled Practice: Integrating Ethics into Medical Decision Making, Society for Medical Decision-Making 47th Annual Meeting, Society for Medical Decision-Making (SMDM), Ann Arbor, MI. (June 2025).
  • Galligan A, Kiluk V, Weiss A, Guidi J, Kukora S, Tierno B, Moving Beyond Yes And...Using Medical Improv to Navigate Difficult Conversations, COMSEP (The Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics) 2025 Annual Meeting, The Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, Indianapolis, IN. (April 2025).
  • Raheim S, Alemar MF, Workneh R, Rent S, Perez K, Kukora S, Valentine G, Abayneh M, Palliative Care Communication in a High-Volume Tertiary Referral Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Ethiopia, Pediatric Academic Societies 2025 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Honolulu, HI. (April 2025).
  • Sanchez R, Marc-Aurele K, Kukora S, Carey J, Carter B, Parental Voice in Shared Decision-Making: Evaluating the Experiences of Parents of Children with Trisomy 13 and 18, Pediatric Academic Societies 2025 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Honolulu, HI. (April 2025).
  • Sivakumar N, Kukora S, Ginwalla C, Lakshminrusimha S, Rosenthal J, Provider Perceptions of End-of-Life Care Decision Making in the NICU and PICU, Pediatric Academic Societies 2025 Annual Meeting, Pediatric Academic Societies, Honolulu, HI. (April 2025).
  • Greene C, Garrett J, Reed D, Kukora S, "Improv"-ing Communication: Communication Skills Education for Pediatric Residents at Children's Mercy Hospital, Association of Pediatric Program Directors Annual Spring Meeting, Association of Pediatric Program Directors, Atlanta, GA. (March 2025).
  • Lartey L, Chrans M, Ross N, Kukora S, Cultural Brokerage in Pregnancy-Related Options Counseling in the Midwest, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, Annual Conference, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, Washington, DC. (March 2025).
  • Garrett JR, McNolty L. Rethinking Disability in Pediatric Ethics: Historical and Conceptual Reflections to Improve Clinical Practice. KUMC Student Bioethics Society. University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, MO. (February 2025).
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