Literature Review

“This is what loneliness looks like”: A description of a high-risk population of palliative and oncology patients American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Tamia Ross, MSPH, Ruwanthi Ekanayake, BA, Lucy Rabinowitz Bailey, MPH, Kain Kim, MD, and Emily Pinto Taylor, MD; 1/9/26 Background: Loneliness exacerbates symptom burden and reduces quality of life in serious illness. Social prescribing–linking patients to non-clinical community activities–offers a novel approach to address loneliness in palliative care. Results: Most patients were older, non-Hispanic Black women experiencing financial strain, food insecurity, and transportation barriers. Anxiety exceeded depression severity; mood disorders, loneliness, and social isolation were leading referral reasons.

Sheinelle Jones honors nurses who cared for her late husbandTODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle; YouTube segment from tv show; 2/4/26 TODAY's Sheinelle Jones pays special tribute to the nurses and caretakers who looked after her husband Uche Ojeh while in hospice and not only made the time he had left more comfortable, but also supported her and the whole family during their most difficult moments. "The only reason I even have the strength to talk about it, is because I believe that they're our heroes. They deserve all the love and attention we can give them," she says. Then, the care team, Jazzie Stickle, Denise James Wright, Nykyra Owens, Chanel Duff and Jessica Goldstein, get a special surprise.Editor's Note: This segment on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle honored Uche's birthday, the first birthday Sheinelle and her family are experiencing since his death from brain cancer in May 2025. Hudson Valley Hospice provided hospice care, and beautifully represented the best of hospice care's philosophy and care. In addition to nurses and aides, Sheinelle especially thanked Uche's speech pathologist who helped him voice "I love you." I invite you to watch this and be inspired:  Sheinelle Jones' late husband Uche relearned to say 'I love you' in hospice. And she has the video.

Retired VA Nurse shares what she learned from over 10,000 dying veteransTampa Bay 28-ABC, Tampa Bay, FL; by Wendy Ryan; 1/30/26“Everything I've learned that has really mattered, I learned from the dying. Perspectives shift dramatically as death approaches. The day before you're given a terminal diagnosis, you take your life for granted. The day after, you wake up,” said Deborah Grassman, reading her book ‘Soul Injury.’ For over three decades as a VA hospice nurse practitioner, Deborah Grassman helped over 10,000 veterans take their final breath in peace. In those sacred moments, she began to see something they all carried. She calls it a “Soul Injury”, a wound that quietly haunts you. ... 

Integrating psychiatric and hospice services: Legal and clinical considerations for involuntary commitment in multimorbid end-of-life care American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Ilana Marmershteyn, BS, Darian Peters, BS, Victor Milev, BS, Mario Jacomino, MD, MPH, and George Luck, MD, FAAHPM; 1/28/26  Multimorbid patients at the end-of-life face complex medical, psychosocial, and psychiatric challenges. Hospice care aims to address physical, emotional, and spiritual needs; however, psychiatric comorbidities, particularly acute crises, remain under-recognized and inconsistently managed. The intersection of psychiatric intervention, hospice care, and legal frameworks such as involuntary commitment presents significant clinical and ethical challenges.

Briana Kohlbrenner: End-of-life care is under threat - as demand for hospice grows, workers say staffing and pay must keep paceVTDigger, Vermont; commentary by Briana Kohlbrenner; 1/27/26 As demand for hospice grows, workers say staffing and pay must keep pace. University of Vermont Home Health and Hospice (UVMHHH) is at a crossroads. As Vermont’s population ages, the demand for hospice care is growing. ... We are asking for fair and transparent pay scales, safe staffing and equity within the UVM Health system. Though we wear the same logo on our badges, we are paid less than our counterparts in other parts of the UVM Health system. A new nurse starting at UVM Home Health and Hospice earns $6.72 less per hour than a new nurse at the UVM Medical Center.

Why asking about “critical abilities” is misguided: Lessons learned from the updated Serious Illness Conversation Guide Journal of General Internal Medicine; by Joel Michael Reynolds, PhD and Michael Pottash, MD, MPH; 1/20/26 The Ariadne Labs’ Serious Illness Care Program is a care delivery model that aims to improve conversations between patients and their clinicians about serious illness. This is accomplished through its foundational tool: the serious illness conversation guide. ... As of 2022, the Serious Illness Care Program has a footprint in over 44 countries and in all 50 states. The conversation guide had been translated into over 13 languages and nearly 18,000 clinicians had been trained on its use. In 2023, the Serious Illness Care Program released an updated conversation guide. ... Gone was the future-oriented question about critical abilities: “What abilities are so critical to your life that you can’t imagine living without them?” A more present-focused question about activities replaced it: “What activities bring joy and meaning to your life?” ... The revision of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide signals more than a semantic change. Its revision of the critical abilities question instead reflects a deeper reckoning with the ethical limitations of traditional advance care planning and with the import of disability bioethics. 

Sound of silence: Training physicians to avoid interrupting the diagnosis Medscape; by Donavyn Coffey; 1/21/26 When Anthony Back, MD, a palliative care specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle, takes medical trainees on his rounds, they often come out of the exam room with the same observation: “You didn’t say anything.” Back is among a growing number of physicians who practices silence with his patients, intentionally giving them more time to share and process before he chimes in, and teaching the next generation of doctors to do the same.  ... Emerging evidence and educator experience suggest that silence is not an absence of skill but a deliberate diagnostic and relational tool.

All hands on deck: A case report of an interdisciplinary team preventing elder financial abuse at a skilled nursing facilityCureus; by Grace Yi, Nicholas S. Cho, Karen Galvez-Maquindang, Christine Sun, Navid Darouian; 12/25Elder financial abuse (EFA) is a common but under-reported form of maltreatment among elderly individuals. This case describes an 84-year-old woman with cognitive deficits residing in a skilled nursing facility (SNF), who was exploited by a purported friend who took funds, important documents, and attempted to designate herself as the patient’s power of attorney. The situation was quickly identified by the multidisciplinary care team at the SNF and mitigated through early action and collaboration. The case emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary efforts to identify at-risk patients and the establishment of protocols surrounding abuse identification and reporting to protect elderly patients from financialexploitation and preserve their autonomy, dignity, and quality of life.

How physical therapy supports comfort and connection in hospice care CBS News Baltimore, Baltimore, MD; by LifeBrdge Health; 1/13/26 ... Physical therapy in hospice looks different from traditional rehabilitation. Instead of focusing on long-term recovery, it centers on day-to-day steadiness and comfort. Every visit is shaped around what the patient feels able to do that day. "I try to emphasize what patients can do versus what they can't," Jennifer says. "Big goals can always be broken into smaller and more manageable steps." Therapy commonly supports three important areas.

“Can We Talk?” A community-based training to improve serious illness communication Home Healthcare Now; by Ashley Kaminski Petkis, DNP, APRN, AGACNP-BC and Eric Hackenson, DPT; Jan/Feb 2026 Serious illness conversations (SICs) are often delayed or avoided in community-based healthcare due to clinician discomfort and lack of training. Given that many patients wish to die at home, yet often do not, there is a need for structured communication training in home care and hospice settings to ensure the care we provide aligns with patient and family preferences. ...  By embedding SIC training within a community-based organization, this work demonstrated how modest interventions can catalyze a change in practice, reinforcing the idea that SICs are a standard of quality care rather than an optional enhancement.

Interprofessional collaboration between hospital-based palliative care teams and hospital ward staff: A realist review PLoS One; by Louana Moons, Fouke Ombelet, Mieke Deschodt, Maaike L De Roo, Eva Oldenburger, Inge Bossuyt, Peter Pype; 12/19/25  Conclusion: This realist review highlights the complexity of interprofessional collaboration between PCTs and ward staff, emphasizing the importance of tailored approaches that address specific contextual needs, expectations, and norms. Strengthening positive attitudes, clarifying roles, and fostering partnerships can enhance interprofessional collaboration, ultimately improving palliative care quality in hospital settings.

The quiet note: Music, the language of compassion at life's end Psychology Today; by Sara Leila Sherman and Morton Sherman; 7/14/25 Music plays a vital role in the quieter, more tender, more difficult moments of life, especially near the end. We’ve seen how a single note, played or remembered, can become a bridge between worlds, between a person and their memories, a caregiver and a patient, a life lived and a life letting go. In those final moments of life, where silence often speaks louder than words, music and mindful action offer something medicine cannot: presence. 

Hands Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA); by R. Jordan Williams, MD, MPH; 8/13/25Lend me your hand Callused or calaminedWrinkled or plump,Nails bittenNails extendedSplintered and pittedNails neatly or never cropped.Lend me your hand Strong or weak Cold or warmingSwollen and swanned; Gnarled in knots ...Editor's Note: Continue reading this powerful poem. Additionally, JAMA published this description of the poem, "Poetry and the Medicine of Touch" by Rafael Campo, MD, MA: "In this deeply felt poem, the hand becomes a potent metaphor for our shared humanity ... Aspiring clinicians are still taught to assess, to palpate, to diagnose through touch. Yet, as “Hands” reminds us, patients’ hands hold far more than clinical signs—they reflect stories, histories, fears, and hopes. ..."