PP-46 ‘The ‘young peoples life cafe’ (YPLC): supporting terminally ill young adults to live well & prepare for end of life’

Introduction Palliative young adults (YA) (18-30) engage poorly in advanced care planning (ACP) & end of life planning (EOL) resulting in high anxiety, poor planning and distressing deaths Aims The YPLC programme Aims to: Improve communication and care co-ordination across health and palliative care teams caring for terminally ill YA Help YAs better manage their fear and anxiety levels from diagnosis through to EOL Increase YAs understanding of palliative care and the choices available to them e.g. ACP, EOL, ‘Wishes, Wills & Whatever’s’ folder (WWW) Support YAs to make informed choices and document these Method The YPLC consisted of a series of 4-7 structured group workshops and 1-1 sessions providing supportive palliative care coaching & interventions. Facilitators include psychological, palliative care and legal professionals focusing on the following topics: Living well, self-care, identifying changing priorities, difficult conversations Presenting and documenting ACP/EOL/WWW care, planning ahead/making informed choices, communicating these Assessment of fear and anxiety using Reassurance & Comfort Scale (R&CS)1 Results The pilots demonstrated the following outcomes: Improved communication/engagement with clinical/palliative care teams and difficult conversations Completed official documentation of WWW, ACP & EOL wishes Reduced anxiety and fear levels when planning/thinking ahead as measured by R&CS scale Clinical team & Legal team feedback demonstrated: YA increased engagement in support services/ACP/EOL planning Increased completion of Advanced Decisions/ACPs/Wills/record of EOL wishes Conclusion The YPLC programme supports: YAs understanding/engagement in important ACP/EOL choices Ensuring healthcare/palliative teams are aware of YA ACP & EOL wishes Making appropriate treatment escalation decisions/stop treatment when clinically indicated Improved quality of life and preparation for EOL, supporting a better death for the YA and all involved Impact The outcomes are translating across into improved YA hospital and palliative care. There are requests for a YPLC training programme and a roll out of YPLC in YAs hospital/palliative care and palliative services across the UK. Reference The ‘Reassurance & Comfort scale (R&CS)’ is an evaluation tool measuring shifts in the language, narrative and emotional vocabulary participants use to describe how they’re feeling at end of a difficult palliative/EOL themed conversation/session. It’s been piloted alongside YPLC since 2020 to support a trauma informed approach when evaluating emotionally triggering, sensitive and difficult work with YAs.