Health Education as a Means of Addressing Death in the Elderly

Heredia, Nazaret Martínez; Díaz, Andrés Soriano; Agudo, Ana Amaro; Gijón, Gracia González

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126652

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(70 reference statements)

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“…Education undertakes the functions of cultural selection, transmission, transformation, criticism, innovation, and remodeling [53]. Life-and-death education can not only convey knowledge of life and death, but also alleviate the negative emotions towards death, help people prepare for death, and improve the quality of death [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction of life-and-death education contents for the elderly: a Delphi study

Lei

Zhao³

et al. 2022

BMC Public Health

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Background Life-and-death education is intimately related to palliative-and-hospice care. It should be implemented among groups of all ages, especially for the elderly. This study aims to establish expert consensus on a set of scientific and systematic life-and-death education contents for the elderly and provide reference for the practice on the elderly. Methods This study designed three rounds of expert consultation by using a Delphi method. A panel of 22 experts from the fields of palliative-and-hospice care, life-and-death education, geriatric nursing, humanities and ethics, and geriatric psychology participated in the study. Results This study finally reached expert consensus on the contents of life-and-death education for the elderly, containing 4 first-level items, Life-and-death literacy promotion in the elderly; Life-and-death concept establishment of the elderly; Life-and-death planning of the elderly; Life-and-death thoughts of the elderly with affiliated 9 second-level items, and corresponding 23 detailed third-level items. Conclusions The life-and-death education contents for the elderly offer a basis for publicity for health professionals, promote dialogues on death, preparation, and planning for death and dying. The life-and-death education contents system was clear in coherence containing definite and comprehensive contents, which enriched life-and-death education resources globally. The results could assist in the planning of palliative-and-hospice care services to improve quality of death of the elderly.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction of life-and-death education contents for the elderly: a Delphi study

Lei

Zhao³

et al. 2022

BMC Public Health

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“…If children cannot be properly guided at this stage, it is likely that they do not properly understand death, which may lead them to develop negative emotions, affecting their whole life ( 7 ). Therefore, death education is vital for the physical and mental development of children and adolescents: it will improve how they comprehend the world around them as grow ( 8 ) and help them to form a correct view of life and death ( 9 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on factors influencing Chinese parents’ support for death education: a cross-sectional survey

Chen,

Xiao,

Huang

et al. 2024

Front. Public Health

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ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the factors influencing Chinese parents’ attitudes toward death education. Given the current lack of such education in China, this research is particularly significant. Death education is vital for shaping the values of young people and alleviating mental health issues, such as depression and suicidal tendencies. By identifying these influencing factors, this study seeks to provide guidance for policymakers and educators in promoting the development and widespread adoption of death education.MethodsTo do so, a national cross-sectional quota sample of 12,435 Chinese parents was used. Borrowing from social-ecological theory, the researchers carried out multiple stepwise regression analyses to examine the individual, family, and social-level factors that shape the supportive attitudes of Chinese parents toward death education.ResultsThe findings revealed that at the individual level, parent (β = 0.04, p < 0.001), education level (β = 0.07, p < 0.001), and religious belief (β = −0.02, p < 0.05) were significant predictors of Chinese parents’ support for death education. Meanwhile, at the family and social level, average monthly household income (β = 0.07, p < 0.001), family health (β = 0.03, p < 0.05), family communication (β = 0.02, p < 0.05), social support (β = 0.15, p < 0.001), neighborhood relations (β = 0.11, p < 0.001), and social network size (β = 0.05, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of Chinese parents’ supportive attitudes toward death education.ConclusionBased on these findings, it is suggested that the relevant development, planning, publicity, and public welfare groups and government departments should promote death education, provide more social support, and encourage neighborhood harmony. As higher education and average monthly household income were found to significantly impact the support, the government should improve access to higher education and actively work to increase residents’ income to facilitate the development of death education.

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“…The program teaches individuals how to recognize and face death [10]. The goal is to facilitate acceptance of end of life, process of death, and experience of bereavement in terms of the individual's knowledge, attitudes, and skills [11,12]. Previous studies have shown that death education promotes positive changes in death-related attitudes, enhances the sense of meaning in life, and improves the quality of life [13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a knowledge-attitude-practice model based narrative life education program for community-dwelling older adults: a mixed-methods feasibility study

Xie,

Zhou,

Zhang

et al. 2024

BMC Geriatr

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Background The global aging population presents challenges that are particularly acute in China. Older Chinese adults’ attitudes towards death significantly impact their quality of life. Death education is crucial for promoting positive perspectives on life and death. Narrative education offers a promising approach to facilitating death education. Integrating the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) model into death education will enhance the feasibility and acceptability of death education programs. Methods This mixed-methods feasibility study included a quasi-experimental trial and semi-structured interviews. Older adults in the intervention group (N = 27) received a 6-week KAP-based narrative life education program in addition to standard community health education; participants in the control group (N = 20) received only the normal community health education. In both groups, attitudes toward death and the meaning of life were assessed at baseline and immediately after the intervention. A post-intervention semi-structured interview and satisfaction survey were also conducted for the intervention group. Results Forty out of 47 older adults completed the program for an 85.1% retention rate. All of the older adults in the experiment were very satisfied and satisfied with the life education program, and no adverse events were reported. Compared to the control group, participants in the intervention group had a significant decrease in the fear of death (P = 0.028), and substantial improvement in their value of life (P = 0.031), goal of life (P = 0.035), freedom of life (P = 0.003), and the total score for purpose in life (P = 0.017). The qualitative results yielded four themes: profound recognition of life and death, contradiction between thoughts and action, conflict between one’s acceptance and others’ avoidance, and evaluation of the life education program. Conclusions The KAP-based narrative life education program is feasible and acceptable for older Chinese community-dwelling adults. It is also potentially effective in improving attitudes toward death attitudes and the meaning of life in this cohort. Trial registration This study was retrospectively registered at China Clinical Trial Registry as ChiCTR2300069551 on 2023-03-20. URL of registration: https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=183176.

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Health Education as a Means of Addressing Death in the Elderly

Cited by 9 publications

References 55 publications

Construction of life-and-death education contents for the elderly: a Delphi study

Construction of life-and-death education contents for the elderly: a Delphi study

Research on factors influencing Chinese parents’ support for death education: a cross-sectional survey

Evaluation of a knowledge-attitude-practice model based narrative life education program for community-dwelling older adults: a mixed-methods feasibility study

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