Literature Review

Caregiving activities and activity-limiting pain among African American caregiversJournal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Martha Abshire Saylor, Janiece L Taylor, Yifan Liu, Wonkyung Jung, Erin M Spaulding, Katherine A Ornstein; 1/26African American caregivers disproportionately engage in high-intensity caregiving. Pain experiences of African Americans may interfere with caregiving and overall health, but little is known about the associations of caregiving activities and activity-limiting pain among African Americans. [Findings] underscore the importance of the intersection of race, caregiving, and pain.

Dementia care research and psychosocial factorsAlzheimer's & Dementia; by Bora Nam, Daren Huang, Hye-Won Shin, Eun Jeong Lee, Nicole Phan, Stacy W Yun, Van Ta Park; 12/25Older Korean adults traditionally engage in indirect communication and are uncomfortable with topics such as advance care planning and treatment options for health conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The overarching goal of a national, culturally tailored, bilingual (English, Korean) community engagement project called, Koreans Invested in Making Caregivers Health Important (KIMCHI), is to educate and promote community discussions on aging and caregiving topics, such as advanced care planning/directives among older Korean Americans with ADRD and their caregivers. High satisfaction was reported, with 96.1% of participants expressing overall satisfaction, 90.7% learned something new about advanced directives, 94.1% found the presentations culturally relevant and applicable, and 76% expressed interest in learning more about ADRD.

Evaluating palliative care needs in patients with advanced non-malignant chronic conditions: An umbrella review of needs assessment tools Healthcare; by Chrysovalantis Karagkounis, Stephen Connor, Danai Papadatou, Thalia Bellali; 12/24/25 Patients with advanced non-malignant chronic conditions experience illness burdens and palliative care needs comparable to those of oncology patients, yet palliative care is often introduced late. Identifying individuals with potential palliative care needs is complex, and although multiple tools exist, the most appropriate approach for assessing needs in this population remains unclear. This umbrella review aimed to identify and evaluate tools used to systematically assess palliative care in adults with advanced non-malignant chronic conditions, with a specific focus on their content, structure, and psychometric properties.

[Netherlands] Pediatric advance care planning: a mixed-methods evaluation of documentation and sharing in current practice BMC Palliative Care; by Sophie Tooten, Rosella P.M.G. Hermens, Manel Verhoeven, Ellen M. Vierhoven, Fatima Boulakhrif, Jana M. Reintjes, Michel A.A.P. Willemsen, Judith L. Aris-Meijer, Jurrianne C. Fahner, Marijanne Engel, Marijke C. Kars, Inge M.L. Ahout & Esther Deuning-Smit; 1/29/26 Pediatric advance care planning (pACP) aims to align future care and treatment of children with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) with children’s and their families’ values, goals and preferences. Documenting and sharing pACP elements with healthcare professionals (HCPs) is essential for goal-concordant care. This study evaluates how pACP elements are documented in electronic health records of children with LLCs and shared with other HCPs.

Fly fishing support group provides new angle on grief processing: The grieving can find peace in the rhythm of fishingTimes Courier, Ellijay, GA; by Jackson Elliott; 1/28/26 Few people understand grief like a hospice chaplain. “I’ve experienced about 5,000 deaths,” former hospice chaplain Rick Gillert said. “And I’ve helped those families and patients through the grieving process." “‘I had this idea in the back of my head of combining professional grief care with fly fishing,” he said. During his time as a hospice chaplain, he would often seek peace from the difficulty of the work by going fishing the next day. “I can almost imagine my anxieties, my worries as leaves falling on the water and washing away,” Gillert said. In his program, clients join a group and go through a 10-week course on fly fishing, processing grief and coping skills.

For your 360-degree feedback to be effective, you need to discuss it Harvard Business Review; by Brenda Steinberg; 1/28/2660-degree feedback alone does not improve leadership effectiveness. Meaningful change will only happen if you engage directly with your colleagues to learn more about what you could do better. How do you have these conversations? Start by expressing gratitude to feedback providers. Ensure you move beyond your assumptions and approach them with curiosity. Then engage in candid conversation, sharing your takeaways, asking questions that prompt explanation not justification, focusing on impact not intent, listening without committing, and avoiding defensiveness. Finally, maintain an ongoing dialogue about the actions you intend to take and your progress.

Another strike sends 31,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers to picket lines AP, U.S. News, Oakland, CA; 1/27/26 An estimated 31,000 registered nurses and other front-line Kaiser Permanente health care workers launched an open-ended strike this week in California and Hawaii to demand better wages and staffing from the health care giant. The picketing that began Monday marked the second major walkout in recent months by employees represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals. A five-day strike in October ended with negotiations resuming, but talks broke down in December. This week the union accused Kaiser of refusing to return to national bargaining discussions.

Patients with terminal blood cancer stress need for transfusion access in hospice care, survey findsHematology Advisor; by Joantahn Goodman, MPhil; 1/28/26  Patients with blood cancer eligible for hospice care emphasize the importance of access to transfusion over other services, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. The survey-based study confirms that, among patients with an estimated life expectancy of 6 months or less, routine hospice services are perceived of less value than transfusion access — suggesting that palliative transfusion availability should be incorporated into hospice care universally, the authors noted in their report.

California revokes 280 hospice licenses in fraud fight; Congressional hearing set Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/28/26 California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has provided an update on how the state is tackling fraudulent activity in the hospice space amid rising federal concerns. More than 280 licenses have been revoked among new hospice operators entering the state during the last two years, the governor reported on Tuesday. ... CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and other agency officials visited hospices in California and Nevada earlier this month, pledging greater efforts to combat fraud.

Defining palliative care quality in a tight reimbursement environment Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/27/26 Palliative care delivery is undergoing an evolutionary period of change. These services are offered in several different ways across the country, which brings both benefits and challenges when it comes to defining quality in the space. Today’s palliative care providers are shaping the outlook of the field, but through diversified approaches, according to Brynn Bowman, CEO of Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). The field is reaching a pivotal stage when it comes to supply and demand or resources, an issue that greater standardization could help to address, she indicated. 

The final year of the late Ben Hurd’s Christmas Tree Farm raised more than $25k for Hospice of Humboldt