Literature Review

Building blocks of hospice family caregiver support Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 9/24/25 Untapped reimbursement opportunities exist when it comes to developing a sustainable family caregiving infrastructure in the face of rising demand for home-based hospice care. ... Among the payment avenues with potential to improve support for caregivers is the Medicaid-funded Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) program. SFC coverage includes a modest financial stipend to health care providers that offer home- and community-based services for caregivers. ... Roughly 63 million Americans are family caregivers, an increase of nearly 50% since 2015, according to a report from the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. About one-in-every-four adults is a caregiver to a family member, with 40% of these individuals providing high-intensity care, the report found. About half of the nation’s caregivers reported negative financial impacts, with one-in-five unable to afford basic needs such as food and 25% taking on debt. Additionally, one-in-five caregivers have poor health outcomes, the report found.Editor's Note: Are you aware that the 2008 CMS Hospice Conditions of Participation identify the "family" 423 times? (Yes, I've searched, counted, and categorized.) Click here for AARP's 2025 edition of Caregiving in the US.

Study provides new insight into loneliness among home care recipients McKnights Home Care; by Paul Katz, MD and Barbara Resnick, PhD; 9/22/25 ... A team of international Investigators, led by researchers at the University of Waterloo, recently reported on the link between loneliness and mortality among home care recipients in Canada, Finland and New Zealand. The study can be found in the July issue of the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (Vol 26 (7) 105687 July 2025). ... Home care recipients may be more prone to loneliness, given mobility and sensory problems that limit engagement in the community.  ... Interestingly, investigators noted that individuals with less informal care had the highest rates of loneliness. An explanation may be that those with less complex health needs requiring  less support from family members may lead to more social isolation.

Hospice, palliative care services yield high quality, cost savings Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 9/22/25 Hospice and palliative care services can result in better outcomes and reduced costs, recent research has found. A recent study by Empassion Health examined 45,957 seriously ill patients receiving supportive care through the organization from January 2023 to April 2025. The study found a 35% reduction in total cost of care per patient during the final year of life when compared to other individuals. ... The study illustrates the significant quality and cost impacts of hospice and palliative care delivery, Robin Heffernan, CEO and co-founder of Empassion Health, said ... 

Early palliative care intervention improves end-of-life care in ovarian cancer Medscape; by Maurie Markman, MD; 9/18/25 ... This particular study asked an important question: Is there a relationship between that timing when palliative care is introduced to the ultimate end-of-life aggressiveness of care (emergency room use, use of intensive care, and hospitalization)? ... The outcome was timing, or introduction, of palliative care with emergency room use, hospitalization, and intensive care use within the last 30 days of life and chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life, as well as the risk of death occurring in the hospital.  ... The investigators found that any palliative care or any use of a palliative care physician called in as a consult earlier than 3 months before the death was associated with a lower risk of aggressive end-of-life care. 

Assisted dying in practice: International experiences and implications for health and social care ehospice; full report by Sarah Scobie, Rachel Hutchings, Miranda Davies, Stephanie Kumpunen and Sarah Reed; 9/15/25 Exploring 15 jurisdictions across the world, this is the most detailed look to date at what the UK can learn from other countries as the UK and Scottish Parliaments debate bills to legalise assisted dying and potentially set up assisted dying services. ... The Nuffield Trust holds a neutral position on the ethical question of whether or not assisted dying should be legalised, for whom, and in what circumstances. We are committed to identifying evidence to support decision-makers in understanding the effects that legalisation may have. 

How a novel coaching intervention is building resilience and hope in adolescents and young adults with advanced cancer: A conversation with Abby R. Rosenberg, MD, MS, MA The ASCO Post; by Jo Cavaloo; 9/15/25 Each year, nearly 90,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs; aged 15–39) are diagnosed with cancer, and approximately 9,300 die of the disease. ... AYAs are at increased risk for developing adverse long-term side effects from cancer and/or its treatment, including chronic conditions, secondary cancers, infertility, poor psychosocial health, and financial toxicity. ... The findings from a recent randomized phase III clinical trial investigating a novel resilience coaching intervention for AYA patients with advanced cancer are showing promising results in improving feelings of resilience and hope, as well as longer-term improvement in quality of life for these patients. ... In a wide-ranging interview with The ASCO Post, Dr. Rosenberg discussed the psychosocial impact of cancer on AYA cancer survivors, the results of the PRISM-AC study, and how AYA survivors are able to cope with having a terminal prognosis.

A workflow initiative to increase the early palliative care referral rate in patients with advanced cancer MDedge - Federal Practitioner - Quality Improvement; by Judy Lim, MD and Linda D. Nguyen, DNP, NP-C, MD; 9/3/25 ... The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the World Health Organization recommend that every patient with advanced cancer should be treated by a multidisciplinary palliative care team early in the course of the disease and in conjunction with anticancer treatment. Despite the documented benefits and the recommendations, early PC is still not often offered in clinical practice. 

Reducing family caregiver burden may prevent 30-day ED readmissions among community-dwelling older adults, study finds McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Foster Stubbs; 9/9/25 Alleviating caregiver burden may reduce returns to the emergency department for older adults up to 30 days after a discharge, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study examined 1409 dyads or duos of community-dwelling patients 65 years or older and their family caregivers. ... [Questions] included items about strain in the caregiver’s role and personal life associated with caregiving. ... "We interpret these findings as evidence that caregiver burden may contribute to a negative care transition, associated with 30-day ED revisits, ..."

Palliative care researchers use qualitative data to understand the full picture of patients' lives St. Jude Research; by Heather Johnson; 8/26/25 The central goal of palliative care is to provide comfort, relieve suffering and improve the quality of life for those dealing with serious illnesses. That care is interdisciplinary. It must be. Quality of life relates to physical, social, emotional, spiritual and psychological needs. Addressing those needs requires teamwork from physicians and clinicians in a range of disciplines. ... Palliative care studies often use mixed methods approaches to capture the full picture of what can be subjective outcomes. For example, scales and surveys may provide a foundation for assessing symptom relief, while qualitative research, such as patient interviews and focus groups, helps researchers understand the meaning behind the numbers.  Editor's Note: Yes. Measures for hospice and palliative success and growth are more than dollar amounts and the number of locations. Pairing qualitative research with quantitative data, researchers and leaders must seek to "understand the meaning behind the numbers." Ongoing, be sure to explore our newsletter's Saturday issues for relevant, timely evidence-based research articles--quantitive and qualitive data--to improve the care of persons who needing hospice and palliative care.

Fed action toward medical journals is “dangerous,” ethicist saysMedscape; by Arthur L. Caplan; 8/26/25Not so long ago, a letter was sent by a federal prosecutor to a journal editor that I think raises issues that ought to be not partisan and not political, but that physicians and physician researchers have to make clear they oppose... [The editor] got this letter that basically said the US attorney was asking, how does your journal handle “misinformation and competing viewpoints,” among other things... This is a fundamental misunderstanding of what journals are about. As I hope all of you watching understand, journals are aimed at medical people, at researchers, and at people who work in healthcare. They’re not the modality for educating the public... Medical journals - whether you read them or whether you use them to disseminate your research, findings, or clinical experience - ought to be removed from government intrusion.

Research study participation, 8/23/25

Supreme Court narrowly OKs NIH cutsBecker's Hospital Review; by Madeline Ashley; 8/22/25On Aug. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward with broad cuts to National Institutes of Health grants connected to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, while leaving unresolved whether the policy itself was lawfully enacted, NBC News reported Aug. 21.Publisher's note: Some of our providers and researchers may be connected to some of these NIH grants...

Research Institute for Home Care and National Alliance for Care at Home ink affiliation agreement National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 8/20/25 The Research Institute for Home Care (the Institute) and the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) have entered into an affiliation agreement to strengthen and expand research efforts while further unifying the care at home movement. The agreement is effective immediately. ... With this affiliation, the Institute will remain an independent research organization, ... The Institute’s Board of Directors will continue to independently oversee its research agenda and initiatives. The Alliance will provide comprehensive management support for the Institute’s operations. At the launch of the affiliation, Dr. Steve Landers, CEO of the Alliance, will also serve as the President of the Institute. Jennifer Schiller, the former Executive Director of the Institute, has joined the Alliance leadership team and will continue to support Institute initiatives along with other Alliance leaders. Jennifer Sheets, Founder and CEO of Carezzi, will remain the Board Chairman of the Institute.