Literature Review

Report finds those with Parkinson’s have unmet hospice needsMcKnights Long-Term Care News; by Kristen Fischer; 3/6/25 Hospice use varies depending on whether a person has Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and those with Parkinson’s may have more unmet needs, a new study finds. Researchers evaluated data on 11,327,324 Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in hospice between 2010 and 2020 as part of their study, which was published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open. ... Hospice enrollees who had Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies were less likely to be disenrolled from hospice due to extended prognosis compared to those with Alzheimer’s disease. People who had Parkinson’s disease but not dementia with Lewy bodies were more apt to have longer stays over 180 days and turn hospice away compared to those with Alzheimer’s disease. (Short stays were defined as those less than seven days.)

Local teen helps patients at the end of life preserve memories 10 Tampa Bay YouTube channel; 3/6/25 A bittersweet and beautiful story this morning. A local teen is helping  patients at the end of life preserve memories to pass on to family. The Lifetime Legacies program through Empath Health can be in the form of a journal or a video, too. ... It's hard to think about, losing a loved one, but this is a great way to celebrate their lived experience. ... While chipping away at Bright Futures Community service hours, Zoe Lazanowski found purpose and passion. ... A volunteer with Suncoast Hospice (a member of Empath Health), Zoe helps interview patients who want to be part of the Lifetime Legacies program. Memories are documented from their childhood, family history, and sharing special stories. "One of my favorite things to ask was what advice they would have for the family ..."

Lifelong ISU fan receiving hospice care attends Cyclone basketball game CBS KCCI News-8 YouTube channel, Des Moines, IO; 3/24/25 A care home in Boone worked to get a lifelong Iowa State fan to what might be her final men's basketball game tonight. Beverly Adrian is receiving hospice care. She is 79, but turns 80 at the end of the month. Her last wish was to attend an Iowa State event, and since she is such a huge sports fan, the workers at the home she lives in thought this game would be perfect. And as you can see, it was an emotional night for her. "Oh, awesome!" "Very good!" "I've been crying since I walked in." ...

Bird flu: Human casesHospice & Palliative Care Today; 3/5/25Reports of human cases of the H5 bird flu are on the rise. Here are several posts.

Concerning new data on female physician suicide Medscape Medical News; by Pauline Anderson; 2/28/25 Suicide rates for female physicians in the United States between 2017-2021 were 47% higher than for women in the general population, results of a retrospective cohort study showed. Unlike their female counterparts, male physicians had a lower rate for suicide relative to the general male population, investigators found. “The results indicate we need added multimodal and comprehensive suicide prevention specific for physicians,” lead study author Hirsh Makhija, MS, postgraduate researcher, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, told Medscape Medical News. ... The findings were published online on February 26 in JAMA Psychiatry. 

Nurse leaders can take the lead in promoting civility in the workplace Oncology Nurse Advisor; by Susan Rux, PhD, DNP, RN, FACHE; 2/28/25 Civility, the act of respecting others, especially in situations where disagreement or disparity may arise, occurs by intentionally displaying kindness and empathy. These behaviors help people to understand differences as well as uphold common ground across all social contexts. A stable foundation, afforded through civil actions, serves as a catalyst in achieving environments that promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity — the underpinnings of a culture of belonging. Nurse leaders can play a key role in creating this culture. Contrary to civility, in the healthcare setting, acts of incivility lead to increased levels of staff disengagement and turnover. Researchers have noted that a civil nursing workplace provides a safeguard against numerous professional issues, including but not limited to increased turnover rates, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and stress.

Qualitative analysis through the lens of minority nurses American Nurse; by Sonya Moore, PhD, RN, CRNA; Carolyn Still, PhD, RN; and Siobhan Aaron, PhD, RN; 3/4/25 Many argue that experiences of discrimination, racism, and microaggression (intentional or unintentional) serve as key barriers to the recruitment and retention of diverse nurses. Iheduru-Anderson, who interviewed 30 Black nurses, noted that despite an increase in the number of Black nurses in the U.S. workforce over time, they remain significantly underrepresented in leadership and faculty positions. The study identified several themes that contribute to lack of advancement, including maintaining White comfort, distrust, lack of role models and representation, expectations about leadership roles, and the ineffectiveness of advanced degrees in securing advancement. 

'Shouldn't be something that's feared': She helps people face the end of life with dignity News Chief, part of the USA TODAY Network, Lakeland, FL; by Thomas R. Oldt; 3/2/25 Allow me to introduce a perfectly lovely person you may not wish to meet. She’s fostered rescue dogs, advocated for domestic violence victims, volunteered for foreign medical missions and worked emergency rooms throughout Central Florida. She is exceptionally empathetic, intensely focused and candid to a fault. She is also highly conversant in a subject most of us prefer to avoid. For the past seven years, Dr. Danielle Christiano has been staff physician at Good Shepherd Hospice in Auburndale where – in contrast to most other places – death is not a verboten subject. ... [Question:] What do you say or do to alleviate fears that accompany the end of life? [Answer:] It depends on your definition of hope. And it depends on what you want out of this. My general prescription is very different from most doctors because I embrace joy. I want people to seek out the things that bring them joy, ...

Writing book, getting tatoos Cowboy State Daily, Casper, WY; by Dale Killingbeck; 3/1/25 One of many tattoos on her left forearm is a dandelion in seed stage ready to blow in the wind. Deanna Cotten calls it “the wish flower” because in Texas where she was born that is its name. And like a seed ready to fly, Cotten finds herself in her last days on Earth and understands existence here is temporal. She considers each dawn a blessing. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, has already claimed a lot of ability from the 43-year-old Glenrock, Wyoming, wife and mother of four. ... With the help of a friend, she is completing a book she started writing for her business clients that has morphed into a book for people in similar circumstances who are facing some sort of crisis and end. ... In November, she entered hospice treatment at home where a team ... from Central Wyoming Hospice & Transitions cared for her and offered assistance to her family at their Glenrock home. 

Aging With Adventure: The challenge of caring Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, MA; by Eric Weld; 2/28/25 I made a mistake. I took a hiatus from writing in this space about aging with adventure because I thought I was taking a hiatus from adventure. Boy, was I wrong. I errantly thought that spending more than a year caring for my elderly mother in her final time on earth was taking me away from adventure. I am honored to have enabled my mother’s final days spent at home — not her home, but my sister’s private home — instead of in a public or private nursing facility. ... I assumed, in taking on the role of her co-caretaker, I would temporarily preempt my semi-retirement modus operandi of striking out on great adventures. To the contrary, what I learned from spending nearly two years co-caring for my aging mother is that end-of-life care is, indeed, every bit an adventure on many levels. And of course, it’s certainly about aging. [Click on the title's link to continue reading this inspirational caregiver story.]

Wishing that your patient would die: Reasons and reactions Psychiatrist.com - Rounds in the General Hospital; by Yelizaveta Sher, MD; Filza Hussain, MD; Benjamin J. Hoover, MD; Matthew Gunther, MD, MA; Daniel O. Fishman, MD; Mira Zein, MD; Jose R. Maldonado, MD; Theodore A. Stern, MD; 2/25/25 Have you ever had a patient suffer so much that you wanted them to die? Have you wondered whether such thoughts and feelings are acceptable? Have you been uncertain about how you could manage your guilt over such thoughts? Have you been unsure about how to best advocate for a patient whose medical care is futile? If you have, the following case vignette and discussion should prove useful. ...

‘Global problem’: Numerous factors, biases contribute to overtreatment at end of life Healio; by Josh Friedman; 2/26/25 Nathan I. Cherny, MD, has worked all around the world. At every stop — from Australia to Israel, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in between — he has seen people with cancer receive overly aggressive treatment at the end of life. ... In a review published in ESMO Open, Cherny and a cohort of multinational colleagues highlighted numerous reasons why overtreatment occurs among patients approaching the end of life, ... They listed more than 20 contributing factors, including desire for control of the cancer, denial and anger, family pressure and hope preservation. The two factors that contribute most to overtreatment are optimism bias and the “counterphobic determination to treat,” which involves clinicians having a difficult time introducing the suggestion of palliative care revert to offering further treatments, Cherny said. ... Responsibility for decisions does not need to fall solely on oncologists, Cherny added. Palliative care physicians, social workers, chaplains and others can be part of a team to assist patients with their choices. ... The number of patients who are overtreated differs at each institution. “Each institution has its own culture of care,” Cherny said. Editor's note: This article puts forth significant insights for all palliative and hospice clinicians, interdisciplinary teams, and palliative/hospice executive leaders. Apply Cherny's to your referral sources: "Each institution has its own culture of care." Apply these findings to your own palliative and hospice services. 

Leading early conversations about ICD [implantable cardioverter defibrillator] use in end-of-life cancer care  Cancer Network; by Megan Mullins, PhD, MPH; 2/21/25 Earlier and more frequent talks about disabling ICDs with patients receiving end-of-life care and their families may help avoid excessive pain. ... Regarding implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in those with fatal cancers, it is critical that patients know what having a device means and how it impacts end-of-life care, according to Megan Mullins, PhD, MPH. CancerNetwork® spoke with Mullins, assistant professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, about how ICD deactivation prior to end-of-life care could impact clinical practice in patients with advanced cancers. ... She emphasized that device deactivation would allow the body to undergo the natural dying process without unnecessary painful shocks associated with the use of the device.