Dr. Malhotra is part of team that has published “Advance Care Planning and long-term bereavement in caregivers of patients with metastatic cancer” in Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. This study examines associations between ACP engagement and caregivers’ risk of complicated grief and anxiety six months after a patient's death, moderation by patient age and patient-caregiver relationship, and mediation by patient’s emotional distress and caregiver preparedness for patient’s death. The Brief Grief Questionnaire is used to assess caregivers’ risk of complicated grief, and anxiety with the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A higher ACP engagement, as the study’s result points out, may benefit diverse groups of bereaved caregivers of patients with cancer.

View Publication: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2026.02.011