Description:
Adolescent and Young Adults (AYA) with cancer experience a high level of symptom burden, both physically and emotionally. Given their broad developmental range, AYA patients, aged 15 to 39 years, have unique and multiple needs that require specialized care from oncology, palliative, rehabilitation and mental health specialists. Globally, cancer treatment centres have developed specific AYA programs to address these needs. However, the question of the best method(s) to care for these patients, including the role of palliative care, remains unanswered. Despite the evidence base that recommends palliative care, most cancer centres do not include palliative support in standard oncological care for AYA patients. There is a paucity of research on the palliative and supportive care needs of AYA, and the extant literature demonstrates different needs and gaps compared with older cancer patients. Our team created a developmentally-focused, integrated palliative and psychiatric clinic dedicated to address the palliative and psychosocial care needs of AYA cancer patients and their caregivers. In this workshop, we will invite participants to consider the specific palliative care needs for this vulnerable population and brainstorm how their own centres and clinics might improve care for AYA locally. We will describe the findings from our clinic, discuss the development and current structure of this integrated palliative care/psychiatry clinic, and will present our outcome data
Presenter(s):     Dr. Mohamed Abdelaal & Dr. Pamela Mosher
Moderator:        Dr. Ebru Kaya

Description:
Canadian data continues to demonstrate massive inequities in access to Palliative Care (PC) services for patients with non-malignant illness and multi-morbidity across care settings despite research demonstrating that such patients have significant palliative needs. The numerous barriers to non-malignant PC illuminated in literature and our clinical work with non-malignant patients point to a number of key questions to guide a way forward:
• How do the needs of patients with cancer and non-cancer diagnoses differ?
• How is our current model of PC inherently cancer-focused?
• What does a non-malignant model of PC look like?
• What are the affordances and limitations of a non-malignant model of PC in our current healthcare systems?

In this workshop we will explore the above questions and call on the experiences of participants to help collaboratively (re)envision a non-malignant model of PC. A literature review of current access and barriers to PC for patients with non-cancer diagnoses will be shared. Cases from our diverse work in the tertiary inpatient setting will be integrated to illuminate the complexities and successes of early PC for patients with multimorbidity and organ failure. Participants will exchange ideas and innovations through the sharing of their own local and regional initiatives to support patients with non-cancer diagnoses. In terms of relevance, this workshop will provide an opportunity for PC physicians to better characterize the problem of inequitable access to PC based on diagnosis and begin to work towards a shared conceptualization of how our individual and collective practices can change to improve care.

Presenter(s):     Dr. Kyra Harris-Schultz
Moderator:        Dr. Anne Boyle