Literature Review

Stillwater Hospice brings palliative care to rural populations Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/2/26 Indiana-based Stillwater Hospice recently completed a rural palliative care pilot that the nonprofit plans to extend into a long-term program. The program’s roots were planted in October 2025. It emerged from a collaboration with Cameron Health, a community hospital in Angola, Indiana. ... Through the program, seriously ill patients who have been recently discharged from Cameron have access to a nurse practitioner for symptom management, patient and family education and goals-of-care conversations. Patients receive a phone call within three days of discharge and a visit within a week, ...

Patient and caregiver perspectives on communication quality in tele-palliative care Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Julia I. Bandini, PhD, Elaine Li, BA, Dio Kavalieratos, PhD, FAAHPM, Natalie C. Ernecoff, PhD, Kimberly Curseen, MD, and Jordan Harrison, PhD; 8/27/26 Objective: To qualitatively explore patient and family caregiver experiences with telehealth and in-person visits for outpatient palliative care, including preferences related to mode of care and any perceived differences in communication quality by mode in a post-pandemic context. Results: Three themes emerged: (1) participants weighed convenience, symptom burden, and visit reason in choosing mode of care; (2) opinions differed on the authenticity of communication via telehealth; and (3) comfort and privacy shaped communication quality. Some patients and family caregivers perceived communication via telehealth as comparable to in-person care, while others felt in-person visits allowed for more authentic interactions. Many found that the convenience of telehealth outweighed any perceived differences in communication quality. In addition, some patients noted that without the option for telehealth, the benefits of an in-person palliative care visit may not have outweighed the travel burden.

[France] 'You cannot have a good assisted dying law without good palliative care’ GuardianTV; Press Release; 8/30/26 François Picard is pleased to welcome Anne Reynaud, Board Member of the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity. France’s long awaited assisted dying legislation marks a profound shift in the country’s approach to end of life care, but as Reynaud makes clear, the parliamentary vote is less the end of a debate than the beginning of a new ethical and legal era. Speaking from both personal experience and her professional role, Reynaud argues that the law represents meaningful progress while remaining more restrictive than the recommendations of France’s Citizens’ Convention. 

Limestone County providers to receive share of state Rural Health Transformation Program grants The News Courier, Athens, AL; by Ben Bullard; 8/26/26 Alabama Governor Kay Ivey this week announced the awarding of 138 grants worth more than $144 million to healthcare providers and institutions statewide as part of the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program (ARHTP). The awards include funding for medical infrastructure and cybersecurity upgrades in Limestone County, while also supporting numerous programs that include Limestone as part of a wider multi-county area. “Alabama is serious about creating systematic changes through the ARHTP to ensure every citizen has access to quality care. This program is enabling institutions covering every part of the state to improve healthcare for Alabamians through projects that are both innovative and sustainable,” said Ivey in announcing the grants.

Nonreporting of race and ethnicity in medical research harms us all JAMA Internal Medicine | Editorial | Health Equity; by Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH, Jerard Kneifati-Hayek, MD, MS, Annette Flanagin, RN, MA, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS; Raegan W. Durant, MD, MPH; 8/24/26 At JAMA Internal Medicine, we have become increasingly aware that some US researchers are unable to report on race or ethnicity as demographic variables to describe their sample or to conduct stratified analyses by these variables. In some cases, we have been informed that based on 3 recent US federal executive orders, the stewards of federal databases, such as those responsible for distributing data from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), are unable to release any race or ethnicity data for research purposes. The restrictions may be particularly prohibitive when study investigators are US federal employees. We have been informed of similar concerns occurring at other biomedical journals. Editor's Note: This theme recurs throughout our American history. Stark examples repeatedly emerged when I was researching and writing my recent e-book: A History of Care: 250 Years of Need, Service and Hope.

Family caregivers' understanding, expectations, and emotional responses during transition to a palliative care unit: a qualitative study Empirical Research Qualitative; by Filipa Vieira-Matos and Paulo Reis-\Pina; 8/2/26 Aim: To explore how family caregivers interpret palliative care and respond to admission to a palliative care unit as a critical transition in care. ... Results: Admission was experienced as a critical transition. Three interrelated themes were identified: understanding of palliative care, expectations regarding care, and emotional responses. Participants described partial familiarity with palliative care but frequently associated referral with terminal illness. Expectations focused on comfort and clear communication. Emotional responses included fear, uncertainty, and ambivalence, particularly when referral occurred abruptly. ... Impact: Admission was experienced as a transition involving meaning-making, expectation formation, and emotional adjustment. Findings may inform nursing practice in inpatient palliative care by supporting caregiver-centered transition support.

Aging Luzerne County prison population cited as challenge The Dallas Post; by Jennifer Learn-Andes; 8/22/26 During recent legislative testimony about crime trends, Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo highlighted the aging prison population as a concern that must be addressed. Older inmates with “escalating chronic health needs” are contributing to rising medical costs and challenging a prison staff “increasingly called upon to manage geriatric and end-of-life care in a setting never designed for it,” she told the Senate Majority Policy Committee and House Republican Policy Committee at a hearing earlier this month in Hazleton. “Corrections officers are trained for security, not hospice care,” Crocamo told the legislators, emphasizing “graying behind bars” is an emerging issue statewide. 

Pittsburgh Caregivers get federal lifeline as dementia cases swell across Allegheny County hoodline; by Ryan Miller; 8/21/26 Caregivers looking after loved ones with dementia in Pittsburgh now have a new federal tool to lean on, and it is already showing up at a day center in Squirrel Hill. The Anathan Club, run by the Jewish Association on Aging, has begun connecting families to the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model, a Medicare program that can cover up to $2,500 a year in respite care for qualifying beneficiaries. The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model, known as GUIDE, was developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and launched nationwide on July 1, 2024, as an eight-year voluntary pilot running through June 30, 2032, according to CMS. Nearly 390 provider organizations across the country are participating. 

Advance care planning in sickle cell disease: A scoping reviewJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Megan R Marshall, Miranda Ravicz Adelmann, Miriam A Osei, Sharl S Azar, Stephanie Kiser, Richard Newcomb; 7/26Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited hemoglobinopathy characterized by abnormal red blood cell sickling, leading to pain, organ dysfunction, and early mortality. Its severe, unpredictable course and the emergence of complex decisions surrounding transformative therapies have prompted recommendations to integrate palliative care (PC) to support patients and families. The limited available evidence suggests that patients are open to ACP discussions with trusted clinicians, but few patients had participated in formal or informal ACP. Personal and environmental factors may influence ACP engagement, including patient-clinician trust, patient and clinician understanding of ACP in SCD, timing of ACP conversations, and previous experiences with critical illness or end-of-life care. Proposed steps for advancing ACP in SCD include education, early PC integration, and strengthened patient-clinician communication and relationships.

Palliative care physicians' perceptions about using artificial intelligence for prognosticationJournal of Pain & Symptom Management; by Stacy M Fischer, Regina M Fink, Ahmed Y Alasmar, Eric G Campbell, Matthew DeCamp; 7/26Statistical and artificial intelligence (AI)-based methods have informed clinical prognostication for decades, evolving into machine learning models integrated into electronic health records. We conducted a national survey of n=2,500 Hospice and Palliative Medicine physicians in the United States (January 2024-March 2025) to assess current prognostic practices, AI knowledge, and perceived benefits and risks of AI-based prognostication. Conclusions: Palliative care physicians report limited current use of AI-based prognostic tools but generally favorable attitudes toward potential benefits, especially among current AI tool users.

Palliative care for Alzheimer’s: what families should understand WNY News Now; by News Staff; 8/19/26 Alzheimer’s disease gradually affects memory, judgment, communication, mobility, and personal care. As abilities change, families face decisions about symptom relief, treatment limits, safety, and emotional well-being. Palliative care addresses those needs while respecting the person’s values and previously expressed wishes. Assistance can begin at any stage of disease, especially when discomfort, behavioral changes, or caregiver strain become difficult to manage without clinical guidance. What details should families check for? ...