Together at the End: Legacy Playlisting in a Palliative Care Setting
Tracks
Stream Three
Saturday, October 18, 2025 |
11:10 AM - 11:30 AM |
Terrace Room 1&2 |
Overview
Jarran Zen
Speaker
Jarran Zen
OBC Industries
Together at the End: Legacy Playlisting in a Palliative Care Setting
Abstract
Abstract:
This practice-based presentation outlines the development and implementation of a legacy playlisting initiative embedded within a Quality Improvement Project (QIP) across two major metropolitan hospitals in adult palliative care.
The intervention centres on patient-directed song selection combined with guided narrative processes, resulting in enduring artefacts designed to support relational continuity and meaning-making for families. QR code technology was used to facilitate access and sharing, while templatisation strategies enabled clinical scalability. Co-design with patients ensured the work remained deeply personal and relevant, while staff education and alliance-building supported sustainable integration into ward culture.
Drawing on real-world clinical experience, this presentation will articulate the rationale, therapeutic goals, workflow, and ethical considerations of legacy playlisting, as well as initial feedback from participants, families, and healthcare professionals. Case material will highlight how the intervention supports anticipatory grief, reinforces identity, and facilitates intergenerational connection through music.
Framed within a QIP structure, this project offers a replicable model for embedding creative, person-centred practices within medical systems and contributes to ongoing conversations around legacy, evidence, and therapeutic relevance in healthcare. Finally, the presentation will gesture toward future directions in digital legacy work, including the integration of emerging technologies such as virtual reality and immersive audio for end-of-life care.
This practice-based presentation outlines the development and implementation of a legacy playlisting initiative embedded within a Quality Improvement Project (QIP) across two major metropolitan hospitals in adult palliative care.
The intervention centres on patient-directed song selection combined with guided narrative processes, resulting in enduring artefacts designed to support relational continuity and meaning-making for families. QR code technology was used to facilitate access and sharing, while templatisation strategies enabled clinical scalability. Co-design with patients ensured the work remained deeply personal and relevant, while staff education and alliance-building supported sustainable integration into ward culture.
Drawing on real-world clinical experience, this presentation will articulate the rationale, therapeutic goals, workflow, and ethical considerations of legacy playlisting, as well as initial feedback from participants, families, and healthcare professionals. Case material will highlight how the intervention supports anticipatory grief, reinforces identity, and facilitates intergenerational connection through music.
Framed within a QIP structure, this project offers a replicable model for embedding creative, person-centred practices within medical systems and contributes to ongoing conversations around legacy, evidence, and therapeutic relevance in healthcare. Finally, the presentation will gesture toward future directions in digital legacy work, including the integration of emerging technologies such as virtual reality and immersive audio for end-of-life care.
Biography
Jarran Zen is a Registered Music Therapist working across palliative care wards at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He leads digital legacy initiatives within Quality Improvement frameworks and is exploring future applications of immersive technology, narrative design, and audio artefacts in end-of-life care and music therapy.
