Literature Review

Nurses in ‘key position’ to embed culturally and religiously sensitive end-of-life care Nursing In Practice; by Cahal McQuillan; 3/2/26 Many Muslim patients prioritise end-of-life care that aligns with their faith and culture, with family-based care often being expected to achieve a peaceful death, a new study reports. The review, which was published in BMJ Open in January, collected and analysed data from 18 papers that presented primary research on end-of-life care among Muslims living in the UK. Their findings highlighted challenges faced by healthcare professionals in this area, and put forward several meaningful steps to help providers, such as nurses, provide culturally and religiously sensitive palliative care. 

Let's talk about robotics in nursingHealth Leaders; by G Hatfield; 3/2/26... CNOs who want to incorporate robotics into nursing workflows must focus on adapting care models and staffing to maintain quality and continuity. According to Wills, staffing models may shift towards stronger roles in pre-admission testing, nurse navigation, virtual check-ins, and ambulatory recovery support. "I think CNOs need to think beyond the walls of the hospital, and this means redesigning care models that emphasize preoperative education, care coordination, and postoperative discharge follow-ups," Wills said.Editor's Note: Is this a wave of the future? Typically, hospice organization's join healthcare's technology later rather than sooner. Values of "humanity," "empathy," and "compassion" take precedence. This article is posted for your awareness. What are potential settings? Uses? Pro's and con's? Implications for care with persons experiencing dementia? More questions abound.

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine announces 2026 annual Presidential Citation HonoreesPR Newswire; by American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; 2/3/26The three honorees this year are the

What my sister Ellen taught me about dignity and the importance of being seen: A powerful reflection on person-centered care, bias, and the true meaning of human dignity in medicine Good Men Project; by Harvey Max Chochinov; 2/23/26 Several years before her death at the age of 55 years due to complications of cerebral palsy, my sister Ellen was again in hospital, this time in intensive care and on the brink of respiratory collapse.  ... I’ve spent my entire career as a psychiatrist working in palliative care. This has included leading a large program of research, examining most aspects of end-of-life experience for patients nearing death. Recently I have recast the Golden Rule for healthcare professionals, reminding them they must aspire to a higher standard. I have coined this The Platinum Rule: do unto others as they would want done unto themselves. This means that healthcare professionals can’t presume to know what is in the patient’s best interest based on what they themselves would want in those circumstances; in other words, they need to take the time to consider the patient’s goals, hopes and wishes.

“You’re not just there to do a job”: a qualitative examination of Canadian long-term care worker strengths BMH Health Services Research; by Duneesha Goonetilleke, Nick Boettcher, Sofia Celis & Bonnie Lashewicz; 2/25/26, online ahead of print Results: We present three themes identifying interlocking expressions of strength. First, during crisis, workers stretched roles, redistributed tasks, and supported one another to sustain care under extreme constraint. Second, staff upheld person-centred care in their daily actions, working from values of dignity, relationships, and residents’ goals. Third, workers translated experience into learning and advocacy, articulating ideas to improve staffing, role clarity, leadership practices, and visitation approaches. Across these expressions, workers’ tenacity, togetherness, and shared purpose enabled collective action, although these strengths often entailed costs such as fatigue and moral strain. 

Palliative care and quality outcomes in patients with brain metastases and poor prognosis: A multi-institutional analysis JCO Oncology Practice - An American Society of Clinical Oncology Journal; by Rohit Singh, MD, Camilo E. Fadul, MD, Emily Kopp, MS, Guneet Sarai, MD, Roger Anderson, PhD, Ryan F. Amidon, MD, Samantha Schuetz, MD, Amy Chang, MD, Ausia N. Iqbal, MD, Joseph A. Bovi, MD, and Alissa A. Thomas, MD; 2/23/26 Purpose: To analyze the patterns of palliative care (PC) consultation for patients with brain metastases (BMETs) and its association with treatment, overall survival (OS), and quality metrics (eg, advance directives [ADs], hospice enrollment). Conclusion: The involvement of PC services correlated with higher completion rates of ADs and increased hospice utilization, without compromising survival or significantly altering other treatment options. There is an unmet need for PC among patients with BMETs with poor prognosis.

Doing everything FOR the patient, not TO the patient HIStalk - Healthcare IT News & Opinion; by Nassib Charmoun; 2/23/26 “Do as much as possible for the patient and as little as possible to the patient.” That single sentence, written by Bernard Lown, MD in “The Lost Art of Healing,” should serve as a universal guide to thinking about medicine, caregiving, and what it truly means to heal. Dr. Lown was my mentor beginning in my early 20s and remained a close friend until his death in 2021 at age 99, He was decades ahead of his time. He believed that medicine should integrate scientific rigor with moral imagination, and that clinical excellence without compassion is incomplete care. ... Increasingly, the evidence suggests that quality of life, not simply quantity of life, must be the defining outcome.

The effect of race on patterns of care and utilization of palliative interventions in patients with lung cancer Holistic Integrative Oncology; by Calvin Walker, Jr., Zeytun Guyo, Davin Means, Martlin Emeasoba, Samantha  Robinson, Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman, Kingsley Nnawuba & Hanna Jensen; 2/6/26 ... Results: Altogether 2,048 (1,660 white and 388 black) patients were included in the study with other races excluded due to low sample sizes. Black patients were younger, more male, had higher rates of current tobacco use, and utilized Medicaid more often than their white counterparts. Black patients also had more comorbidities while having less family history of cancer, were diagnosed with more advanced stages of cancer, and had more active cancer status in follow-up. ...

Weaving a unified fabric of care will heal the patient-provider relationship MedCity News; by Sachin K. Gupta; 2/20/26 Healthcare can transform only when strategy, workflow, data, and human connection operate together with a single purpose: strengthen the relationship at the center of care. The healthcare industry is under strain. ... At the core of these problems is the strained patient-clinician relationship. Healthcare is losing the very relationship it was built on. This is one of the prime problems that we need to solve to build a stronger healthcare industry, and AI is the instrument. ... Healthcare can transform only when strategy, workflow, data, and human connection operate together with a single purpose: strengthen the relationship at the center of care.

Artificial intelligence-powered predictive tools to improve end-of-life decision-making: mini-review British Medical Journal (BMJ) Supportive & Palliative Care; by Abdullah Alabbasi, Muhanad Alzahrani, Faris Sultan and Mohammed Sayes; 2/18/26 Results: ... Preliminary qualitative work indicates that AI-generated summaries may assist communication among healthcare teams, though concerns persist regarding transparency, bias and over-reliance on algorithms. Conclusions: AI-driven prognostic models show promise in improving risk identification and facilitating earlier engagement with palliative care. Nonetheless, the current evidence base is preliminary. Future research should include prospective trials and strengthened ethical frameworks to ensure that the integration of AI-based prognostic tools into end-of-life decision-making is both safe and equitable. 

A patient’s visit home Parkview Health; by Tim O'Sullivan, Parkview Hospice; 2/17/26 The Canal Stock Farm is more than a historical landmark along Old 24 in New Haven, Indiana. It is the home to now six generations of Ronald Hockemeyer’s family. Over the past year, members of the Parkview Hospice team had the privilege of getting to know Ron and the legacy of his familial home. ... Ron expressed his desire to have just one more day on the farm with his Parkview Hospice social worker, Emily Zimmerman. Emily was aware of a new program that makes the wishes of Parkview Hospice patients come true. She filled out the application and identified all the resources needed to secure a safe visit. Through the generosity of donors to the Parkview Foundation Hospice Fund, Ron’s day on the farm was made a reality.

Comparison of patients seen by an embedded social worker and nurse practitioner palliative care model in hospital medicine versus referral-based specialty palliative care and their acute care utilization outcomes Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Laura P Gelfman, Li Zeng, Keisha Bergland, Elizabeth Rizzo, Cheyenne Higgins, Claire Doucette, Krishna Chokshi, Emily Chai; 2/17/26 Background: Hospitalized patients with serious illness often face delayed or limited access to palliative care. Embedded hospital primary palliative care (HPPC), led by social workers and nurse practitioners, may deliver more timely, needs-based support compared with referral-based specialty palliative care (SPC). Conclusions: An embedded SW/NP-led palliative care model in hospital medicine improves access, reduces acute care use, and is sustainable over time. This approach supports timely, culturally sensitive, needs-based palliative care and may be scalable for hospital-based delivery.

Physician Associates [PAs] in hospice and palliative medicine: Insights from a national needs assessment American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Ryan Baldeo, MPAS, MSPC, PA-C, FAAHPM; 2/3/26Results: Respondents were primarily female (89.8%) and hospital-based (57.1%), with 73.5% less than or equal to 10 years of experience in the specialty. While 55.1% had specialized training, only 16.3% were specialty certified. Qualitative analysis identified five challenges: regulatory and policy hurdles, workforce disparities compared to other APPs, misconceptions about the PA role, education gaps, and emotional strain.Conclusion: These preliminary findings suggest a need for targeted organizational support in advocacy, particularly regarding legislative efforts for hospice inclusive, and professional development to bridge the certification gap.