Literature Review

Building empathy for dementia patients The Vindicator; by Susan Wojnar; 4/24/26 As dementia rates continue to climb across Ohio — particularly in the Mahoning Valley — a new hands-on training is helping caregivers and community members better understand what it’s like to live with the condition. ... Mahoning County ranks fourth in the state for the highest percentage of seniors living with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Approximately 6,000 residents age 65 and older — about 12.1% of that population — are affected. ... In response to the growing need for caregiver support and education, Ohio Living Home Health & Hospice has introduced a new training program called Dementia Live. ...

Supporting family caregivers at work benefits employers too, report offers McKnights Home Care; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 4/17/26 Few employers are doing anything to support workers who are family caregivers, despite sometimes seeing the effects unpaid caregiving has on the workplace, such as absenteeism and underperformance, according to a report from CareBenefits by Care.com, published Wednesday [4/15]. The business implications are becoming clear, the authors said, adding that employers can support workers by offering family caregiving-related benefits.

Introducing palliative care: Family caregivers’ knowledge, exposure, and preferred messagingAmerican Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine; by Elaine Wittenberg, Joy V. Goldsmith, Sierra Forrest, Hanna G. Lee, Eva YN Yuen; 3/26Most family caregivers have never heard of palliative care, making it challenging for clinicians to introduce the subspecialty. Semi-structured phone interviews with family caregivers of patients eligible to receive palliative care were conducted. Knowledge of palliative care was significantly associated with having heard about and being offered palliative care. Caregiver exposure to palliative care was associated with age and race, with older, White caregivers significantly more likely to have heard about palliative care compared to Hispanic caregivers. Caregivers positively endorsed all message strategies designed for introducing palliative care.

The room where my father died changed how I see architecture Time; by Michael P. Murphy; 4/15/26 ... Life had taught me that architecture was the business of making and designing structures. But my father showed me that architecture is brought to life through the stories we tell ourselves, and in the memories of the consequential acts that take place in and around the buildings we share. In this way, architecture becomes more verb than noun as it shapes us. It is a living thing. Maybe this is why my mother later said, all things considered, that my father had “built a beautiful death.” He had also built a beautiful life.

The power of showing up: how families can support loved ones who are aging or ill Good Men Project; by Harvey Max Chochinov; 4/14/26 For many families, visiting a loved one who is aging or seriously ill can feel surprisingly hard. ... What if the problem is not that families have too little to offer, but that we misunderstand what truly helps? ... By emphasizing presence over fixing, dignity over distraction, and meaning over outcomes, it helps families:

Families face identity theft following a death Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 4/8/26 When a loved one dies, the specter of identity theft can loom large, particularly through unclosed digital accounts that family members may not be aware of. Approximately 2.5 million deceased Americans have their identities stolen annually, with roughly 800,000 of these cases specifically targeted because they have died, according to the State of California Department of Justice. Managing and closing digital accounts can help mitigate the risk of identity theft, according to Donnell Beverly, Jr., CEO of Eazewell.

Students provide a lifeline for dementia caregiver Lovin' Life; by Lin Sue Flood; 4/5/26 When ASU junior Emily-Jane Crawford finishes her classes and homework, she travels to Glendale to visit a very special friend. Bud Addison is 81 years old, and despite his dementia, Emily-Jane’s visits are the highlight of his week. ... This connection is the heart of RISE (Respite in Student Engagement), a unique partnership between Arizona State University and Hospice of the Valley. The program matches students interested in health care careers with families caring for loved ones with dementia.

Cleaning reframes end‑of‑life care for mental health The Philadelphia Tribune, Philadelphia, PA; by Lynn Akesson; 3/28/26... At its core, death cleaning is a decluttering practice: going through one’s belongings with the intention of reducing what survives us. But its appeal lies less in organization than in its promise of emotional relief. By transforming an abstract fear — leaving chaos behind — into a meaningful act of care, death cleaning reframes preparation for death as a process that can support psychological well-being in life. Editor's Note: For a related caregiving video specific to bereavement, visit "Re-Membering: Scrap 'Em, Store 'Em, or Stitch 'Em Together, by Composing Life Out of Loss (disclosure, a newsletter sponsor)

End-of-life care planning for individuals with special needsJD Supra; by Chamblis, Bahner & Stphel, P.C.; 3/23/26 Takeaways

The good deaths of people who never marry: Lifelong single people are most likely to die pain-free and at peace. Psychology Today; by Bella DePaulo, PhD; 3/8/26 People who are single and want to stay that way are often taunted with scare stories about what will happen to them toward the end of their life—they will grow old alone, they will die alone, and all the rest. Same for people who have no children. But is the quality of the end of their lives really worse for those who never marry (or never have kids) than it is for those who are married, remarried, divorced, or widowed (or who have grown children)? We now have an answer, and it is not at all what those dire warnings predicted.Editor's Note: This Psychology Today article provides an additional focus on "people who never marry" from the article we posted on 3/20/26, “We make our own families”: Do child-free people die alone? Hospice worker shares her experience. Important: "child-free" does not necessarily mean the person never married. Likewise, "never married" does not necessarily mean the person is "child-free."

“We make our own families”: Do child-free people die alone? Hospice worker shares her experience Daily Dot; by Rebecca Leib; 3/18/26 According to a longtime hospice worker, being child-free doesn't affect end-of-life care, but having strong community ties does. The decision to have children is a deeply personal one, fraught with societal pressures and fears. One common fear is that a childless person might die alone. Recently, however, child-free advocate @wearechildfree shared a video dispelling that fear. Whether someone has kids or doesn't, she says, meaningful end-of-life care is not about children specifically, but the result of cultivating a close and loving community.

How family caregivers are shaping their own future AARP; by Paul Wynn; 2/18/26 Applying hard-learned lessons from caring for others, nearly half of caregivers are planning their own legal, financial and medical futures. Helen Bundy Medsger spent three decades caring for multiple family members, including her parents and sister, an experience that shaped both her advocacy and her determination to plan ahead so her two children don’t inherit the challenges she faced as a caregiver. ... 

Be where you are: Leadership, caregiving, and the courage to pause with Carla Davis | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux with Carla Davis; 2/25/26 In this powerful episode on Hospice leadership and healthcare leadership development, Carla Davis, Executive in Residence at Cressey & Company, shares what she learned after taking an intentional executive sabbatical to care for her mother. This conversation explores the intersection of caregiver resilience, leadership and burnout, and rediscovering identity beyond professional titles.