The 13^th EAPC Research Congress took place from 16-18 May in Barcelona – the first face to face Research Congress since 2016 and it was a full house!   This year it was great to see a strong children’s palliative care programme with 3 paediatric sessions spread across the 3 days of the conference, featuring 18 oral presentations which spanned many areas of research.

The first paediatric session included two presentations from Dr Hannah Linane, Fellow in Adolescent and Young Adult Palliative Medicine from Children’s Health Ireland.  Her first presentation looked at the referral of adolescents and young adults (AYA) aged 13-24 to specialist palliative care. Her data showed that there was a high symptom burden, including psychological symptoms, and that referral was often made late.  It was also noted that young people with cancer tended to have their symptoms recognised more than those with non-malignant conditions, which may be due to more frequent and rigorous assessment in oncology.  Hannah’s second presentation was a scoping review of Advance Care Planning for AYA, looking at common concerns and the different tools that can be used to frame ACP discussions.