Dr. Jane Schell is a co-author on a new roadmap from the International Society of Nephrology for advancing clinical research in nephrology. Read the results from the working group:

Dr. Kelly Harris was senior author on this qualitative study by a Pitt Med student on terminology used by clinicians in fetal cardiology consultations with family caregivers. Read more: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41007075/

This secondary analysis of a primary palliative care trial, co-authored by several PaRC faculty members, examines the concerns and self-management strategies of older patients with advanced cancer. Read what they found: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40782786/

ICYMI: Dr. Justin Yu is a co-author on this protocol paper describing the ENGAGE RCT, an intervention which applies Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for stage IV cancer patients in underserved areas. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40834926/

An opioid de-prescribing pilot led by a palliative care pharmacist was safe and effective at reducing doses of opioids for patients in remission from cancer but time-intensive. Read about the program: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40749899/

What sorts of comments in EHR notes do patients and healthcare providers consider to be "negative"? Dr. Gina Piscitello found disagreement in a recent study, available from @JPSMjournal.bsky.social: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40803567/

Congratulations to Dr. Justin Yu, who was recently awarded a K23 award to pursue a pilot study of an intervention for caregivers of children with medical complexity. Read more: www.palcare.pitt.edu/dr-justin-yu...

Dr. Gina Piscitello writes on the lack of documentation of time-limited trials in goals of care notes. Read more from the study team in @jpsmjournal.bsky.social: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40252856/

Palliative Care Section Chief Jane Schell has been accepted to the Institute on Healthcare Improvement Fellowship program through a scholarship from the John A. Hartford Foundation. Her project will develop & measure a palliative dialysis intervention.

Congratulations to Rene Claxton, MD, MS, recipient of the UPMC Physician Excellence Award – Senior Physician Excellence in Clinical Care! 🌟 She's celebrated for her exceptional patient care, groundbreaking educational innovation, & deep commitment to uplifting colleagues & trainees.

Dr. Gina Piscitello is first author on a study of goals of care documentation for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Co-authors include other PaRC faculty. Read more from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40318049/

Dr. Christine Kistler is senior author on this study characterizing advance care planning directives documented in a large primary care network. Read the findings: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Dr. Yael Schenker was interviewed about advance care planning on the AJCO Oncology Practice Podcast. Listen here: ascopubs.org/do/advance-c...

Read a summary of the study's results: www.mcknights.com/news/goals-o...

Dr. Gina Piscitello found in a new study that goals of care conversations held with the specialty palliative care service, and those held within the first 48 hours of admission, were associated with significant positive patient outcomes. Read the results: jpsmjournal.bsky.social

Faculty in the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and UPMC's Palliative and Supportive Institute recently developed and piloted a palliative care elective course for pharmacy students. Read about the course:

Current and former PaRC faculty and staff are coauthors on this paper which proposes a three-phase model of cancer pain. Read more in Cancer: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40931912/

Mentorship matters. @pittpalcare.bsky.social Director Dr. Yael Schenker has been recognized with the Hillman Cancer Center's Outstanding Research Mentor Award for her exceptional support and guidance of the next generation of researchers. We are so proud to celebrate her leadership and impact! 👏

Dr. Amar Bansal is senior author on a study in JPM; participants in a communications training for Gastro-Intestinal fellows reported self-assessed improvement in readiness to have conversations about serious illness. Read more:

Congratulations to Dr. Yael Schenker, who was the recipient of the Hillman Outstanding Research Mentor Award at the 2025 UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Scientific Retreat! www.palcare.pitt.edu/dr-yael-sche...

Dr. Margaret Rosenzweig is senior author on this descriptive study looking at correlates of delay among patients receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer; correlates included social support and symptom distress. Read more, in Cancer Nursing:

PaRC and Pitt School of Nursing's Dr. Jennifer Seaman writes in the Journal of Palliative Medicine about things HPC clinicians should know about consulting with the ICU.

Faculty member & Section of Palliative Care Chief Jane Schell is a co-author on this study of an intervention which evaluated co-management of Chronic Kidney Disease by nephrologists and PCPs. Read more:

Dr. Gina Piscitello spoke with @medpagetoday.com about a review she led that found a lack of uniformity surrounding US laws guiding clinician decision-making for initiating or maintaining life-sustaining treatment. Read it here: www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...

Dr. @carissalow.bsky.social is first author on a new study which suggests information captured by consumer-grade wearable devices may be able to predict survival among cancer patients. Read more:

Dr. Margaret Rosenzweig is senior author on a new study of communication between patients and providers, symptom distress, and chemotherapy adherence. Read what the study team found:

ICYMI: From Childrens Hospital of PGH Palliative Care, with co-author Dr. Kelly Harris (PaRC Faculty) comes a study assessing the need for bereavement education among pediatric residents. #MedEd

Dr. Yael Schenker was senior author on this article about a pharmacist-led deprescribing clinic for cancer patients in remission, which was piloted at UPMC. Read the results in @jpsmjournal.bsky.social:

Dr. Teresa Hagan Thomas is senior author on this study, which developed and tested the feasibility and acceptability of a bone health management intervention for women with breast cancer. Read more:

This past spring, former Gleitsman Scholar Angeline Zhou published a qualitative, exploratory study investigating the experiences of patients at the Palliative Recovery Engagement Program, a clinic for patients with palliative care needs & substance use disorder. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40156553/

ICYMI: Amar Bansal wrote an editorial for Kidney360 about a recent study of Chronic Kidney Disease patients, who participated in an educational intervention before initiation of dialysis. Read more: forhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40014435/

Dr. Justin Yu was a co-author on this protocol paper for a study which aims to investigate the effectiveness of a new Cognitive Behavioral Therapy intervention in patients with stage IV cancer: #palliative #hapc #clinicaltrial pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40834926/

Today we're sharing two recent publications on goals of care by Dr. Gina Piscitello. First, a study which evaluates how often and in what ways time-limited trials are described in Goals of Care documentation, now available @jpsmjournal.bsky.social pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40252856/

Dr. Margaret Rosenzweig was senior author on this study of symptom burden in patients receiving chemotherapy, published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. Read more: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40107464/

In case you missed it: Dr. Teresa Hagan Thomas was first author on this protocol report of a study which focuses on integrating family caregivers into cancer care. Future research will study impact on patients and caregivers. #hapc #caregivers #oncology pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39167743/

Dr. Julie Childers is co-author on this edition of "Fast Facts" on opioid diversion risk and management, from the Journal of Palliative Medicine. #hapc Read more: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38916071/

Dr. Gina Piscitello is first author on a study of ICU nurses and physicians which suggests that hospital policies may have little influence on clinician behavior when making decisions to withhold/withdraw life-sustaining care in difficult situations. #hapc pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40617397/

ICYMI: Dr. Douglas B. White was senior author on this trial of a family support intervention delivered by the interprofessional team, intended to decrease hospitalization costs and hospital readmissions among critically ill patients. #criticalcare Read the results: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38954149/

PaRC faculty Kelly Harris was a co-author on this scoping review which aimed to develop modified taxonomy of uncertainty in the NICU, to identify and define experiences of uncertainty for parents and medical teams. #hapc #pediatrics #nicu pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40240841/

ICYMI: Connor McCormick, a Gleitsman scholar from 2021, had a study of outcomes from a palliative care de-prescribing program published in @j-palliativemed.bsky.social last year. #hapc #pharmacy pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38451551/

Dr. Justin Yu and his team conducted a qualitative study to better understand the perspectives and emotional wellbeing of family caregivers of children with medical complexity (CMC). Read more in @jpsmjournal.bsky.social #hapc #pediatric pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40187377/

ICYMI: Last year, Dr. Gina Piscitello & other PaRC faculty found data to suggest that using AI to target GOC conversations may result in patients lacking AI-generated scores indicating level of illness not having those conversations documented #hapc #palliativecare pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38858343/

ICYMI: Last fall, Drs. Yael Schenker & Teresa Hagan Thomas were co-authors with Dr. David Lazris on a study examining whether AI-generated content aligns with medical treatment guidelines. #hapc #palliative pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38942093/

Dr. @carissalow.bsky.social was senior author on this study by Elizabeth Kairis MD which found that GI symptoms, shortness of breath, fatigue, & pain predicted risk of unplanned healthcare within the next 7 days #hapc #oncology: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40773717/

Started the day with a great talk by Yael Schenker, and have been thinking about this quote since. We're still not in a place where skilled end of life care is just offered to all who need it, but we're getting closer. I'm grateful to be part of that effort #palliativecare #hapc #hpm

Many Palliative Research Center faculty served as co-authors on this qualitative analysis of interviews conducted during a RCT examining online vs. in-person facilitated Advanced Care Planning. #hapc pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40772524/

Published recently - Dr. Gina Piscitello in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society on the content of goals of care documentation - co-authors include Drs. Jane Schell & Yael Schenker. Read online: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40318049/

Georgeann Booth (PaRC mentee and Pitt med student) is first author and three PaRC faculty are senior authors on this study of self-management strategies of older patients with advanced cancer #palliativecare pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40782786/

PaRC faculty member Dr. Julie Childers is senior author on mentee Dr. Kendall Downer's article about teaching goals of care conversation skills to residents in disciplines other than #palliativecare. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40476392/

New publication from a number of Pitt departments, with Dr. Doug White and two PaRC mentees as co-authors! #decisionmaking #palliativecare pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40439558/