Literature Review

I work with dying Trump supporters. It's ... confusingDaily Kos, by Scott Janssen; 4/6/24I’m driving down a gravel road in rural North Carolina, looking at mailbox numbers. A hospice social worker, I’m headed to meet Petey, a patient dying of metastatic cancer. ...  A few homes down I see a ranch style house with a Trump flag hanging limp from what looks like a homemade flagpole. ...Publisher's Note: In our advocacy, we often say "death and hospice are bipartisan." This (inflammatory) opinion piece challenges us to ethically wrestle with our biases (political or otherwise) to professionally provide excellent end-of-life care to all the people we have the privilege to serve.Editor's Note: In day-to-day care--no matter political, religious, or other beliefs--what can you support, within the appropriate scope of your professional role? What is untenable; you cannot support? Examine the term "moral distress." 

Bereaved Parent Support Study: Seeking Participants Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Cancer, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; 4/2/24This program is offered as a research study examining three types of support for bereaved parents who have lost a child to cancer. This is a National Institutes of Health-funded trial taking place at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; however, families need not have received care from one of these institutions. ... For those assigned to receive counseling, services will be provided through videoconferencing, and all study activities can be completed from the participant’s home. ... There will be no charge for any support offered through the study. ... [Click on the title's link for more information.] Editor's Note: If your hospice does not have bereavement services tailored to the needs of parents who have lost a child, consider this opportunity for free support from these reputable sources. Click on the title's link for eligibility requirements and descriptions.

What home health providers need to know about the Medicare TPE Audit ProcessHome Health Care News, by Joyce Famakinwa;  4/2/24... TPE is a medical review program that began for the home health and hospice settings in December 2017. The goal of the program is to weed out improper payments by zeroing-in on providers with high claims denial rates or unusual billing practices. ... TPE has three pillars. Target refers to errors or mistakes that are identified through data in comparison to providers or peers. Probe is the examination of 20 to 40 claims. ... Education means helping providers reduce claim denials and appeals through one-on-one individualized education. 

The greatest teacher is not the one who imparts knowledge, but the one who inspires curiosity. ~Timotheus of Miletus

Mortality, hospice use rates differ in assisted living communities depending on whether memory care is offeredMcKnights Senior Living, by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 4/4/24Assisted living communities that provide memory care services may attract residents closer to the end of life or promote hospice use at the end of life compared with assisted living communities without such services, according to the findings of a new study. ... Researchers from the Brown University School of Public Health, the University of Melbourne and the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing examined whether end-of-life outcomes — mortality and hospice use — differed between assisted living facilities with and without memory care services among 15,152 residents who moved into larger communities between 2016 and 2018.Editor's Note: Click here for the source article, "Do end-of-life outcomes differ by assisted living memory-care designation?"

Exploring parent experiences with early palliative care practices in the NICUAdvances in Neonatal Care, by Megan Quinn, Sheila Gephart, Janice Crist; 4/24Parents' descriptions of decision-making were contextualized in gathering information to make a decision, the emotional impact of the decision, and influences on their decision-making. In experiences with care planning, parents described learning to advocate, having a spectator versus participant role, and experiencing care planning as communication. Key themes expressed regarding parental coping were exposure to trauma, survival mode, and a changing support network.

Addressing challenges with sedation in end-of-life careJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, by Columba Thomas, MD; Yesne Alici, MD; William Breitbart, MD; Eduardo Bruera, MD; Liz Blackler, MBE, LCSW-R; Daniel P. Sulmasy, MD, PhD; 4/24Unfortunately, little is known about actual sedation practices at the end of life in the United States. This may be due in part to a lack of conceptual clarity about sedation in end-of-life care. We argue that, until more is known about what sedation practices occur at the end of life, and how practices can be improved by research and more specific guidelines, “palliative sedation” will remain more misunderstood and controversial than it might otherwise be. 

Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution. ~Aristotle

A process evaluation of a palliative care social work intervention for cancer patients in skilled nursing facilitiesJournal of Palliative Medicine, by Sarguni Singh, MD; Ashley Dafoe, MA; Dana Lahoff, LCSW; Laurel Tropeano, LCSW; Bree Owens, LCSW; Erin Nielsen, LCSW; John Cagle, MSW, PhD; Hillary D. Lum, MD, PhD; Brooke Dorsey Holliman, PhD; Stacy Fischer, MD; 4/24Assessing and Listening to Individual Goals and Needs (ALIGN) is a palliative care social work intervention that aims to improve delivery of goal-concordant care for hospitalized older adults with cancer discharged to skilled nursing facilities. ... ALIGN offers support in prognostic understanding, communication, and decision making during a pivotal time when patient and caregivers' goals have not been met and they are reassessing priorities.

Health trajectories of skilled nursing facility patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Evidence for practicing nursesJournal of Gerontological Nursing, by Mark Toles, Cameron Ulmer, Jennifer Leeman; 4/24Older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are at high risk for acute medical problems and their health trajectories frequently include hospital admission and care in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). Their health trajectories after SNF discharge are poorly understood. Therefore, in the current study, we sought to describe health trajectories and factors associated with hospital read-missions for older adults with ADRD during the 30 days following SNF discharge.

Hospices and emergency preparedness planning: A scoping review of the literatureJournal of Palliative Care, by Janna E Baker Rogers; 4/24Palliative and end-of-life care, as provided by hospices, are important elements of a healthcare response to disasters. A scoping review of the literature was conducted to examine and synthesize what is currently known about emergency preparedness planning by hospices.

The HAP Foundation conducts research study on Black Americans’ experience with serious illness care in ChicagoThe HAP Foundation, by Rachel French; 4/9/24 The HAP Foundation and NORC at the University of Chicago have completed a joint research project to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of Black Americans around serious illness care in Chicago. Through a community-based participatory research design, narratives from Black individuals living in Chicago were captured by focus groups and in-depth interviews. “Community-Based Study: Prioritizing Dignity and Respect in End-of-Life Care for Black Chicagoans” is being distributed widely to health care providers and the community to encourage conversations and create change in behavioral patterns during end-of-life care.Editor's Note: Click here for this downloadable, 17 page booklet.

Other Business Headlines of Interest, updated 4/11/24 per nasdaq.com