{
  "abstract": "Background Young adults are a unique cohort of people. Therefore, they have a unique set of needs when approaching end of life that are not met fully by either paediatric or adult palliative care teams alone (Pritchard, Cuvelier, Harlos, et al. Cancer. 2011;117(10 Suppl):2323-8). We developed a dedicated Palliative and End of Life Care Service for young adults aged 16-25, that works across paediatric and adult settings, incorporating the skills of the wider collaborative team (Pritchard S, Cuvelier G, Harlos M, Barr R. Palliative care in adolescents and young adults with cancer. Cancer. 2011 May 15;117(10 Suppl):2323-8; Cohen-Gogo, Marioni, Laurent, et al. Eur J Cancer. 2011;47(18):2735-41).Aims To evaluate the impact of the collaborative service, on the young adults who access it, together with their families/loved ones. Additionally, to assess its perceived value to adult stakeholders we’ve collaborated with, and to gauge the overall impact of the service.Methods Qualitative feedback was gathered from texts sent by young adults during their illness and from families and healthcare professionals through the Young Person Death Review (YPDR) process. Selected case studies were used to add context (Mehta, Brown, ShawMed Teach. 2013;35(5):e1166-72) and illustrate the themes identified.Results Feedback consistently highlighted strong, supportive relationships between the Young Adults team and young people/families… ‘ thank you so much for everything, you’re the best!’ and ‘We were so lucky to have you guys looking after us… we couldn’t have got through it without you’.YPDR responses from professionals also emphasised the service’s value: ‘You have no idea, your service is fundamental to my teenagers and young adults’ and ‘this has been an excellent example of collaborative working, I personally think it’s reminded me of why we do what we do, especially in difficult times’.Conclusion Both paediatric and adult teams are very skilled in end of life care, but neither look after huge numbers of young adults, so it can be difficult to grow confidence and experience with this cohort (Pritchard, Cuvelier, Harlos, et al. Cancer. 2011;117(10 Suppl):2323-8; Wiener, Zadeh, Wexler, et al. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2013;60(5):715-8). By having a dedicated young adult team collaborating with existing teams, we can provide added layers of care to ensure young adults with advanced, progressive or incurable illness, can live as well as possible until they die (Ngwenya, Kenten, Jones, et al. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2017;6(2):200-212).",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Claire House Children’s and Young Adult Hospice, Wirral, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Louise Smith"
    }
  ],
  "title": "O-19 Evaluating the impact of a collaborative young adult palliative and end of life care service",
  "uid": "74b043e5-c8c8-56d4-bcc7-ebf333ae3ecf"
}