Introduction A growing body of literature highlights that minority ethnic groups are underrepresented in accessing palliative care. The Big Lottery therefore funded one Marie Curie Hospice to employ a keyworker to improve minority ethnic communities' awareness of and engagement with palliative care services.

Aim(s) and method(s) Project aim: to evaluate the Marie Curie keyworker project over three years. Presentation aim: to present interim findings from the community engagement work undertaken by the keyworker. University ethical approval was gained and data collection began in November 2012 and is on-going. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with hospice staff and the keyworker. Focus groups were facilitated with community steering groups and project documents have been analysed. Data were managed in NVivo 10 and analysed thematically.

Results Interim results demonstrate the links fostered between the keyworker and multiple minority ethnic groups, through community centres, charities, advocacy organisations, and religious groups. Barriers to engaging communities include awareness – minority ethnic communities are often unaware of palliative care; Gatekeeping – individuals in community organisations blocking the keyworker accessing groups. Strategies for engagement include creativity and flexibility – the keyworker attended community celebrations with information about Marie Curie services; Reciprocation – a hospice volunteering project for individuals from minority ethnic communities has been established; Advocacy – offering communities a voice through discussion groups to elicit their understandings of palliative care and perceptions of barriers to accessing services.

Conclusion(s) To date the evaluation demonstrates the progress made by the keyworker to engage with, listen to and offer information to minority ethnic communities.