Literature Review



New study uncovers significant variations in life expectancy across U.S. states

05/12/25 at 02:00 AM

New study uncovers significant variations in life expectancy across U.S. states Bioengineer.org - Health; by Bioengineer; 5/7/25 "A Century of Unequal Longevity: How Geography and Policy Sculpt Life Expectancy in the United States"In an extensive new investigation led by the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH), researchers have unveiled profound disparities in life expectancy trends throughout the United States over the last hundred years. This groundbreaking study reveals how the interplay between public health policies, social environments, and regional factors critically shapes the longevity of populations across states and the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. ... The findings are striking: while states in the Northeast and West Coast, alongside the District of Columbia, achieved remarkable gains in life expectancy over the twentieth century, several Southern states remained largely stagnant. Specifically, females born in some parts of the South experienced life expectancy increases of less than three years between 1900 and 2000.

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Trailor for "The Chaplain & The Doctor"

05/11/25 at 03:55 AM

Trailor for "The Chaplain & The Doctor" Reel Medicine Media; retrieved from the internet 5/5/25This video premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival April 21st and 23rd. Two unlikely allies work to bring curiosity, connection, and compassion to a broken healthcare system, one patient at a time. Betty Clark is an 80-year-old, African American chaplain on staff at The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus, the level-one trauma center in Oakland, California. Jessica Zitter is a white, Jewish physician who has been Betty’s colleague on the Palliative Care service for over a decade. The two women are an unlikely team: chaplains and doctors do not usually pair up within the hierarchical and siloed halls of the hospital. ... But with time, the two women’s shared values and history overcome the forces that keep them apart, and they go on to do their best work together. Under Betty’s guidance, Jessica begins a journey to understand the barriers and biases that doctors like herself often bring to the bedside. As Betty starts to face her own health challenges, Jessica takes over her care through a deeply personal lens, witnessing more intimately the experience of patients of color in America’s hospitals – this time, with someone she’s grown to love.

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Haven Hospice's [FL] E.T. York Hospice Care Center implements "Christmas Room"

05/11/25 at 03:50 AM

Haven Hospice's [FL] E.T. York Hospice Care Center implements "Christmas Room"Haven Hospice press release; by Hailey Reidy; 4/3/25Haven Hospice's E.T. York Hospice Care Center in Gainesville has created a Christmas Room to allow their pediatric patients to celebrate with their families. The room came to be at the wish of these patients wanting to celebrate Christmas one last time which their care team and other member of Haven's team supported. The Haven Women of Philanthropy group also supported the room, covering the cost and gathering supplies.Article posted in Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association's newsletter The Hospice Professional.

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Private equity in health care

05/11/25 at 03:45 AM

Private equity in health careAMA Journal of Ethics; 5/25One way private equity differs from other for-profit investments is by aiming to maximize profitability while minimizing long-term holdings in such investments. Valuation for private equity acquisitions in health care has grown to over 150 billion dollars since 2020, and expansion continues. One reason private equity investment in the health sector deserves close ethical attention is that private equity firms are, generally, not interested in managing patient panels, clinician personnel, or making service delivery streams work for patients. Another reason is that influx of private equity investment in health care tends to consolidate markets for health services, undermining competition and driving up costs for patients. This theme issue considers which criteria should be used to determine whether, when, and for whom buying and selling of private equity in health care stands up to ethical, clinical, and legal scrutiny and considers how to better guide and regulate private equity transactions in health care.Publisher's note: This entire journal issue (14 articles) focuses on the role of private equity in health care.

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The Big Bend Hospice linen drive brings comfort to patients in rural communities: Addressing a critical need in underserved areas

05/11/25 at 03:40 AM

The Big Bend Hospice linen drive brings comfort to patients in rural communities: Addressing a critical need in underserved areas ABC WTXL-TV 27, Tallahassee/Monticello, FL; by Lentheus Chaney; 4/30/25 In Jefferson County, kindness sometimes comes in the form of cotton. Big Bend Hospice is collecting linens here to help patients face their final days with dignity. Big Bend Hospice just launched a linen drive. It's asking neighbors to donate new Twin XL-sized bed sheets. They'll be used for patients across Jefferson, Madison, and Taylor counties. The drive's goal is to ensure no one spends their final days without the comfort of clean sheets—something most of us take for granted. The  need is especially great in rural areas. According to state data, hospice use in parts of North Florida lags behind the statewide average—just 57%. That's compared to nearly 66% across Florida. That gap means fewer resources in the places that need them most.Editor's note: Typically, we don't post donor-related articles until after completion. However, this unique community outreach by Big Bend Hospice raises our awareness of practical, simple, meaningful outreach in underserved rural areas. What practical, affordable, meaningful outreach does this spark for your hospice's rural--or other underserved--patients?

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‘I want to pat dogs until I die’: End-of-life planning should be more than just Living Wills

05/11/25 at 03:35 AM

‘I want to pat dogs until I die’: End-of-life planning should be more than just Living Wills Healthy Debate; by Kathy Kastner; 5/4/25 France Légaré, Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision-Making and Knowledge Mobilization, wants to have stimulating conversations and be able to move around with her dog until she dies. Daneil Martin, the Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Women’s College Hospital, wants to “smell chocolate until I die.” The two doctors are among the 200+ who took the time to fill in the blank on a whiteboard, “I WANT TO__ UNTIL I DIE,” an initiative I undertook after tuning in to a hospice and palliative care medicine Twitter chat in the good old days of Twitter. As a layperson who became an entrepreneur in the health space, I was intrigued by the lament of health-care professionals on the chat: If only people talked about end-of-life wishes more, much grief could be avoided. 

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NPHI Honors Visionary Leaders and Organizations at 2025 Annual Summit

05/11/25 at 03:30 AM

NPHI Honors Visionary Leaders and Organizations at 2025 Annual Summit National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; Press Release; 5/6/25 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) proudly recognized three outstanding leaders and organizations during its 2025 Annual Summit, honoring their profound contributions to end-of-life care. These annual awards celebrate those who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to innovation, compassion, and person-centered care in the hospice, palliative, and advanced illness care field.  

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American Nurses Enterprise celebrates the power of nurses during National Nurses Week, May 6-12

05/11/25 at 03:25 AM

American Nurses Enterprise celebrates the power of nurses during National Nurses Week, May 6-12 American Nurses Enterprise: American Nurses Association - American Nurses Credentialing Center, American Nurses Foundation, Silver Spring, MD; newsroom@ana.org; 4/20/25 Today, the American Nurses Enterprise — encompassing the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) — kicks off National Nurses Week (May 6–12) with a powerful message: The Power of Nurses™. This year’s campaign shines a national spotlight on nurses as the driving force behind compassionate care, innovation, and transformative changes in healthcare. From coast to coast, the enterprise is launching a series of high-impact events — including a national press conference, educational webinars, landmark light-ups, and direct engagement with policymakers—to celebrate the unparalleled contributions of nurses and call on the public to honor their essential role in shaping a healthier future for all.Editor's note: For more, explore "National Nurses Week History" and our "Today's Encouragement."

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[France] Deputies approve bill creating Right to Assisted Dying

05/11/25 at 03:20 AM

[France] Deputies approve bill creating Right to Assisted Dying Time.News; 5/3/25 Is the right to die a fundamental human right, or a risky step towards devaluing life? France is grappling with this profound question as a new bill edges closer to legalizing aid in dying. the implications could ripple far beyond French borders, influencing the debate in the United States and around the world. The bill, initially presented by President Emmanuel Macron in March 2024, faced delays due to the dissolution of the National Assembly. Now,revived and championed by Prime Minister François Bayrou,the executive text has been divided into two separate legal proposals. One focuses on enhancing palliative care, while the other addresses aid in dying.

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Executive Personnel Changes - 5/2/25

05/11/25 at 03:15 AM

Executive Personnel Changes - 5/2/25

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Dombi: At-home care providers must overcome ‘self-inflicted challenge’ to flourish

05/11/25 at 03:10 AM

Dombi: At-home care providers must overcome ‘self-inflicted challenge’ to flourish Home Health Care News; by Morgan Gonzales; 5/2/25 Despite operating on razor-thin margins and facing persistent reimbursement challenges, some home-based care providers are setting themselves apart by leaning into innovation. By embracing alternative payment models, virtual health and opportunities like hospital-at-home programs, providers can save themselves from home-based care’s “self-inflicted challenge” of not capitalizing on the industry’s evolving opportunities, according to Bill Dombi, senior counsel for Arnall Golden Gregory law firm. He also formerly led the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), which following a merger is now the National Alliance for Care at Home. While workforce shortages, potential Medicaid cuts and unsustainable payment rates threaten the industry, opportunity awaits those willing to evolve, Dombi said.

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Empath Health’s new One Hospice Model a ‘blueprint’ for scalable growth

05/11/25 at 03:05 AM

Empath Health’s new One Hospice Model a ‘blueprint’ for scalable growth Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 5/5/25 Empath Health on Monday integrated its seven hospice brands under one umbrella. ... The Florida-based nonprofit’s seven brands collectively care for one-in-five hospice patients statewide and include Empath Hospice, Hospice of Marion County, Suncoast Hospice, Suncoast Hospice of Hillsborough, Tidewell Hospice and Trustbridge (also Hospice by the Sea and Hospice of Palm Beach County). ...The new One Hospice Model is structured to provide more direct referral and community access to Empath Health’s overall network of services/ entire continuum of care. ... The new model is designed to strengthen the outlook of hospice care delivery as providers face myriad sustainability challenges, according to Empath Health. Rising demand, workforce shortages, program integrity and regulatory challenges, economic pressures and a shifting hospice marketplace are just some of the leading issues among today’s leaders.

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Hospice AI

05/11/25 at 03:00 AM

Hospice AIA Hospice & Palliative Care Today compilation; 5/5/25We've seen several recent articles discussing the benefits of additional AI integration into hospice services.

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Sunday newsletters

05/11/25 at 03:00 AM

Sunday newsletters focus on headlines and top read stories of the last week (in order) - enjoy!

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Today's Encouragement

05/11/25 at 03:00 AM

To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow. ~Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

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Today's Encouragement

05/10/25 at 03:55 AM

There are two lasting gifts we can give our children...one is roots...the other is wings. ~Unknown author

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‘Losing a part of yourself’: How women grieve their close friend’s death

05/10/25 at 03:50 AM

‘Losing a part of yourself’: How women grieve their close friend’s deathOmega-Journal of Death and Dying; Elizabeth W. Sauber, Karen M. O’Brien; 4/25Friendship provides women with a plethora of benefits, including reduced physiological and psychological distress. Thus, this study qualitatively described the bereavement of seven women who experienced the death of a close woman friend and tested an integrative model predicting prolonged grief and posttraumatic growth with 148 women grieving the death of a close woman friend. Findings from directed content analysis highlighted grief reactions, disenfranchising interactions related to social support, ways of coping, growth after loss, and ongoing challenges. Results from a path analysis indicated that avoidant emotional coping was a key mediator and predictor of prolonged grief, while problem-focused coping served as a key mediator and predictor of posttraumatic growth. The findings can be used to advance research, clinical practice and intervention efforts for women who are grieving the death of a woman friend.

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“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

05/10/25 at 03:45 AM

“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”JAMA Neurology; David N. Korones, MD; 4/25So shouted news broadcaster Howard Beale in the iconic 1976 film “Network” as he decried pollution, unemployment, inflation, crime, and all that was wrong in the world back then. And so shouted I, as I slammed down the phone after yet another denial from an insurance company—this time denial of treatment for an 8-year-old little girl with a brain tumor.Every day the phone, email, and text messages mount: an antinausea medication is not approved, oral chemotherapy is denied to a child because it is in liquid form, and only tablets are approved, brain surgery is denied because the patient has the misfortune of not living in the same state as the neurosurgeon who has the unique skill set to remove it, an insurance company that had previously approved an essential therapy for one of my patients now, for inexplicable reasons, denies refills half way through her prescribed course of treatment. Perhaps the more we push back, send them bills for our time, follow that up with bill collectors, call our congressional representatives, and summon our hospital leadership, we can gather a chorus of physicians, patients, hospital leaders, and politicians who all open their windows and, following Howard Beale’s lead, scream in unison that they, too, are mad as hell, and it is long past time to change this unjust system of care. To paraphrase Howard Beale, “our children, our patients are human beings, goddammit, their lives have value!”

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Advance care planning and unlimited treatment preferences in dementia scenarios: Insights from community-dwelling adults

05/10/25 at 03:40 AM

Advance care planning and unlimited treatment preferences in dementia scenarios: Insights from community-dwelling adultsAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care; Yuchi Young, Yichun Liu, Yufang Tu, Wan-Yu Chiu, Ashley Shayya, Thomas O'Grady; 4/25Dementia leads to progressive cognitive decline, impairing self-care and decision making. Advance directives (AdvDirs) enable individuals to document healthcare preferences while cognitively capable, ensuring value-aligned care and reducing caregiver burden. In the dementia scenario, 26.9% of participants preferred unlimited medical treatment. This preference was strongly associated with a pre-existing attitude favoring life-sustaining treatments ... and religious beliefs ... Conversely, an interest in learning about quality of life at the end of life was negatively associated with preferring unlimited treatment ... Our findings highlight the need to align advance care planning with individuals' values, beliefs, and religious practices. 

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The pharmacology of aid in dying: From database analyses to evidence-based best practices

05/10/25 at 03:35 AM

The pharmacology of aid in dying: From database analyses to evidence-based best practicesJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Patrick Macmillan, Susan Hughes, Angelique Loscar, Lonny Shavelson; 4/25We investigated the efficacy of four commonly used aid-in-dying medication protocols-using the time to sleep and time to death as proxies for efficacy. This first-time analysis of aid-in-dying medication protocols showed that while a sedative alone had the best median time to death, the most recent sedative/cardiotoxin protocol had an acceptable median time to death of 0.8 hours, but with fewer prolonged-death outliers.

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Theories and concepts about society, dying, and bereavement commonly discussed in education about death, dying, and bereavement

05/10/25 at 03:30 AM

Theories and concepts about society, dying, and bereavement commonly discussed in education about death, dying, and bereavementDeath Studies; Charles A Corr, Kenneth J Doka; 4/25This article describes and offers some evaluations of fifteen prominent theories and concepts in the field of death, dying, and bereavement. These theories and concepts range from claims about "death-denying societies" and the concept of "societal death systems" to theories about coping with dying and coping with loss, grief, and bereavement. Also examined are the concept of disenfranchised grief and theories about contrasting grief styles. Because each of these theories and concepts is often discussed in education about death, dying, and bereavement, it is important that instructors and students understand both their strengths and limitations. The goal of this analysis is twofold: (1) To help guide educators as they explain these theories and concepts to their students and readers, and (2) To assist educators in commenting on the soundness and usefulness of these theoretical frameworks.

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Drivers of palliative care and hospice use among patients with advanced lung cancer

05/10/25 at 03:25 AM

Drivers of palliative care and hospice use among patients with advanced lung cancerCancer Medicine; by Megan C Edmonds, Melissa Mazor, Mayuri Jain, Lihua Li, Marsha Augustin, José Morillo, Olivia S Allen, Amina Avril, Juan P Wisnivesky, Cardinale B Smith; 1/25Despite rigorous evidence of improved quality of life and longer survival, disparities in the utilization of palliative and hospice care persist for racial and ethnic minority patients with cancer. This study evaluated the impact of psychosocial factors on utilization of these services. Minority patients with advanced lung cancer were more likely to receive a palliative care referral and specialty level consultation when compared to non-minority patients. Our work highlights the importance of proactive referral processes in facilitating access to palliative and hospice services, particularly among younger patients.

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Barriers to perioperative palliative care across Veterans Health Administration hospitals: A qualitative evaluation

05/10/25 at 03:20 AM

Barriers to perioperative palliative care across Veterans Health Administration hospitals: A qualitative evaluationAmerican Journal of Surgery; by Emily E Evans, Sarah E Bradley, C Ann Vitous, Cara Ferguson, R Evey Aslanian, Shukri H A Dualeh, Christina L Shabet, M Andrew Millis, Pasithorn A Suwanabol; 3/25While providers recognize the importance of palliative care and end-of-life care, obstacles to its use exist at various levels. Identification of these barriers highlights areas to focus future efforts to improve the quality of palliative and end-of-life care for Veterans.

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Top ten tips palliative care clinicians should know about diagnosing, categorizing, and addressing fatigue

05/10/25 at 03:15 AM

Top ten tips palliative care clinicians should know about diagnosing, categorizing, and addressing fatigueJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Gregg A Robbins-Welty, Danielle Chammas, Ethan J Silverman, Maria Felton Lowry, Elizabeth Hale, Corina Martinez, Morgan M Nakatani, Daniel Shalev, Paul Noufi, Paul A Riordan, Keri O Brenner, William E Rosa, Christopher A Jones; 3/25Fatigue is a multifactorial symptom that is commonly faced by patients with cancer, chronic disease, and other serious illnesses. Fatigue causes suffering across biopsychosocial domains and affects patients and their loved ones. In this article, a consortium of professionals across cancer care, physical therapy, exercise, pharmacy, psychiatry, and palliative medicine offers tips and insights on evaluating, categorizing, and addressing fatigue in the setting of serious illness. The comprehensive approach to managing fatigue underscores the importance of collaborative efforts characteristic of interdisciplinary palliative care. Prioritizing screening, diagnosing, and treating fatigue is crucial for enhancing patients' and families' overall quality of life.

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The real-world effect of early screening for palliative care criteria in a medical intensive care unit: An instrumental variable analysis

05/10/25 at 03:10 AM

The real-world effect of early screening for palliative care criteria in a medical intensive care unit: An instrumental variable analysisAnnals of the American Thoracic Society; by Chad H Hochberg, Rebecca A Gersten, Khyzer B Aziz, Margaret D Krasne, Li Yan, Alison E Turnbull, Daniel Brodie, Michelle Churchill, Danielle J Doberman, Theodore J Iwashyna, David N Hager; 2/25Early identification of intensive care unit (ICU) patients likely to benefit from specialist palliative care could reduce the time such patients spend in the ICU receiving care inconsistent with their goals. Conclusions: Despite significantly increased specialty palliative care consultation, there was no evidence that early screening for palliative care criteria affected time to DNR/ICU discharge or other secondary outcomes.

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