Providers and patients report on the quality of AYA cancer care and resources.

393 Background: Stupid Cancer, a 501(c)3 organization, launched the Access to Care Initiative to understand gaps in the continuum of care for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients/survivors and support providers caring for this population. Methods: In 2023 and 2024 Stupid Cancer conducted provider-facing surveys [n = 50] and a focus group [n = 18] to query their level of training and familiarity with twenty-four critical topics for AYA patients. An AYA is defined as patients who received a cancer diagnosis between the ages of 15-39. Surveys were also distributed to patients [n = 67] to examine discrepancies between patient and provider experiences. The topics represent the unique challenges of the AYA population such as fertility preservation; dating & sex; end of life care; mental health; school/career; and financial toxicity. Both surveys were sent via email with responses collected June 2023 - April 2024. The virtual focus group took place in June 2023. Results: Overall, providers feel comfortable discussing these topics, but responses on formal training were inconsistent. While mental health is one of the top concerns reported by AYA survivors, only 50% of respondents rate their mental health training as very sufficient/expert level and 10% of respondents indicate receiving no training in this area. Only 31% of providers have a dedicated AYA program or staff at their institution, 27% have no AYA program/staff but offer general cancer resources with some AYA-specific content, and 31% report insufficient or no age-specific resources to offer patients. The patient-facing survey found significant discrepancies from what providers reported. An overwhelming majority of patients reported that they were not at all satisfied or had never discussed topics such as end of life care (89%), dating & sex (70%), and palliative care (69%) with their providers. There was even a large gap between provider reports and patient experience on topical areas that providers indicated high familiarity with. Additionally, 62% of patients reported they were not given any AYA-specific resources or connected with support groups. Both providers and patients expressed dissatisfaction with the availability of resources. Conclusions: In response to these findings Stupid Cancer will pursue a two-pronged approach to increase provider awareness of AYA-specific resources. The first task will be to develop and distribute a tool for providers to leverage when seeing AYA patients. This postcard sized “cheat sheet” will highlight best practices for AYA cancer care on critical topical areas and referral strategies to AYA support resources such as Stupid Cancer and peer organizations. The long term strategy is to embed AYA-specific training within the standard curriculum for oncology. As a pilot, Stupid Cancer will partner with 1-2 teaching hospitals in the New York Metro region to implement an “AYA module” into oncology rotations.