Literature Review

Editorial: Illness trajectories in the age of big data The BMJ; by Peter Tanuseputro, Colleen Webber, and James Downar; 3/1/24For decades, healthcare providers have understood that patients follow typical trajectories of health decline as they approach the end of life, and they have used this understanding to help patients and families anticipate the dying process. Traditional trajectories focus on function or overall health status and include sudden death, terminal illness ..., organ failure ..., and frailty ... Two Education articles in the BMJ add novel dimensions to our understanding of health decline. Murray et al explain how declines in function do not always mirror declines in social, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. They also add a new trajectory, multimorbidity, to describe a person with conditions from multiple trajectories (such as heart disease from organ failure and cognitive impairment from frailty).

Creating comfort through communication: Strategies for supporting mental wellbeing in palliative careWorldHealth.net; 3/4/24... To provide comprehensive and compassionate care, this article explores the various strategies for communicating and supporting mental well-being in palliative care. 

Obstacles and opportunities for palliative care in the ICU Palliative Care News, by Rachel Edwards; 3/1/24A growing body of research touts the benefits of palliative care for patients, families, and even providers. However, when evaluated through randomized clinical trials, the results tend to lean toward mediocre. Palliative Care News spoke with experts in the field to unpack the reasons behind those results and identify the obstacles that are getting in the way of a more effective approach.

Medicare’s new Dementia GUIDE Model: How can physicians, hospices, and home health agencies participate? Morgan Lewis Blog Post; 3/1/24If you have had a loved one suffer from dementia, you know the emotional, physical, and financial toll of this terrible disease. With advancements in dementia treatment, however, there is renewed hope on addressing this disease and increasing emphasis on fostering innovative care models. A central pillar of this effort is the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) model, announced by the US Department of Health and Human Service’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in July 2023. This initiative—a new voluntary, nationwide alternative payment model—is designed to support Medicare beneficiaries with dementia, as well as their caregivers.

APRNs, home health / personal care aides top healthcare careers in 2024 McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 2/28/24Advanced practice registered nurses and home health and personal care aides lead the list of top healthcare careers in 2024, according to a study from digital healthcare platform Tebra. The researchers compared 46 healthcare industry jobs by median pay, 10-year outlook and expected job growth, employment per 10,000 workers and web search volume, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. ... Among all healthcare occupations included in the study, ones in home care had the highest employment rate. 

Podcast: Dr. Robert Carolla’s reflections on life and mortality Springfield Daily Citizen; 2/28/24 Dr. Carolla, a pioneer in his field, sheds light on the delicate balance between life and mortality that oncologists navigate daily.  Through his work with the Hospice Foundation of the Ozarks and national recognition from StoryCorps broadcasts, he and his wife, Peg, have touched countless lives with their compassion and dedication. Dr. Carolla’s journey offers a profound perspective shift on life, death, grief and the human experience. 

Writing condolence cards supports nurses as well as deceased patients’ families ONS Voice, by Casey S. Kennedy; 2/29/24During extended treatment and end-of-life care, patients, their family and caregivers, and the healthcare team can form close bonds and relationships. Those ties are abruptly severed when a patient dies, leaving each party to grieve alone. For healthcare professionals, sending a condolence card can provide closure for themselves and support for a deceased patient’s family, a team of nurses reported in an article published in the December 2023 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing.

"The great escape": How an incident of elopement gave rise to trauma informed palliative care for a patient experiencing multiple disadvantage BMC Palliat Care, by Sam Quinn, Libby Ferguson, Derek Read, and Naomi Richards; 2/28/24Background: This case report ... illustrates how unresolved traumatic experiences across the life course can affect a patient's engagement with palliative care and offers insights into the flexibility and adaptations necessary for taking a trauma informed approach to care for an individual experiencing multiple disadvantage. 

Debate intensifies over palliative care's reach: Wootton vs. Finlay's divergent viewsThe Wall Street Journal, by Getta Pillai; 2/29/24Discover the differing perspectives of Sarah Wootton and Dr. Ilora Finlay on the effectiveness of palliative care. Gain insights into the challenges and potential solutions in end-of-life care.

Are we consulting, sharing care, or taking over? A conceptual frameworkPalliat Med Rep, by José Pereira, Christopher Klinger, Hsien Seow, Denise Marshall, Leonie Herx; 2/23/24Background: Primary- and specialist-level palliative care services are needed. They should work collaboratively and synergistically. Although several service models have been described, these remain open to different interpretations and deployment.Aim: This article describes a conceptual framework, the Consultation-Shared Care-Takeover (C-S-T) Framework, its evolution and its applications.

House set to vote on bill that could give dramatic boost to nurse-aide training efforts McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Josh Henreckson; 2/28/24 A bill that could reshape how new workers enter the long-term care workforce is scheduled for a vote in the US House of Representatives this week, according to a spokesperson for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). If passed, HR 6585 — referred to as the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act — would make work training programs of as short as eight weeks with a minimum of 150 hours of training eligible for the federal aid through the Pell Grant program. Previously, grants were available only to programs with a minimum of 15 weeks and 600 hours of training.

Is healthcare paying enough attention to nurse leaders?Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Erica Carbajal; 2/26/24 Early this year, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Foundation released findings from more than 2,400 nurse leaders who were surveyed in November. Thirty-five percent of respondents indicated they were considering an exit from their roles: 12% said they intend to leave and 23% said they may leave within the next six months. When asked what the top reasons were for thinking about an exit, nurse leaders pointed to work having a negative affect on their health and well-being and not having the resources to do their job — a parallel to what bedside nurses consistently point to as drivers of burnout or reasons they've stepped away from the job. 

Communicating with patients with hearing loss or deafness—Can you hear me? JAMA Intern Med, by Dianne P. O'Leary, PhD and Timothy J. O'Leary, PhD, MD... Virtually all health care professionals want to provide the best possible care and to communicate as effectively as possible. However, ... frequent communication failures are leading to inferior care for the hearing impaired. Effective communication might require some or all of the approaches listed in [this article].