Literature Review

Textures of Black sound and affect: Life and death in New OrleansAmerican Anthropologist; by Matt Sakakeeny; 6/24In a traditional New Orleans jazz funeral, the characteristic shift from mourning to joy is propelled by brass band musicians weaving melodies and rhythms together. This article is about how these thickly layered textures of sound elicit shared sentiments of lament and of joy.

Making end-of-life health disparities in the U.S. visible through family bereavement narrativesPEC Innovation; by Cassidy Taladay-Carter; 4/24End-of-life experiences can have important implications for the meaning-making and communication of bereaved family members, particularly due to (in)access to formal healthcare services (i.e., palliative care and hospice). Grounded in Communicated Narrative Sense-Making theory, this study extends knowledge about how the stories told about end-of-life by bereaved family members affect and reflect their sense-making, well-being and importantly, potential disparities in end-of-life care. ... Four themes illustrated the continuum of communication that families engaged in when making sense of end-of-life experiences, including reflections on silence, tempered frustrations, comfort with care, and support from beyond.

"It's a heavy thing to carry": Internal medicine and pediatric resident experiences caring for dying patientsAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Lindsay M Gibbon, Laura Buck, Lauren Schmidt, Jori F Bogetz, Amy Trowbridge; 5/24Our data suggests a model for the process by which residents learn affective skills critical to EOL care: residents (1) notice strong emotion, (2) reflect on the meaning of the emotion, and (3) crystallize this reflection into a new perspective or skill. Educators can use this model to develop educational methods that emphasize normalization of physician emotions and space for processing and professional identity formation.

Time to rethink assisted dying?Bioethics; by Udo Schuklenk; 5/24... But who should be tasked with the provision of such services [assisted suicide and / or voluntary euthanasia], given that it would no longer be the case that only people defined as patients would be eligible for an assisted death. Healthcare professionals might object to providing such services to people who aren't patients. Different societies could decide to introduce permissive assisted dying regimes tasking different professionals with the provision of such services. If doctors are the profession tasked with the provision of such services in a particular jurisdiction, they ought to provide it to those eligible in that society. However, it is worth considering whether a newly created assisted dying profession, that is equally tightly regulated, may be a preferable way forward.

Hospice satisfaction among patients, family, and caregivers: A systematic review of the literatureAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; Timothy Hoff, PhD, Kathryn Trovato, MPH, Aliya Kitsakos, BA; 6/24Thirty-eight studies were included in the review. Key findings were: (a) higher levels of hospice care satisfaction among patients, families, and other caregivers; and (b) correlates of hospice care satisfaction falling into the categories of communication, comfort, and support. The published literature had fewer findings related to demographic correlates of satisfaction such as age or race/ethnicity and was lacking in comparative research examining satisfaction across different types of hospice care settings.

Dana-Farber retracts string of studies in systematic review of data integritySTAT+, by Angus Chen; 4/18/24An ongoing investigation into data integrity at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has resulted in a string of retractions, the latest of which is a 2006 Science paper co-authored by institute president and CEO Laurie Glimcher. The retraction notice, published in Science on Thursday, noted that the authors had become aware of discrepancies in key scientific images that led them to lose confidence in key figures in the study, although the study’s lead author opposed the retraction. The issues with this paper, along with concerns with more than 50 other articles co-authored by four of Dana-Farber's top researchers, were highlighted in a January blog post by the scientific sleuth Sholto David.

Formal training in palliative care for the trauma surgeon: Hospice and Palliative Medicine FellowshipCurrent Trauma Reports, by Alison Haruta, Ian McCurry, Allyson Cook Chapman; 4/24Palliative care aims to alleviate suffering across multiple domains and treat the patient and family as a unit to provide goal concordant care. Utilization of palliative care principles in trauma surgery has emerged as a crucial component of comprehensive patient care. We discuss formal hospice and palliative medicine training, the benefits of this fellowship, and how surgeons integrate this into their careers.

How do people in prison access palliative care? A scoping review of models of palliative care delivery for people in prison in high-income countriesPalliative Medicine, by Emma Gilbert, Nick De Viggiani, Joana de Sousa Martins, Tanuka Palit, Jessica Sears, Daniel Knights, Audrey Roulston, Mary Turner, Lucy E Selman; 4/24We identified a typology of three models of care delivery for people in prison in high-income countries: (1) Embedded hospice model, typified by an interdisciplinary team and volunteer caregivers providing care on-site; (2) Outsourcing Care model, in which end-of-life care is provided outside the prison; (3) Collaborative community model, which involves prisons engagement with other healthcare facilities or practitioners. ... Embedded hospice models in the USA are prevalent and demonstrate promising evidence for enhancing the care experience for recipients and peer caregivers. Chaplains, social workers and peer caregivers provide psychosocial support, yet documented assessment and strategies for managing the distinctive needs of this group and their families are lacking, despite their acknowledged complexity.

Automated electronic health record score to predict mortality risk at the US Department of Veterans AffairsAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, by Thomas F Osborne, Zachary P Veigulis, Anna Ware, David M Arreola, Catherine Curtin, Marianne Yeung; 4/24A readily available risk score, automatically calculated from EHR data, was able to identify patients at high risk for 30-day mortality in the acute care setting. Next steps will be to assess how the CAN score can be utilized to in improve end of life care for high-risk hospitalized Veterans.

Value of a multidisciplinary geriatric oncology committee on patient care in a community-based, academic cancer centerJournal of Geriatric Oncology, by Gurbani Singh, Lena Morant, McKenzie Bedra, Jennifer Emel, Kelly Harris, Yudhishtra Markan, Christopher de Borja, Monica Tong, Patrice Downs, Cherif Boutros; 5/24The present study demonstrates the profound impact that the complexities in health status and frailty among older individuals can have during cancer management. The Geriatric Oncology Program at the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center maximized treatment outcomes for older adults through the provision of standard oncologic care therapies and optimization services, while also minimizing unnecessary interventions on an individual patient-centric level.

Cultural values influence on rural family caregivers' decision-making for ill older adult loved onesShena Gazaway, PhD, RN; J. Nicholas Odom, PhD, RN; Ivan Herbey, MD, MPH; Margaret Armstrong, MSN; Felicia Underwood, LICSW, MPA; T. Vantrice Heard, PhD; Ashley Allen, BSN, RN; Christiana Ekelem, BS; Marie A. Bakitas, DNSc, CRNP; Ronit Elk, PhDRural older adult Americans receive more intense treatment at end of life. Studies indicate that those who participate in goals of care conversations receive care more concordant with their values. Yet, rates of documented goals of care discussions are lower in rural and Black communities. Although multi-factorial, the role that rural family caregivers play in decision-making for ill loved ones is understudied.

The association between social connectedness and euthanasia and assisted suicide and related constructs: systematic review BMC Public Health, by Emma Corcoran, Molly Bird, Rachel Batchelor, Nafiso Ahmed, Rebecca Nowland, and Alexandra Pitman; 4/16/24 Background ... Methods ... Results ...Conclusions: Our findings for all age groups are consistent with a those of a previous systematic review focussed on older adults and suggest that poor social connectedness is not a clear risk factor for EAS or for measures more distally related to EAS. ...

Health trajectories of skilled nursing facility patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Evidence for practicing nursesJournal of Gerontological Nursing, by Mark Toles, Cameron Ulmer, Jennifer Leeman; 4/24Older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are at high risk for acute medical problems and their health trajectories frequently include hospital admission and care in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). Their health trajectories after SNF discharge are poorly understood. Therefore, in the current study, we sought to describe health trajectories and factors associated with hospital read-missions for older adults with ADRD during the 30 days following SNF discharge.