11 Cultivating death literacy and compassionate communities via ‘the omega course’: a mixed methods exploration

<h3>Background</h3> Death is on the rise. By 2040, the UK annual death rate is projected to increase by 25%, highlighting the pressing need for widespread, community-based, end-of-life care and support. The public health approach to palliative care argues improving societal death literacy and developing compassionate communities (CCs) are key in meeting this increased demand. One potential tool is The Omega Course; an interactive group educational intervention run across four evenings. <h3>Methods</h3> This mixed methods study quantitatively investigates the course’s impact on participants’ self-reported comfort and preparedness for death, and qualitatively assesses the course’s potential to cultivate CCs using content analysis of post-course written feedback. <h3>Results</h3> Paired t-tests (N=150) revealed statistically significant increases in comfort and preparedness for death and dying post-course (all ps&lt;0.001), suggesting the course may successfully cultivate death literacy. Qualitative content analysis revealed social contact (e.g. group discussions, meeting other participants, support from facilitators) and communication skill-building (e.g. roleplaying scenarios) were perceived by participants as the best, yet most challenging, aspects of the course. Furthermore, thoughtful delivery was perceived as a highlight of the course, and intrapersonal challenges, such as facing one’s own mortality, were perceived as key challenges. <h3>Discussion</h3> Integration of findings suggests the shared challenge of social experiences may be what makes the course so successful. Thus, the course appears equipped to empower CCs through shared community experiences. This study was limited by participant homogeneity (predominantly older, female, and affluent). Further research could employ in-depth interviews and/or longitudinal designs to better understand the course’s impact. In sum, structured educational interventions such as the Omega Course represent a potential step towards societal preparedness for dying. Please note, this abstract has been submitted under the ‘Late Breaking’ Call rather than the main call as it is a medical student university project which was only allowed to be submitted to conferences after the university’s internal student project deadline had passed (11/12/24).