Literature Review

Limits of correctional health reporting: Findings from a nationwide jail mortality survey (2019-2024)Journal of Correctional Health Care; by Liz Harris, William Dennis; 3/26This article presents findings from a national survey of 287 counties across 43 states assessing jail mortality between 2019 and 2024 in an attempt to compare private health care provider outcomes with county providers. The findings demonstrated that currently available information cannot serve as a reliable measure of health care quality in correctional settings due to sociocultural reporting constraints. Institutional and cultural deterrents to objective reporting have led to incomplete records, misclassified causes of death, and failures to maintain legally mandated death reports. There is a clear need for health benchmarking and clear definitions for reporting in correctional health care to enable valid comparisons between health care provider models. The paper draws attention to a recently established correctional health care-specific patient safety organization as a potential solution to enable correctional health care providers to better understand the drivers of health care outcomes in correctional facilities.

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.

The human thread: Weaving human-centered leadership in health care into culture transformationNurse Leader; by Stephanie Lonzo, Lindsey Colangelo, Kay Kennedy, Lucy Leclerc, Susan Campis; 3/26A large community hospital embraced implementation of Human-Centered Leadership in Health Care by including leaders from every discipline in a hybrid-style leadership development program. After completing the program, the leaders participated in the development of a hospital-wide brand statement which served as a collective WHY for the organization. This statement, which included human-centered principles, provided alignment, connection, and accountability across the organization. Leaders led differently, prioritizing care for self, and leading others in a relational approach. The culture transformation resulted in improved staff engagement, retention, patient experience, and quality outcomes. The senior nurse leaders share their culture transformation experience.

“I just feel alone and by myself”: how adolescents experience loneliness when their parent has cancer BMC Public Health; by Lydia Mckeown, Martin Dempster, Jenny Groarke & Lisa Graham-Wisener; 3/31/26... Adolescents experiencing parental cancer report intrapersonal loneliness and interpersonal loneliness across their peer group and family life. Healthcare professionals should identify if patients have young dependent children early on so they can support parents to provide age-appropriate information about cancer to their young people and signpost parents to relevant support for their children. Editor's Note: This need becomes even more urgent when a parent is dying. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospice Conditions of Participation reference “family” 423 times—an intentional reminder that hospcie care extends beyond the patient. Supporting parents as they support their children is both essential and expected.

Language preference is associated with goals-of-care communication and end-of-life care in dementia Journal of General Internal Medicine; by Lauren R. Pollack MD, MS, Lois Downey MA, Ruth A. Engelberg PhD, James Sibley BS, Linda K. Ko PhD, Kimiko Domoto-Reilly MD, MS, Lyndia C. Brumback PhD, Annie T. Chen PhD & Rashmi K. Sharma MD, MHS; 3/30/26 Background: People with dementia and preferred language other than English (PLOE) in the United States may face communication-related barriers to high-quality end-of-life care.Objective: Compare end-of-life care characteristics among people with dementia and PLOE versus those preferring English. ... [Efforts] to improve end-of-life care for those with PLOE might prioritize ED and hospital-based interventions, recognizing their critical safety-net functions, as well as ensure that people with dementia and PLOE and their families have sufficient cultural and linguistic support to engage in high-quality end-of-life communication with their healthcare providers.Editor's Note: Pair this with today's post, "Neenah pastor finds deeper calling after brother’s hospice journey."

Characteristics of United States Food and Drug Administration drug recalls involving opioid medications, 2002-2025Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety; by Julio C Nunes, Gabriel P A Costa, Joao P De Aquino; 3/26We reviewed more than 20 years of recall data from the United States Food and Drug Administration and found 286 recalls involving seven commonly used opioids, affecting over 350 million tablets, capsules, patches, and injectable products. Nearly half of these recalls occurred because products failed basic quality checks, while others involved incorrect doses, contamination, mislabeling, or defective delivery systems. The most serious recalls, those carrying risk of serious injury or death, were concentrated among fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone. Many recall notices lacked important details, including the number of units affected, making it difficult to understand how these issues may impact patients. Our findings show that opioid recalls happen regularly and often reflect manufacturing problems that could influence treatment safety or effectiveness.

Nursing home profit status and pain among residents living with dementiaPain Management Nursing; by Sorah Levy, Barbara Resnick, Elizabeth Galik, Kelly Doran, Tara McMullen, Sarah Holmes; 2/26Nursing home (NH) residents living with dementia experience pain that is often sub-optimally managed. Nearly one in five nursing home residents with dementia experience pain symptoms.There is a known relationship between NH organizational factors, such as profit status, and quality of care. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the relationship between NH ownership profit status and pain among residents living with dementia. NH ownership profit status was not significantly associated with pain ... 

State POLST program maturity status and dying in the nursing home or hospice in the United States: An event time studyJournal of the American Medical Directors Association; by Komal Patel Murali, May Hua, Patricia W Stone, Andrew Dick, Tadeja Gracner; 2/26State Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) programs ensure documentation of orders for treatment are documented for the provision of goal-concordant care at the end of life. The national POLST organization tracks the maturity stages of state programs and categorizes them as developed (beginning of use) and endorsed (benchmarks and standardized use). Examining the association between POLST program maturation and the likelihood of dying in place can help clarify how implementation stage may affect end-of-life care and place of death. POLST program maturity is associated with a higher likelihood of NH residents dying in place or in hospice, potentially supporting goal-concordant care and reducing burdensome hospital transfers near the end of life.