Literature Review

“We make our own families”: Do child-free people die alone? Hospice worker shares her experience Daily Dot; by Rebecca Leib; 3/18/26 According to a longtime hospice worker, being child-free doesn't affect end-of-life care, but having strong community ties does. The decision to have children is a deeply personal one, fraught with societal pressures and fears. One common fear is that a childless person might die alone. Recently, however, child-free advocate @wearechildfree shared a video dispelling that fear. Whether someone has kids or doesn't, she says, meaningful end-of-life care is not about children specifically, but the result of cultivating a close and loving community.

Akron-area teen remembered for facing cancer with grace, laughter Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH; by Ralph N. Paulk and Marilyn Miller Paulk; 3/18/26 Darren Hampton smiled and laughed almost incessantly. ... His family reminisced how he fought an agonizing battle with grace and a seemingly habitual smile long after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 at age 7. ... Darren wasn’t afraid to die,” Hampton said. “He understood what was going on.” ... Then, shortly after arriving at the hospice center, he asked Abood, “Are you telling me I don’t have to go to school?” Yet, he expressed a willingness to take his state tests. “He was always concerned about his schoolwork,” ... "(Darren) was full of energy and always positive. He wanted to step in and change the world. He talked about recycling in rivers and lakes.” ... On the day he died, Darren summoned his family.  ... 

Facing death as a doctor: Knowledge vs natureMedscape; by Sarah Amandolare; 3/12/26 The decision to enroll her father in hospice care came easily for Janet Abrahm, MD. Abrahm, a palliative care doctor and former oncologist, helped her father — an internist who died of prostate cancer at home — understand the program’s benefits, such as family bereavement services, and that he could be readmitted to the hospital if needed. “Most doctors don’t know that,” said Abrahm, who is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston and the author of Comprehensive Guide to Supportive and Palliative Care for Patients with Cancer. “They think it’s a one-way street, I imagine — that you put somebody in hospice and then that’s it. ... The level of engagement physicians have with death in their practice may inform how they want to die — and how they counsel loved ones facing a serious illness. But a new study suggests even as they face end-of-life decisions through the lens of their expertise, physicians can also be swayed by the same financial, familial, and existential burdens afflicting their patients. 

Pediatric Resource GuideThe HAP Foundation press release; 3/16/26Our team with the Lynda P. Bollman’s Pediatric Program collected as many resources as we could find to assist patients, families, and practitioners. Our goal is for this Resource Guide to be an efficient and effective tool to aid in caring for children with a serious illness and their families navigating their journey... The Pediatric Resource Guide is divided into several categories (i.e., financial support, transportation support, emotional wellness support, etc.) to ease navigation. You will also be able to break some sections into subcategories (i.e., Midwest, East, West, etc.)...

Translating palliative care narratives into art: An arts-based knowledge translation pilot with young adult artists Palliative Care and Social Practice; by Kristina A. Smith, Philippe Blanchard, Susan Law, and Kelli Stajduhar; 2/25/26 Objectives: This knowledge translation project explored arts-based approaches for translating palliative care narrative data into creative forms, examining the feasibility of converting research narratives into accessible art forms that could facilitate engagement with death-related topics. Results: Over 25 artistic works illustrating death and dying experiences were created. The collaborative translation process revealed that undergraduate artists could effectively interpret and visualize complex palliative care narratives through diverse artistic approaches. Course evaluations and informal feedback indicated that artists found the experience meaningful and challenging, and expressed interest in further exploration of death-related topics. Editor's Note: Go to this article and scroll down past "Results" to see photos of these artworks and their descriptions.

The case for caregiver support: Better outcomes for people and organizationsCAPC press release; 2/23/26The Case for Caregiver Support: Better Outcomes for People and Organizations, a new publication from CAPC, outlines how hospital-based psychosocial support for caregivers benefits caregivers, patients, and the hospitals themselves.

More states push to let terminally ill patients use cannabis in hospitals GreenState; by Taylor Engle; 3/4/26 ... Across multiple state legislatures, lawmakers are now advancing bills to let seriously ill patients use medical cannabis inside hospitals, hospice centers, and other care facilities. In the current session, proposals in Connecticut, Hawaii, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington State have moved forward, even as one similar bill stalled in Mississippi this week. At the heart of this push is a moral question that many find hard to dismiss: if a qualifying patient is legally using cannabis to manage pain, nausea, anxiety, or other symptoms at home, why should that care stop the moment they enter a hospital or hospice? Advocates have framed it less as a legal loophole and more as a gap in dignity and continuity of care: one that these bills aim to close.

Thyme Care launches Integrated Social Support model, bringing proactive oncology social work to 8 million Americans upon diagnosis PR Newswire, Nashville, TN; by Thyme Care; 3/5/26 Thyme Care today announced the public launch of its Integrated Social Support (ISS) model, a redesigned approach to oncology navigation that positions licensed master's-level social workers as the first to intervene when members experience barriers to navigating their cancer. The announcement coincides with National Social Work Month in March, recognizing the essential role social workers play in improving health outcomes. An estimated 44% of individuals affected by cancer experience psychosocial burdens, which are associated with poorer health, clinical, and economic outcomes for patients and caregivers. Thyme Care's ISS model flips the approach by making licensed social workers one of the first points of contact for social, emotional, and practical needs, assessing members from day one and throughout their journey ...

Longer-running state POLST programs improve end-of-life outcomes for SNF patients McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Kimberly Marselas; 3/9/26 Nursing home patients are more likely to die in the facility or in hospice than in a hospital in states with mature POLST programs, according to a new, first-of-its kind study. Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, also known as POLST or MOLST, are standing orders meant to assist in decision-making at the end of life to ensure patients’ treatment preferences are documented. ... Researchers behind the new study said results suggest continued implementation and long-term use of POLST programs streamlined advance directives among residents, helped lessen unnecessary hospitalizations and limited aggressive care at the end of life. 

Family says Farmington man who died en route to hospice 'knew he was dying in jail' ABC 40/29 News, Rogers, AR; by Adam Roberts and Carlee Gilpin; 3/7/26 The family of a 74-year-old Farmington man who died in jail said they tried for weeks to get him moved to a health care facility. James Edward Gore was arrested on Feb. 9, accused of stabbing two women. He died on Feb. 25 while being moved from jail to hospice care. The family held a news conference Friday, Mar. 6. They accused the prosecutor's office, the judge presiding over the case, and the sheriff's office of delaying hospice care and not communicating with the family. ... James Edward Gore was arrested after police say he used scissors and a knife to stab two women on Feb. 9. At the time, a family member told police Gore had just had a tumor removed from his frontal lobe. He also recently had a stroke, medication issues, and cancer.

Oncologist perspectives on timely hospice referral: A qualitative study American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care; by Andrew Lynch, Andrea Altschuler, Joseph P Cosgrove, Hannah Whitehead, Corey Schwartz, Raymond Liu, Mina Chang; 3/7/26 Background: Late hospice referral rates are on the rise and are associated with negative outcomes at the end of life (EoL). Rates of late hospice referral vary drastically from oncologist to oncologist, and behavioral and psychological factors among individual oncologists have been identified as potential contributors to this variability. ...  Conclusions: Numerous factors independent of hospice eligibility were reported to influence hospice referral practices among oncologists. While some factors represent challenging cultural and social barriers to timely hospice referral, other system- and patient-specific barriers offer opportunities for potential interventions. 

Hyperactive Delirium during hospice patients’ last week of life in a home care setting 

Clinicians outline strategies to improve cancer care in U.S. prisons Oncology Times; by Kumar Das, Dibash PhD; March 2026 Cancer is now the leading cause of death in U.S. prisons, and outcomes for incarcerated patients are markedly worse than for those in the general population. A 2022 study of Connecticut's prison system found that people diagnosed with cancer while incarcerated had 92% higher mortality compared with 16% higher mortality observed in England and Wales. The difference, researchers said, underscores the role of healthcare access and correctional policy in shaping cancer survival.