Literature Review

Palliative care market to reach USD 12.0 billion by 2035, driven by aging population and hospice Briefing Wire; Press Release; 4/8/26 The Palliative Care Market is expanding steadily as recognition grows for symptom management and quality of life improvement in serious illness. Growing demand for home-based palliative care, inpatient hospice units, and community-based programs is significantly strengthening market growth. According to Market Research Future analysis, the Palliative Care Market Size was estimated at 5.47 USD Billion in 2024. The palliative care industry is projected to grow from 5.875 USD Billion in 2025 to 12.0 USD Billion by 2035, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% during the forecast period 2025 - 2035. 

Healthcare across borders: How the U.S. health system compares to others around the world Chicago Health; by Kathleen Aharoni; 4/3/26 More than half of the world’s countries guarantee a right to healthcare in their constitutions. The United States does not. No federal or state law explicitly safeguards citizens’ health or well-being as a guaranteed right. Countries worldwide take varying approaches. ... In a ranking of 10 health systems worldwide, the U.S. ranked last — and has ranked last in each of the Commonwealth Fund’s “Mirror, Mirror” reports since 2014. The nonprofit foundation has supported independent research on healthcare policy since 1918. 

Auricular acupuncture for symptom management in inpatient palliative careJournal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; by Anup Bhushan, Dan Mazanec, Jessica Bullington, Justin Marsden, Jingwen Zhang, Kacie Bhushan, Patrick Coyne; 4/26Palliative care teams treat patients with intractable pain and debilitating symptoms on a daily basis [and] nurses play a significant role in the assessment and intervention of patients with chronic pain and ... symptoms ... Complementary therapy with acupuncture has proven to be helpful, but to date, there is little research examining the efficacy of auricular acupuncture in treating the acute-on-chronic symptoms associated with life-limiting illness in hospitalized patients. This ...  study of 101 participants examined auricular acupuncture’s impact on pain and symptom management, as well as pre- and post-intervention opioid utilization ... This study demonstrated statistical improvement in pain, nausea, dyspnea, and anxiety scores. Nurses and other providers trained in auricular acupuncture can provide a nonpharmacological intervention that improves pain and related symptoms for patients with serious illness.

Increasing access to pediatric palliative care in a large hospital system: Trials and triumphs from an APRN initiativeJournal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; by Faith Kinnear; 4/26 According to the Pediatric Palliative Care Task Force formed in 2020 and hosted by the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care, children with serious illness should have access to palliative care that meets the population’s unique needs. Taking care to assess needs, communicate with leadership teams, develop rapport with key stakeholders, and utilize the support staff already in place allowed for successful implementation of pediatric palliative care services at 2 satellite campuses over a 5-year span. Services included inpatient and outpatient patient care; ongoing family bereavement support; compiling staff resources and providing ongoing staff training in primary pediatric palliative care skills. Each satellite campus now has dedicated pediatric palliative care providers. This article outlines how the satellite palliative care programs were developed, the challenges and successes in the process, and the role of the APRN in program development.

Expert panel updating NCHPC’s Palliative Care Clinical Practice Guidelines Hospice News; by Kevin Ryan; 4/1/26 The National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care (NCHPC) has chosen a panel of 33 palliative care experts to develop the 5th edition of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care. Originally created in 2004, through the National Consensus Project, the guidelines established the first national, evidence-based standards for the palliative care field. The guidelines have been updated four times since 2004 and have been endorsed by more than 90 health and professional health care worker organizations.  

Expanded palliative care program in Dubuque addresses a 'significant need' Telegraph Herald; by Grace Burwell; 3/28/26 A “meant to be” collaboration between two Dubuque providers is offering the local aging population expanded palliative support. UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital and Hospice of Dubuque recently launched an expanded palliative care program, bringing three nurse practitioners to the Dubuque hospital. Lavonne Noel, executive director of Hospice of Dubuque, said the new resource sprung out of “more need than ever before. It’s more important than ever that we work together in the health care environment right now, so we’re excited to join forces and collaborate on this."

Northern Counties Health delivers care, access over 50 years Caledoninan Record, Vermont; 3/27/26 Northern Counties Health Care, Inc. is marking a golden milestone this year, celebrating five decades of providing primary care, dental care, and home health and hospice services across Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The nonprofit traces its roots to a citizen-led effort to improve access to care and now operates a regional network designed around local needs. The organization’s origins date to 1976, when community leaders formed a board to continue the work of the Northern Counties Comprehensive Health Planning Council and established what became Vermont’s first federally qualified health center. ... The network today includes seven community health centers, two walk‑in primary care locations under the Northern Express Care banner, three dental centers, and a certified home health and hospice division.

Medicare plan switching and hospice care among decedents with advanced cancer JAMA Network Open; by Xin Hu, Changchuan Jiang, Youngmin Kwon, Fangli Geng, Qinjin Fan, Kewei Sylvia Shi, Zhiyuan Zheng, Jingxuan Zhao, Joan L Warren, K Robin Yabroff, Xuesong Han; 3/2/16Importance: Hospice ... is an excluded benefit under Medicare Advantage (MA), with coverage instead provided by traditional Medicare (TM). With growing MA penetration, more beneficiaries also switch between MA and TM for financial protection and physician access considerations, although less is known about how different Medicare programs and plan switching behaviors affect EOL care for patients with advanced cancers.Conclusions and relevance: In this cohort study of Medicare decedents with advanced cancers, continuous MA enrollees were most likely to receive hospice at home, while those who switched from MA to TM more frequently received hospice care in nursing homes. Plan switching near the EOL may reflect access barriers, highlighting the importance of addressing care coordination to improve EOL care.

Trauma-informed palliative care: A systematic scoping review of evidence sources describing concepts relevant to an emerging field of practice Palliative Medicine; by Rebecca Salama, Jane Simpson, Fiona J. R. Eccles, Maddy French; 3/23/26 Background: Trauma-informed palliative care aims to improve end-of-life experiences by recognising and responding to the presence of psychological trauma. While many practitioners support the approach, they also acknowledge the need to build a stronger evidence base.Results: ... the review identified a substantial body of evidence that describes concepts relevant to its approach. These findings provide a valuable starting point for future research.

Hearing on “Improving kidney health through better prevention and innovative treatment” U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health; written testimony fo Dr. Robert Taylor; 3/18/26

Identifying key components of neuropalliative care fellowship using nominal group techniqueJournal of Pain & Symptom Management; by Sachi Y Gianchandani, Jocelyn M Jiao, Kwame O Adjepong, Yaowaree L Leavell, Jessica M Besbris, Neha M Kramer, Joel N Phillips, Paul M Vermilion; 2/26There is no standardized curriculum for neurology-focused palliative care training. An adapted nominal group technique (NGT) was used to collect and rank responses to 2 key questions: "In designing the ideal dedicated neuropalliative care clinician training experience, what core components should be included?" and "When a general palliative care fellowship has a neurologist in their program, how could the program/program director potentially tailor the year to their unique needs?" For both key questions, the top-ranked responses included: dedicated outpatient neuropalliative care experience, mentorship from faculty with expertise in neuropalliative care, and a core didactic curriculum that includes neurology-specific content. Additionally, appropriateness for certification in hospice and palliative medicine was identified as crucial.