Literature Review

Truth-telling to the seriously ill child – Nurses’ experiences, attitudes, and beliefsNursing Ethics, Sage JournalsFirst published online December 21, 2023Mandy El Ali, Sharon Licquirish, Jenny O'Neill, and Lynn GillamBackground: Nurses play an integral role in the care of children hospitalised with a serious illness. Although information about diagnostics, treatments, and prognosis are generally conveyed to parents and caregivers of seriously ill children by physicians, nurses spend a significant amount of time at the child’s bedside and have an acknowledged role in helping patients and families understand the information that they have been given by a doctor. Hence, the ethical role of the nurse in truth disclosure to children is worth exploring.

Family caregiving doesn’t always mean poor mental health, study findsMcKnight’s Long Term Care NewsDecember 15, 2023Caregiving may be stressful for some people, but it can have mental health benefits for others, according to a new study. The author said people should not automatically categorize caregiving as a chronic stressor and would like to see more balance in the way it’s portrayed. 

Study—Black Patients Less Likely Receive A Home Health Referral Following A Hospital StintHome Health Care NewsDecember 8, 2023Home health services are a vital component of care continuity. But nurses are less likely to give Black patients, compared to white patients, home health referrals when being discharged from a hospital stay, a new University of Michigan study found. Specifically, researchers found that roughly 22% of Black patients were receiving home health referrals by discharge nurses, compared to 27% of white patients.

More people with dementia opting to age in place over senior livingMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 7, 2023People living with dementia are more likely to choose aging in place over an assisted living or a continuing care retirement community, according to a new study. A research letter in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported that over the last two decades, a variety of factors have shifted where people with dementia live, including family caregiver availability, declining marriage and birth rates, alternative residential care arrangements, Medicaid expansion of home- and community-based services and the long-term care workforce crisis. Researchers said their study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic noticeably altered living arrangements for individuals living with dementia, increasing the number of those opting to age in place. ... What concerned researchers was increasing functional impairment and levels of unmet needs among those living alone or in a residential care setting, including assisted living and CCRCs, “given the limited regulatory oversight and lack of uniformity in services available in these settings.”