Changes in Attitudes and Practice toward Dying People after Completion of a U.K.-Based Distance Learning Death and Dying Course

Abstract

K260 is an Open University distance learning course in death and dying that incorporates historical, anthropological, sociological, and psychological approaches to death and dying. The course deals with principles and practices of palliative care, communication with dying people and their families, bereavement and grief, and moral, ethical, and legal issues involved in death and dying. Through a qualitative analysis of respondent written comments regarding how they would respond to a dying person, this study sought to determine how students felt their attitudes and practice had changed as a result of studying this course in terms of how they would respond to a dying person. Six themes emerged that individually and in combination highlight important ways in which respondents perceived their response toward a dying person had altered as a result of completing K260. These themes are awareness, understanding, and insight; individualized care and patient autonomy; self-awareness; ability to communicate emotionally; ability to communicate practically; and practical knowledge and resources developed.