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Welcome to Hospice & Palliative Care Today, a daily email summarizing numerous topics essential for understanding the current landscape of serious illness and end-of-life care. Recent TCN Talks podcasts / videos reviewing Hospice & Palliative Care Today monthly content available for 2024: January; February; March; April, May, and June.
Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!
Further psychometric evaluation of the eight-item Hospice Philosophy Scale: Results from a national sample of interdisciplinary hospice clinicians
Journal of Applied Gerontology; by Todd D Becker, Sarah E Clem, Paul Sacco, John G Cagle, Joan K Davitt, Nancy Kusmaul; 7/20/24 online ahead of print
This study examined the psychometric properties of the eight-item Hospice Philosophy Scale (HPS-8) through confirmatory factor analysis; differential item functioning by age, gender, race, and professional discipline; and internal consistency reliability. ... Our results support the HPS-8 as a valid and reliable measure of attitudes toward the hospice philosophy of care in hospice clinicians.
Longitudinal analysis of cancer family caregiver perception of sleep difficulty during home hospice
American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care; William Hull, Gary Donaldson, Kristin G Cloyes, Lee Ellington, Kathryn Lee, Kathleen Mooney; 7/22/24
Our findings indicate that family caregivers who cohabitate exhibit increased perception of sleep difficulty over the course of hospice. Future studies and interventions for hospice family caregivers' sleep should consider cohabitation between the patient and the caregiver as a significant predictor of sleep difficulty to observe and potentially mediate the negative outcomes associated with caregiver sleep difficulty. Further, determining the underlying reasons for sleep difficulty in cohabitation (e.g., patient symptoms or treatments) should be explored.
Editor's Note: What evening, weekend, and holiday support do you provide for your hospice patients' family caregivers? To what extent can they trust your organization to be responsive to the patients' needs during non-business hours? Does your interdisciplinary team assess this stress, provide supportive family education, and suggest appropriate interventions?
Omega - Journal of Death and Dying - June 2024
Sage Journals - Omega - Journal of Death and Dying; June 2024 issue
Omega - Journal of Death and Dying, a peer-reviewed journal that says it brings insight into terminal illness, the process of dying, bereavement, mourning, funeral customs and suicide, published research articles on the following topics in its June 2024 edition (Vol. 89, Issue 2). [A few sample topics include the following:]
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Medicare-Covered Services Near the End of Life in Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare
JAMA Health Forum; by Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Stacy M Fischer, Alicia I Arbaje, Marcelo Coca Perraillon, Christine D Jones, Daniel Polsky; 7/24
Financial incentives in Medicare Advantage (MA), the managed care alternative to traditional Medicare (TM), were designed to reduce overutilization. For patients near the end of life (EOL), MA incentives may reduce potentially burdensome care and encourage hospice but could also restrict access to costly but necessary services. MA enrollment was associated with lower rates of potentially burdensome and facility-based care near the EOL. Greater use of home-based care may improve quality of care but may also leave patients without adequate assistance after hospitalization.
Palliative Medicine [Journal] - June 2024 Issue
Sage Journals - Palliative Medicine; June 2024 issue
Palliative Medicine is a highly ranked, peer reviewed scholarly journal dedicated to improving knowledge and clinical practice in the palliative care of patients with far advanced disease. It reflects the multidisciplinary approach that is the hallmark of effective palliative care. [A few sample topics include:]
The home-based experiences of palliative and hospice care for children and caregivers (EXPERIENCE) Measure: evaluation of psychometric properties
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Jackelyn Y Boyden, Mary Ersek, Kimberley A Widger, Judy A Shea, Chris Feudtner; 6/24
Home-based pediatric palliative and hospice care (PPHC) supports the hundreds of thousands of children with serious illness and complex care needs and their families in the home setting. The EXPERIENCE Measure is a tool with evidence for reliable and valid scores to evaluate family-reported home-based PPHC experiences at the time care is being received.
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Psychiatric manifestations of neurological diseases: a narrative review
Cureus Journal of Medical Science; Anthony J. Maristany, Brianna C. Sa, Cameron Murray, Ashwin B. Subramaniam, Sean E. Oldak; 7/24
Neurological diseases like Alzheimer's, FTD [frontotemporal dementia], Parkinson's, MS [multiple sclerosis], stroke, epilepsy, Huntington's, ALS [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis], TBI [traumatic brain injury], and MSA [multiple system atrophy] are not only characterized by neurological symptoms but also by various psychiatric manifestations, complicating diagnosis and treatment. For instance, Alzheimer's induces cognitive decline and emotional distress, Parkinson's leads to motor impairments and mood disorders, and MS intertwines physical symptoms with emotional disturbances. Understanding these complex relationships is crucial for comprehensive care. Collaboration, innovation, and ethical commitment are essential for improving outcomes.
The Uniform Determination of Death Act is not changing. Will physicians continue to misdiagnose brain death?
The American Journal of Bioethics; Michael Nair-Collins; 7/24
Efforts to revise the Uniform Determination of Death Act [UDDA] in order to align law with medical practice have failed. It has long been common practice to declare some patients dead by neurologic criteria even though they do not meet the legal standard for death. Thus, legally living people will continue to be declared dead, not because of a mistake, but because of a choice. The decision to continue misdiagnosing death according to the law will create routine violations of civil rights, will continue to violate the DDR [dead donor rule] that allegedly is such an important red line for organ transplantation, and will contribute to a well-deserved mistrust in the determination of death.
Fulfilling last wishes: improving the compassionate discharge process
[Singapore] British Medical Journal Open Quality; by Rasidah Alias, Yi Ling Neo, Liyun Wang, Long Zhen Sie, Hwee Jin Goh, Mohamed Yazid Mohamed Hussein , Hasnah Abdullah, Yoke Ping Wong; 7/24
Compassionate discharges (ComD), commonly known as rapid discharges, are urgent one-way discharges for critically ill hospitalised patients with death expected within hours or less than 7 days, to die at their place of choice-usually in their own home. Challenges abound in this time-sensitive setting when multiple parties must work together to prepare medically unstable patients for discharge, yet healthcare staff are largely unaware of the process, resulting in delays. Three Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were used to refine a ComD resource package that was developed ... in order ... to support nurses, doctors and families during this difficult and emotional transition. The 12-month ComD success rate ... demonstrated ... a consistent reduction in the level of family anxiety before and after caregiver training and resources.
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The Fine Print:
Paywalls: Some links may take readers to articles that either require registration or are behind a paywall. Disclaimer: Hospice & Palliative Care Today provides brief summaries of news stories of interest to hospice, palliative, and end-of-life care professionals (typically taken directly from the source article). Hospice & Palliative Care Today is not responsible or liable for the validity or reliability of information in these articles and directs the reader to authors of the source articles for questions or comments. Additionally, Dr. Cordt Kassner, Publisher, and Dr. Joy Berger, Editor in Chief, welcome your feedback regarding content of Hospice & Palliative Care Today. Unsubscribe: Hospice & Palliative Care Today is a free subscription email. If you believe you have received this email in error, or if you no longer wish to receive Hospice & Palliative Care Today, please unsubscribe here or reply to this email with the message “Unsubscribe”. Thank you.