About
Dr. Veronica Bernacchi’s nursing career has focused on disparities across the cancer continuum. She worked with oncology patients as a clinical nurse, nurse leader, and case manager before entering academia. She graduated with her PhD in Nursing from the University of Virginia and then obtained a competitive Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship in the College of Medicine at Penn State University.
Bernacchi is a health disparities nurse-scientist with a program of research aiming to identify and ameliorate adverse social determinants of health contributing to disparities in cancer risk, incidence, and mortality. Her research program has focused on illuminating geographic cancer disparities, collaborating with informal caregivers to promote health equity, and leveraging technology to improve healthcare accessibility for underserved patients.
To identify adverse social determinants of health contributing to cancer disparities, Bernacchi has been PI on ecologic studies using national datasets. For example, she conducted a study examining disparities in smoking, lung cancer prevalence, and lung cancer mortality between counties that are rural and persistent poverty vs other county types. To ameliorate the impact of adverse social determinants of health on cancer disparities, Bernacchi has tested telehealth interventions that improve access to supportive nursing care for rural cancer patients.
Her research has been funded by the Rural Nurse Organization and Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship. Bernacchi’s research leverages the American Cancer Society Integrated Conceptual Framework for Understanding and Addressing Social Determinants to Advance Cancer Health Equity, and principles of epidemiology, anthropology, and community-engaged participatory research.