Literature Review

Interventions performed in children with immunocompromised conditions in the pediatric intensive care unit within 48 hours of deathJ Palliat Med, by Anna Kegel, Jason Espinoza, April Rahrig, Tina Schade-Wills, Courtney M Rowan; 1/17/24Conclusions: Children in the PICU with underlying immunocompromised conditions frequently receive interventions within the 48-hour period preceding death. Palliative care involvement was associated with fewer radiographic studies and fewer occurrences of CPR. The impact of interventions on the dying experience warrants further investigation.

Coming to terms: Female veterans' experience of serious illnessJournal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, by Brandon M. Varilek and Mary J. Isaacson; 1/16/24Female veteran populations are growing internationally and are more likely than men to develop certain serious illnesses, including some cancers. ... This study reports the qualitative findings from a multimethod study using qualitative inquiry to explore female veterans' experiences of living with a serious illness. 

Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief, in Routledge's Series in Death, Dying and BereavementRoutledge, Series in Death, Dying and Bereavement, edited by Darcy L. Harris and Tashel C. Bordere; pub. 2016, available The Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief is a scholarly work of social criticism, richly grounded in personal experience, evocative case studies, and current multicultural and sociocultural theories and research ...  at the very junctures when people are most vulnerable—at points of serious illness, confrontation with end-of-life decision making, and in the throes of grief and bereavement. Harris and Bordere give the reader an active and engaged take on the field, enticing readers to interrogate their own assumptions and practices while increasing, chapter after chapter, their cultural literacy regarding important groups and contexts.Editor's Note: Are you eager to take a deep dive into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in our worlds of loss and grief? Immerse yourself in this definitive, thanatological (the study of dying, death, and bereavement) research and its applications for you.

Ethnicity and palliative care: we need better data - five key considerationsBMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, by Gemma Clarke, Jamilla Akhtar Hussain, Matthew John Allsop, and Michael I Bennett; 12/23 Complete and valid ethnicity data are essential for monitoring racial and ethnic disparities but consideration needs to be given to collecting data well and using it responsibly. ... Holism is at the core of palliative care, in the approach to a person and their ‘total pain’. Extending this framework to ethnicity data engenders a responsibility across both the collection and usage of data. We outline five key considerations informed by this framework relating to ethnicity data.

Black caregivers' symptom management, cultural, and religious experiences with home hospice careJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, by Taeyoung Park, Danetta H Sloan, Dulce M Cruz-Oliver, Manney Cary Reid, Sara Czaja, Ronald D Adelman, Ritchell Dignam, Veerawat Phongtankuel; 8/23 Objectives: This study seeks to address this knowledge gap by applying qualitative methods to understand Black/African American caregivers' experiences around symptom management, cultural, and religious challenges during home hospice care.

Construction of Hospice Care evaluation system for terminally ill patients in ICUPubMed, Patient Prefer Adherence, by Qin-Ling Wang et.al; 1/10/24Conclusion: In this study, three rounds of Delphi consultation methods were used to construct an evaluation index system for the nursing quality of hospice care for ICU patients. The evaluation indicators formulated closely focus on the physiological and psychological characteristics of ICU patients, which can provide a better reference for ICU patients with advanced life in the future.

Palliative Care Consultation and Family-Centered Outcomes in Patients With Unplanned Intensive Care Unit AdmissionsJournal of Palliative MedicineJamie T Nomitch, et.al.December 25, 2023Context: Hospitalized patients who experience unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) admissions face significant challenges, and their family members have unique palliative care needs. Objectives: To identify predictors of palliative care consultation among hospitalized patients with unplanned ICU admissions and to examine the association between palliative care consultation and family outcomes.Conclusions: For patients experiencing unplanned ICU admission, palliative care consultation often happened after transfer and was associated with illness severity, comorbid illness, and hospital site. Patient death was associated with family symptoms of psychological distress.

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.”