Literature Review

Video conversation aids to assist in goals-of-care discussions with older adults in a medical setting: A systematic reviewAmerican Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care; Ashna S Karpe, Mokunfayo O Fajemisin, Stephanie Martinez Ugarte, Lara Ouellette, Martin L Blakely, Gina H Khraish, Shreyans V Sanghvi, Min J Kwak, Jessica L Lee, Lillian S Kao, Thaddeus J Puzio; 12/25Goals-of-care (GOC) discussions align medical treatment with older adults' preferences, yet are hindered by communication barriers, provider discomfort, and misinformation. Video-based decision aids improve understanding and reduce decision conflict, though data on their use in older populations remain limited. Video variability and differences in measured outcomes limited comparisons and generalizability. Video-based decision aids show promise for improving knowledge and aligning treatment preferences. Further studies are needed to investigate the impact of video-based decision aids on GOC conversations in older adults in acute care settings.

Dear Colleagues,

Not all AI is created equal Access Newswire, Hamden, CT: Press Release; 1/22/26 Not all AI in home health and hospice is created equal. Many AI solutions appear similar at first glance. They promise efficiency and reduced administrative burden. What separates them is the depth of industry knowledge behind the technology. That distinction matters. In other words, there is a big difference between a healthcare company creating technology and a tech company breaking into the healthcare industry. People matter in home health and hospice. That includes the people who make the tools you use. 

‘Death Cafe’ will explore end-of-life issues, over refreshments OC Register, Orange County, CA; by Teri Sforza; 1/21/26 The Orange County Deathworkers Alliance wants to chat about your inevitable demise. Yes, members say, they’re a blast at parties! The Alliance is not a grief support group exactly, but a collection of caregivers, doulas, doctors, organizers and the like who help folks get a grip on the details attendant to their own mortality, and/or the mortality of loved ones. ... Death Cafés are a global movement, allowing people to discuss the oft-taboo thoughts and questions they have about the end of life. Organizers say the format encourages folks to share personal stories, explore their feelings and/or simply listen to other perspectives in a supportive atmosphere.

Veterans get free photography session, storytelling opportunities at Carolina Caring event Carolina Caring, Huntersville, NC; by Carolina Caring; 1/21/26 “People can never have too many family photos,” says Aaron Libby, the Charlotte-based photographer known for his stunning portraits captured across four continents and in his studio, Aaron Libby Photography. Libby’s passion for photography and his personal experiences as a U.S. Army veteran led to a recent collaboration with Carolina Caring, the nonprofit serious illness care provider serving 12 counties across Western North Carolina and the Mecklenburg region. ... Last Fall, he was approached by Cindy Stamey, Carolina Caring’s Director of Veteran Relations, who sought to create a meaningful experience—one that provided lasting keepsakes for veterans and their families. They decided to offer a free photography session during the organization’s Veterans Coffee Connection gathering in Huntersville. ... For these photographs, veterans were encouraged to hold an item or wear a badge that carries meaning from their time in service. 

Patients' perceptions of autonomy in palliative care: Two patient interview exemplars Palliative Care and Social Practice; by Kristen Tulloch, Julia Acordi Steffen, John P Rosenberg; 1/19/26 Results: Four themes were identified: (a) my involvement in healthcare decisions, (b) change to my autonomy during illness progression, (c) self-assessing my abilities to exercise autonomy and (d) my coping mechanisms for loss of autonomy. Palliative care patients perceived and managed their autonomy amidst their illnesses, revealing a sense of loss of autonomy extending beyond healthcare into many daily activities. Participants wished to exercise autonomy in nuanced ways, varying in intensity across many aspects of their lives, underscoring the importance of recognising and respecting individuals' wishes for autonomy.Editor's Note: The authors’ focus on coping with loss of autonomy is essential. As illness progresses, autonomy can erode not only in medical decisions but across daily life, identity, and meaning—losses that are too often overlooked in clinical care. The frequently misapplied “Five Stages of Grief” can further blur this reality, reducing complex, personal experiences to linear expectations not supported by contemporary grief research. Understanding how patients adapt to loss of autonomy is foundational to truly person-centered palliative care.

Winter weekend storms: Off the grid United States power outage tracker USAToday.com; real-time data map; updated every 15 minutes  USA Today provides a real-time U.S. Power Outage Tracker that aggregates data from more than 1,000 utility companies nationwide. This interactive map updates automatically every 15 minutes, offering near–real-time visibility into outages as severe weather and blizzard conditions unfold. Editor's Note: Share, save, and bookmark this resource. Use it to stay ahead of power disruptions in your service areas. For leaders in affected or high-risk regions, final preparations today can reduce harm this weekend. Assess and review with your leaders and teams (especially newer employees): 

The malady of delayed palliative care McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Avi Steinberg; 1/21/26 This article asserts that while nursing homes face increasing pressure to deliver value-based, goal-concordant care, palliative care—one of the most effective tools to achieve these aims—remains underused and introduced far too late. The problem is not a lack of evidence, but systemic barriers: delayed identification, misaligned payment models, and workforce shortages. Earlier integration of palliative care can reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, lower costs, and improve resident and family experience. Treating palliative care as a standard of care rather than a last resort is an operational necessity for long-term care.

What I see at the end of life as homelessness rises in Ohio: Holly Klein Cleveland.com, Cleveland, OH; by Holly Klein; 1/18/26 As a former in-home hospice nurse and now executive director of Grace House Akron, I have witnessed firsthand what happens when Ohioans fall through every crack in our healthcare and housing systems. ... Every day, I see the human reality behind the numbers ... Dignity at the end of life should not depend on having an address. Before Grace House opened, people experiencing homelessness often died alone, in undignified conditions -- or worse, on the streets. Providing a warm bed, a safe room, a hand to hold and someone to bear witness to a person’s final days should be a moral commitment shared across Ohio. Dignity is not a luxury; it is a right.

Unlocking the secret  power of groups with Colin M. Fisher  / part 1Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Colin M. Fisher; 1/21/26 In this episode of TCNtalks / Anatomy of Leadership, host Chris Comeaux sits down with Colin M. Fisher, professor, researcher, author, and jazz trumpeter, to explore what decades of research reveal about how groups actually work—and why so many teams fall short of their potential. Drawing from his book The Collective Edge, Fisher challenges the deeply ingrained myth of the “lone genius” and reframes leadership as a discipline of design, not motivation. 

Advance care planning in patients nearing the end of life: A pre-intervention study of racial disparities and provider factors Journal of General Internal Medicine | Springer; by Vedha Penmetcha BA, Mia Marcotte BA, Yashaswani Chauhan MD, Malathi Srinivasan MD, Adrian M. Bacong PhD, Amelia Sattler MD; 1/19/26 The pre-intervention study of Advance Care Planning (ACP) in patients nearing the end of life highlighted significant racial disparities and the impact of provider factors on ACP documentation. The study found that Asian patients were least likely to have ACP documentation in their charts, and minorities who had ACP conversations were less likely to have documentation. This suggests that ACP conversations are often not documented in the electronic health records of these patients, indicating a need for targeted interventions to improve ACP documentation rates. The study also revealed that providers may struggle to identify who and when to engage in ACP conversations, which can be a barrier to effective ACP.

Sound of silence: Training physicians to avoid interrupting the diagnosis Medscape; by Donavyn Coffey; 1/21/26 When Anthony Back, MD, a palliative care specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle, takes medical trainees on his rounds, they often come out of the exam room with the same observation: “You didn’t say anything.” Back is among a growing number of physicians who practices silence with his patients, intentionally giving them more time to share and process before he chimes in, and teaching the next generation of doctors to do the same.  ... Emerging evidence and educator experience suggest that silence is not an absence of skill but a deliberate diagnostic and relational tool.