Caregivers caring for an individual at end-of-life in the home are often challenged with evaluating and managing fluctuating symptoms and deciding when to call the hospice palliative care team for support. This randomized control trial tested an automated mobile health (mhealth) system to determine if it was effective in reducing Continue reading →

Grief Coach is a text-based program designed to provide bereavement care and increase grief literacy through twice-weekly text support, education, tips and reminders to people who are grieving. Levesque and colleagues (2023) conducted an evaluation of the Grief Coach program to learn whether, why, and how bereaved program subscribers from Continue reading →

Spirituality is a critical component of patient and family care at the end of life, yet some health care providers do not feel prepared to deliver spiritual care. To prepare nursing and medical students taking care of dying patients and their families, the Catalyzing Relationships at the End of Life Continue reading →

Dignity therapy is a short-term psychotherapy used with patients towards the end of life to address existential distress. While the literature describes positive benefits of dignity therapy for patients and family, few studies have assessed organizational feasibility, including time to deliver the intervention and cost. Kelly, 2023 conducted a study Continue reading →

The physical, emotional, and mental health toll on family caregivers – non-paid relatives or friends who takes the responsibility to care for a hospice patient – is well documented. Emotional and social support and information on how to care for their patients are often requested by caregivers. Oliver and colleagues Continue reading →

Nutritional support is critically important to alleviate diet related issues and should be an integral component of palliative care. Holdoway 2022, considers the challenges that patients and their families experience and highlights practical tools and frameworks to support nutritional care in practice. Read more…

People experiencing homelessness are at increased risk for illness and mortality and face significant systemic barriers to receiving good palliative care at the end of life. This study by Robinson and colleagues (2022) sought to quantify the impact of a health navigator on the delivery of palliative care to patients Continue reading →

In recent years addressing social determinants of health has been increasingly prioritized to improve and reduce longstanding disparities in health care. Over the life course, those experiencing socioeconomic deprivation are disproportionately subjected to higher likelihood of poor overall health status, reduced access to palliative and health services, and poor quality Continue reading →