Literature Review

Kate Middleton fingerpaints with children from hospice during royal visit[UK] Independent; by Barney Davis; 1/30/25The Princess of Wales laughed as she played with terminal children at a “lifeline” hospice. Kate Middleton joked about her “huge” hands as she left her print on the wall of the Ty Hafan children’s hospice in South Wales on Thursday. The future Queen, who confirmed earlier this month she is in remission from cancer, has become patron of the hospice as she continues her gradual return to public duties.

Care Dimensions receives $10,000 grant from ACM Lifting Lives to support music therapy program MassNonprofit News; 1/22/25Care Dimensions, the largest hospice and palliative care provider in Massachusetts, is proud to announce receiving a $10,000 grant from ACM Lifting Lives®, the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music. ... “Dealing with memory loss can be such an unmooring experience,” noted Care Dimensions Creative Arts Therapy Coordinator Li Kynvi, who is a board-certified music therapist. “One of the magical things about music therapy, especially for those with dementia, is that music lives in them in a whole different way than even the last five minutes does, which enables them to not only engage with a song, but engage with the person sharing it, and delivers a feeling of connection and competence often difficult for dementia patients to experience.”Editor's note: Providing patient care from a board certified music therapist is far superior to simply having a musician perform. Music therapy focuses on the person: physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually. Music therapy engages memories and meanings for the present moment, and ahead. For more information, examine the Certification Board for Music Therapy. Click here for their directory.

Development and outcomes of a provider-driven, online continuing education program on integrative palliative care: Randomized controlled trialGlobal Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health; William Collinge, PhD, MPH; Leila Kozak, PhD; Scott Mist, PhD, MAcOM; Robert Soltysik, MS; 1/25While conventional medicine excels in emergency and acute care, complementary therapies are increasingly being integrated into efforts for symptom management and quality of life (QoL) in hospital, hospice and nursing home environments. The term “complementary” denotes a cooperative or collaborative relationship between conventional and unconventional modalities, and when such integration takes place, the terms “complementary” and “integrative” are commonly used interchangeably. Hospices have been early adaptors of such therapies with surveys in various states showing between 60-90% of hospices offering these modalities. This provider-driven CE/CME program led to significant positive changes in practitioners’ self-efficacy and implementation of integrative care practices in PC settings. The results indicate that CE/CME can have measurable impacts that benefit providers and may potentially impact patients, families and the culture of care.

'Art helps me deal with my cancer diagnosis' BBC News, West Midlands, United Kingdom; by Sophie Madden; 11/18/24 After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Wendy Brookfield said she had lots of emotions. But a referral to art therapy through the Severn Hospice, based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, helped her deal with what she was going through. "There is so much going on in your mind that being able to go along to art therapy, I could just get it out and get it down on paper," she said. "It just such a good outlet for me." Her therapy sessions led to her starting a book of sketches which she regularly filled in, sometimes during her treatment sessions. They inspired the hospice to host its own art exhibition, built around Ms Brookfield's work and with other pieces created by patients. 

Creating death box eases stress, brings 'peace of mind' to those left behind BradfordToday.ca, Canada; by Andrew Philips; 10/26/24 Creating a death box might sound like sort of a morbid thing to do, but it’s vitally important. That’s according to Tammy Vaters, supportive care coordinator at Hospice Huronia-Tomkins House, ... who leads upcoming workshops on creating a death box or a “legacy box or final wishes box” for those uncomfortable with the more succinct terminology ["death box"]. ... Besides end-of-life wishes, Vaters says the box can include photos that someone would like displayed at a celebration of life or similar offering along with personalized letters to family and friends and personal mementos that have special meaning. “It gives you more opportunities of expressing how you feel about somebody,” she says, noting the boxes should also contain usernames and passwords that may aid one's loved ones after death. “They can be more thoughtful and personal.” Vaters, who is a specialist in thanatology (the study of death, dying and bereavement), says people will often use another term for death. 

Poetry, again, confronts death JAMA; by Rafael CAmpo, MD, MA; 10/16/24Poetry can help physicians in many ways at the border between life and death. Though we might think first of the consoling power of elegy in confronting mortality, other poems, like “Again,” [referenced] aid us in wrestling with what death is in the first place—and are even more useful when research falls short in attempting to demystify it. One such scientific controversy surrounds in-hospital resuscitation, especially for older adults, with studies showing inconsistent rates of meaningful survival after these potentially life-saving interventions, confounded by the physical and emotional trauma that accompanies them, poor understanding of patients’ and families’ wishes, unclear definitions of “meaningful,” and varying patient selection criteria. [The poem titled] “Again” distills some sense out of this complexity as only poetry can, with the urgent repetition of “again” expressing the ingrained imperative to act when patients experience cardiac arrest while echoing both the many previous resuscitations hospital staff well remember, along with the 2-beat, up-down muscle memory of performing chest compressions. ... Thus, a reflexive, futile endeavor becomes a human being’s dying moment, allowing us to feel closure. Debates around in-hospital resuscitation suddenly quieted, we recognize life’s inevitable finality, underscored by the poem’s ironically dignified resignation in its concluding line: “Never again did you wake.”Editor's note: Click here to access the poem, "Again."

Celebrate patients’ creativity ehospice; by Fair Havens Hospice, United Kingdom; 9/23/24 Fair Havens hospice recently held an inspiring art exhibition to showcase patients’ artwork produced during a range of wellbeing sessions. The exhibition at Fair Havens hospice in Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, showcased over 30 pieces of artwork, including acrylics and watercolours to embroidery and creative writing, all created by patients living with incurable illnesses. There was also the opportunity for people to get creative and take part in activities such as pebble painting and memory box decorating. The artwork on show had all been created by adults supported by the hospices’ Wellbeing Team through various creative therapy workshops and one-to-one sessions. ... Amongst some of the artwork were collages created in the ‘I AM’ workshop, which aimed to provide a space for patients to reflect on the things that are most important to them and express this using colour, textures, and words.

Indiana music therapy specialists talk about the practice BallStateDailyNews.com; by Hannah Amos; originally posted 9/3/24, distributed 9/12/24 The strum of a guitar, the hum of a voice and the steady beat of a drum makes more than just music. It provides a way for people to work through their emotions.  Kirby Gilliam, owner and founder of Plainsong Music Services in Anderson, Indiana, said she noticed music creates a safe space.  ... [She] uses different techniques: expressive, receptive, recreated and the ISO principle. Expressive music therapy is when the patient makes music. The receptive technique is when the therapist makes music and the patient listens. Recreated is when patients sing songs made by other artists. Finally, the ISO principle is when the music matches the patient’s mood, and through music, they shift the mood in a positive direction, Gilliam said.  “Music therapy is an evidence-based field, based and rooted in science and research,” Gilliam said. “If it didn't have the evidence base, it would be more like hippie-dippy and anecdotal … The why is [that] music opens up your entire brain — all of the pathways.” ... Another worker at Plainsong is Hospice Coordinator Kinsey Lavy, who primarily works with geriatrics and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Editor's note: For a book specific to music therapy and music for hospice and grief care, with practical uses by mental health practitioners, I invite you to examine my book, Music of the Soul - Composing Life Out of Loss, published in Routledge's Series in Death, Dying and Bereavement, edited by Robert A. Neimeyer.

Exploring AI-powered music therapy as a solution to chronic pain management and the opioid crisisNeurologyLive; by Neal K. Shah; 8/6/24While the opioid crisis continues to ravage communities across America, many with chronic pain are in dire need of solutions. As a result, healthcare providers and researchers are urgently seeking alternative treatments for chronic pain management. One innovative solution is the use of music therapy, particularly when enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) and neurotechnology. This combination could offer a powerful, non-pharmacological intervention to help millions of Americans suffering from chronic pain while potentially reducing opioid dependence.

Sasha McAllum Pilkington on grace and storytelling at the end of life Psychotherapy.net; by Lawrence Rubin; 7/22/24 Narrative Clinician, Sasha McAllum Pilkington [of New Zealand],  shares poignant stories she co-created with hospice clients which honor and celebrate their lives. [This interview includes: ...]

Integrative oncology for patients with lung cancer: A prospective pragmatic controlled trial Lung Cancer; by Eran Ben-Arye, Orit Gressel, Shahar Lifshitz, Nir Peled, Shoshana Keren, Noah Samuels; 6/25/24 Complementary medicine and integrative oncology modalities (IOM) have been included in the clinical practice guidelines of the American College of Chest Physicians in the treatments of patients with lung cancer. The present study examined the impact of a patient-tailored IOM treatment program on quality of life (QoL)-related concerns among patients with non-small and small lung cancer undergoing active oncology treatment. ... High adherence to a 6-week IOM program within supportive/palliative care for patients with lung cancer was found to alleviate pain and emotional concerns, improving overall QoL. Further research is needed to confirm the findings in real-life IOM practice for patients with lung cancer.

Royal Marines musicians play for dying bandmate Verified News Explorer Network, from the United Kingdom; 6/25/24 Musicians from the Royal Marines laid on a poignant performance at a hospice for their dying bandmate. Newlywed Sophie Ward, 27, was joined by her husband Richard, patients, staff and volunteers for the emotional final performance. Sophie was moved in her bed on to the patio adjoining her room to listen and watch her beloved band for one last time, accompanied by her husband - a fellow Royal Marines musician. Sophie, who suffers from Motor Neurone Disease, has been an inpatient at the hospice in Winsley near Bradford-upon-Avon, Wiltshire, since mid-June. Sophie was moved in her bed on to the patio adjoining her room to listen to her beloved band. ... Her colleagues, dressed in the uniform, marched and performed songs chosen by Sophie.