Background: This presentation discusses findings from two pilot projects exploring how people make sense of life, death and suffering.  The projects arose from a recognition that many people find it difficult to talk about the end of life, even while acknowledging that it is important to do so. 

Aim: To explore the barriers and enablers to end of life planning for people who are not facing imminent death, in order to normalise the place of death in life. 

Methods: Our methodology was two-fold:

•       What action, if any, they had taken since the original conversation  

•       Why they took this action or why they didn’t take any action

•       What, if any, further conversations with family or friends resulted from participating in the original conversation

•       Whether their perspectives about end of life had changed since participating in the initial discussion 

•       What could be improved in conducting end of life conversations

2. We conducted a second pilot with a further cohort of participants, using a refined interview guide based on the feedback from previous participants.  

Results/Purpose: 

The first pilot was well received by participants, who appreciated the opportunity to discuss end of life planning sensitively and safely. The initial results were also well received by NSW providers when presented in 2022. This presentation will add findings from the second pilot to contribute to the knowledge base regarding how best to facilitate early conversations about end of life and suffering.