Literature Review

Trends in pediatric palliative care research: February 2024 listPedPalASCNET, editor Hal Siden, MD, MHSc, FRCPC; email; 2/26/24PedPalASCNET: A network for accessible, sustainable, and collaborative research in pediatric palliative care. Trends in Pediatric Palliative Care Research, 2024, Issue 01.  

Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive. ~ C.S. Lewis

“Dying with a smile, just knowing that somebody’s listened to me”: End-of-life care and medical assistance in dying in Canadian prisonsOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, by Jessica Shaw, Peter Driftmier; 3/24Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) has been legal in Canada since 2016 and some incarcerated patients who are at the end of their lives are eligible for the procedure. Interviews with nine incarcerated men at a federal penitentiary in Canada provide insight into some of the ways that people who are navigating aging and end-of-life in prison think about MAiD.

Close but not close enough: How distance caregiving is associated with hospice family caregiver hospice communication experiencesHealth Communication, by Lauren T Starr, Karla Washington, Kyle Pitzer, Debra Parker Oliver, George Demiris; 3/24Half of hospice family caregivers report having unmet information needs, which can contribute to poor pain and symptom management, emergency department use, and hospice disenrollment for care-recipients and to caregiver strain and stress. Effective communication between hospice teams and family caregivers is critical yet communication inadequacies persist. Despite the growing prevalence of distance caregiving, including in hospice care, and the relationship between caregiver proximity and communication effectiveness, little is known about how caregiver proximity is associated with caregiver perceptions of hospice communication. 

Oncologist perceptions of racial disparity, racial anxiety, and unconscious bias in clinical interactions, treatment, and outcomesJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, by Alexandrina Balanean, Emily Bland, Ajeet Gajra, Yolaine Jeune-Smith, Andrew J Klink, Harlen Hays, Bruce A Feinberg; 2/24Cancer spares no demographic or socioeconomic group; it is indeed the great equalizer. But its distribution is not equal; when structural discrimination concentrates poverty and race, zip code surpasses genetic code in predicting outcomes. Compared with White patients in the United States, Black patients are less likely to receive appropriate treatment and referral to clinical trials, genetic testing, or palliative care/hospice.

Hospice fraud: Predicting ability and intentIllness, Crisis & Loss, by Laura M. Waters, Patricia Moyle Wright; 2/28/24Hospice fraud is a growing concern around the world. Yet, little attention has been given to the study of hospice fraud in the extant literature.

There is only one cardinal rule: One must always listen to the patient. ~Oliver Sacks, MD, Neurologist and Author

Other Business Headlines of Interest, updated 2/29/24 per nasdaq.com

Report of Hospice Election for Part D (Response File) U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services - Guidance Portal; 2/26/24 The purpose of this Change Request (CR) is to define the response file related to CR 13202. [Click on the title's link and follow prompts to download the Guidance Document.]

Bilingual patient navigation can improve palliative care outcomes for Hispanic patients Hospice News, by Holly Vossel; 2/28/24Bicultural and bilingual palliative patient navigator interventions may be a key to improving access to goal concordant care among Hispanic populations with serious illness, according to recent research. Researchers in a recent clinical trial sought to address whether integration of bilingual patient navigation interventions could improve palliative care outcomes in Hispanic patients with serious, noncancer illnesses.

Music therapy could help manage the pain of bereavementThe Conversation; 2/28/24Grief has always inspired songwriters. Popular songs including Let Me Go, by Gary Barlow, Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven and The Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics, were all written as a way of working through the grief of losing a loved one. ... Barlow’s Let Me Go, however, is a remarkably upbeat and joyful record, written from the perspective of the pop star’s stillborn daughter, Poppy.

Facing dementia: Clarifying end-of-life choices, supporting better lives The Hastings Center; 2/28/24The report includes 10 recommendations for policymakers, research funders, clinical and legal practitioners, and professional societies. ... “Facing Dementia: Clarifying End-of-Life Choices, Supporting Better Lives” is the major product of a Hastings Center research project, codirected by Hastings senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger and President Emerita Mildred Z. Solomon.