Literature Review

Veteran Honored: 101-year-old recognized for bravery on the battlefieldThe Glendale Star, Tempe AZ; by Lin Sue Flood; 7/5/24 At the tender age of 18, Ned Kent joined the Army. That was January 1940 ... and he served faithfully through July 1945 ... [Kent] fought on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. He and his troop won a Bronze Heart for their heroic actions in storming Normandy while under German bombardment on D-Day, now over 80 years ago. His daughter Debi is enormously proud of his courage. “My dad is a hero, but my dad is also a humble man,” she said. Proving her point, the 101-year-old was quick to add, “I’m no hero. I just served in the Army.” But those five years of service were difficult to talk about. It took Kent decades to open up about what he experienced, including the horrors witnessed while liberating a concentration camp. One of the people he shared openly with was Hospice of the Valley social worker Roberta Fellows. Once she learned about his time in the service, she was determined to give him some much-needed recognition for all he endured. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.] 

Survey: Adults dropped from Medicaid after pandemic faced healthcare access, affordability issues CIDRAP - Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy Research and Innovation Office, University of Minnesota; by Mary Van Beusekom, MS; 7/2/24 A survey of low-income adults in four southern US states shows that nearly half of those disenrolled from Medicaid after COVID-19 pandemic protections ended had no insurance in late 2023, leading to struggles to afford healthcare and prescription drugs and threatening to broaden a gap that had narrowed during expanded governmental benefits. The data were derived from 89,130 adult residents of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas participating in the National Health Interview Survey in 2019, 2021, and 2022. In 2023, states rechecked Medicaid eligibility after COVID-19 governmental protections expired, disenrolling millions. The average participant age was 48.0 years, and 51.6% were women. Researchers from Beth Israel Medical Center and Harvard Medical School published the results late last week in JAMA Health Forum.

Factors affecting palliative care collaboration with pain medicine specialists Clinical Pain Advisor; by James Maitlall, MD; 6/27/24 Structured collaboration between physicians working in palliative care (PC) and pain medicine (PM) may increase PC physician referral of seriously ill patients to PM specialists and potentially optimize their care, according to study results published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. ... In a survey study, a multicenter team of investigators explored attitudes and beliefs among US PC physicians regarding PM specialists, as well as factors potentially impacting collaboration between physicians in these 2 areas of practice. ... The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) approved the survey for distribution to 1000 of its physician members, who were selected at random. ... The investigators concluded, “Although we found that PC physicians have highly positive attitudes about the value of PM specialists, referral rates remain low, even for IDDS implantation, which has perhaps the largest body of evidence for patients with complex cancer-associated pain.”  

Advanced lung cancer: Studies explore palliative care delivered by telehealth and in a stepped-care approachThe ASCO Post - American Society of Clinical Oncology; by Alice Goodman; 6/25/24 Early palliative care can be integrated into the course of treatment for patients with advanced lung cancer via delivery by telehealth with outcomes similar to when palliative care is delivered via in-person visits, according to results of the REACH PC trial presented by Joseph Greer, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston, at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting Plenary Session. A separate randomized noninferiority study presented at the ASCO meeting by Jennifer S. Temel, MD, FASCO, also of Harvard Medical School, Boston, found that stepped palliative care was noninferior to monthly visits with early integrated palliative care. Results of the stepped-care study were published in JAMA to coincide with the presentation at ASCO. [This article includes:]

Cancer therapy at end of life may not boost survival Cure; by Brielle Benyon; 6/17/24 Patients with advanced solid cancers who received systemic therapy toward the end of life typically did not live any longer than patients who did not receive treatment, according to research published in JAMA Oncology. Because cancer treatments can damper quality of life, it is crucial that patients and their loved ones discuss goals of care and prognosis with their oncology team, two experts emphasized. “I think once we progress to advanced and metastatic cancer when cure is no longer feasible, it’s important to consider goals-of-care conversations,” said study author Maureen Canavan, associate research scientist at Yale School of Medicine.

Lessons learned establishing the Palliative Care Research Cooperative's Qualitative Data Repository Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; Salimah H Meghani, Kim Mooney-Doyle, Amber Barnato, Kathryn Colborn, Riley Gillette, Krista L Harrison, Pamela S Hinds, Dessi Kirilova, Kathleen Knafl, Dena Schulman-Green, Kathryn I Pollak, Christine S Ritchie, Jean S Kutner, Sebastian Karcher; 5/31/24 ... The [Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group] PCRC Data Informatics and Statistics Core leadership partnered with the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR) to establish the first serious illness and palliative care qualitative data repository in the U.S. ... Specifically, we discuss how we co-designed the PCRC-QDR and created tailored guidelines for depositing and sharing qualitative data depending on the original research context, establishing uniform expectations for key components of relevant documentation, and the use of suitable access controls for sensitive data. ... This work advances the establishment of best practices in qualitative data sharing.

Telehealth delivers early palliative care as effectively as in-person careAJMC, American Society of Clinical Oncology; by Laura Joszt, MA; 6/2/24 Early palliative care can be delivered via telehealth with equivalent quality-of-life effects as palliative care delivered in person to patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to late-breaking results presented during [a] plenary session at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. Whether the palliative care was delivered in person or via telehealth, the most common topics discussed during the visit were similar and included building and establishing rapport to create a relationship with the patient and their family, identifying symptoms and grading symptom management, and coping with serious illness, explained Joseph Greer, PhD, codirector of the Cancer Outcomes Research & Education Program at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School ...

Congress earmarks $12.5 million for palliative care research

Attitudes and beliefs regarding Pain Medicine: results of a national palliative physician survey Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Daniel K Partain, Wil L Santivasi, Mihir M Kamdar, Susan M Moeschler, Jon C Tilburt, Karen M Fischer, Jacob J Strand; 4/25/24 online ahead of print Objectives: To evaluate referral rates, co-management strategies, and beliefs of palliative physicians about the value of Pain Medicine specialists in patients with serious illness. Conclusion: This study shows that Palliative Care physicians have highly positive attitudes toward Pain Medicine specialists, but referrals remain low. Facilitating professional collaboration via joint educational/clinical sessions is one possible solution to drive ongoing interprofessional care in patients with complex pain.

Emory University receives $3.1 million NIH grant to improve quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis Emory University, by Brian Katzowitz; 4/16/24... A new five-year, $3.1 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help Emory researchers undertake a novel study combining biological, social, and clinical research methods to better understand the underlying processes of these symptoms – and identify opportunities to improve quality of life. ... Dio Kavalieratos, PhD, [is the] director of research for the Emory Palliative Care Center and the study’s principal investigator ... 

The HAP Foundation conducts research study on Black Americans’ experience with serious illness care in ChicagoThe HAP Foundation, by Rachel French; 4/9/24 The HAP Foundation and NORC at the University of Chicago have completed a joint research project to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of Black Americans around serious illness care in Chicago. Through a community-based participatory research design, narratives from Black individuals living in Chicago were captured by focus groups and in-depth interviews. “Community-Based Study: Prioritizing Dignity and Respect in End-of-Life Care for Black Chicagoans” is being distributed widely to health care providers and the community to encourage conversations and create change in behavioral patterns during end-of-life care.Editor's Note: Click here for this downloadable, 17 page booklet.

Anti-DEI initiatives in medicine harm us all MedPage Today - Perspectives; by Aderonke Pederson, MD; 4/9/24I entered into medical school as a top student at the University of Chicago with a high GPA ... and a stellar CV exhibiting strong leadership qualities. I had beaten all odds, despite being a Black orphan migrant with no financial means. Medical school was a grueling process ... I would likely have felt even more socially isolated at my predominantly white institution if not for three essential factors. First, I was welcomed by Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) administrators and participants ... Second, I had a dean of DEI who... said, "You can do this, Ronke." Finally, without my deep faith, ... I would not be where I am today. My experience is not unique from other underrepresented physicians of color. Despite this, DEI programs across the country are under attack.