‘Experiencing life for the first time’: the effects of a traumatic death course on social work student mindfulness and empathy

Thieleman, Kara; Cacciatore, Joanne

doi:10.1080/02615479.2018.1548588

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, they expressed a desire to repeat the initiative in the future. The hospice professionals confirmed that the education initiative motivated them to improve their knowledge and competencies in their everyday work, much in the way that other healthcare professionals undergo continual training to improve their relational competencies [ 35 , 58 , 59 ]. Indeed, they stated that this initiative allowed them to improve both their teamwork skills and their knowledge of themes related to death education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…It also emphasised that the last moments of life can be a time of serenity, wherein the patient’s dignity is of paramount importance. The process of reconstructing the meaning of dying allowed teachers to reflect upon the valorisation of life with their students [ 35 , 38 ]. The teachers’ and hospice staff’s perspectives on death education confirmed the findings in the existing literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main purpose of death education is to integrate death into life, and this can be implemented as a preventive intervention [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Death education in community settings, such as schools, also allows young people to get to know each other, increases peer support, teaches children listening and empathic skills, and encourages them to withhold judgement [ 23 , 34 , 35 ]. It can be implemented in many ways including lectures on death and dying and more informal activities such as focus groups, photovoice, psychodrama, bibliodrama, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Hospice as a Learning Environment: A Follow-Up Study with a Palliative Care Team

Testoni

Sblano

Palazzo

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Western society, the topic of death has been removed from everyday life and replaced with medical language. Such censorship does not reduce individuals’ fear of death, but rather limits their ability to elaborate their experiences of death, thus generating negative effects. The objective of this follow-up qualitative study was to detect how and if death education can help to improve individuals’ relationship with death and enhance care environments like hospices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with palliative care professionals and teachers who had taken part in a death education initiative three years earlier. The results confirmed the initiative’s positive effect on both palliative care professionals and teachers. The participants reported that the education initiative helped them to positively modify their perspective on death, end-of-life care, and their own relationship to life, as well as their perception of community attitudes towards the hospice, which seemed to become less discriminatory. This study confirmed that school education initiatives can usefully create continuity between hospices and local communities. This project provided an educational space wherein it was possible for participants to elaborate their experiences in relation to death and to re-evaluate and appreciate hospices.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Hospice as a Learning Environment: A Follow-Up Study with a Palliative Care Team

Testoni

Sblano

Palazzo

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It also emphasised that the last moments of life can be a time of serenity, and that patients' dignity and respect are of paramount importance in palliative care. The process of reconstructing the meaning of dying allowed teachers and students to re ect together upon the valorisation of life [22,37]. The participants' perspectives on death education con rmed the ndings in the literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

The hospice as a learning environment: A follow-up, qualitative study with palliative care professionals and school teachers involved in a previous death education intervention

Testoni¹,

Sblano²,

Palazzo³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: In Western society, discussions about death have shifted from the domain of the everyday to the domain of medicine. Such censorship does not reduce the fear of death; rather, it deprives people of the means to elaborate their experiences of death, generating negative effects such as difficult mourning and stigmatisation of palliative care environments. The objective of this follow-up study was to detect whether and how death education can help to improve individuals’ relationship with death. Methods: This was a qualitative research study based on grounded theory. We conducted semi-structured interviews with both palliative care professionals and teachers who had taken part in a death education intervention three years earlier. The interviews were interpreted through thematic analysis. Results: The results confirmed death education’s positive effect for both palliative care professionals and teachers. These individuals reported that the education initiative helped them to positively modify their perspectives on death and dying, as well as their attitudes towards life. It also helped to improve community attitudes towards the hospice and its workers. Conclusions: This study confirmed that school education initiatives can create continuity between hospices and local communities. The death education project provided an educational space in which it was possible to elaborate experiences linked to death and to re-evaluate and appreciate hospices and their staff.

show abstract

“…It also emphasized that the last moments of life can be a time of serenity, with the patient's dignity and respect of paramount importance. The process of reconstructing the meaning of dying allowed teachers to reflect together with the adolescents upon the meaning of the valorisation of life [20,32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The hospice as a learning environment: A follow-up study of a death education intervention that involved high-school students and the community

Testoni

Sblano

Palazzo

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The theme of death in Western society has been removed from everyday life and replaced with specialized medical language. Such censorship does not reduce the fear of death, especially among young people, and it limits the possibility to elaborate on experiences linked to death, generating negative effects, especially in cases of traumatic grief. The objective of this follow-up study was to detect how and if experiences of death education changed the relationship between the community and a local hospice. Furthermore, it was stressed the theme of representation of death, in order to see whether participants were able to remind any possible attitude change following the project. Finally, it was analysed how they considered how they remembered the effect of the elaboration of the trauma caused by the suicide of a student. Methods This was a qualitative research study based on semi-structured interviews with palliative care professionals and teachers of students who had taken part in a death education intervention 3 years earlier. The interviews were examined through thematic analysis. Results The results confirmed the efficacy of the death education intervention initiated 3 years earlier. The education initiative contributed to modifying the students’ and teachers’ perspectives of end-of-life professionals and their understanding of the structures within which palliative care is implemented. It also modified the participants’ perspectives on the representation of death and promoted a new outlook on life. The hospice staff also perceived a change in the attitudes of the community, and this change had a positive impact on their everyday work. Conclusions This study confirmed the usefulness of creating continuity between a hospice and the community through a school education initiative. The death education project provided an educational space in which it was possible to elaborate on experiences linked to death and to re-evaluate and appreciate the structures of end-of-life care and the professionals who work in the area. Keywords: Hospice, Palliative care, Death education, Adolescents, Suicide.

show abstract

‘Experiencing life for the first time’: the effects of a traumatic death course on social work student mindfulness and empathy

Cited by 9 publications

References 37 publications

The Hospice as a Learning Environment: A Follow-Up Study with a Palliative Care Team

The Hospice as a Learning Environment: A Follow-Up Study with a Palliative Care Team

The hospice as a learning environment: A follow-up, qualitative study with palliative care professionals and school teachers involved in a previous death education intervention

The hospice as a learning environment: A follow-up study of a death education intervention that involved high-school students and the community

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About