Dying Matters Awareness Week highlights the importance of talking about dying, death and bereavement. The Open University has an abundance of information on the subject, curated by experts from across Health & Social Care.
Get interactive
Would you be able to help your friends and family get the care they want if they were too unwell to make their own decisions? Put your skills to the test with this simulation and explore advance care planning by following Jane and Susan’s story.
Free courses
An introduction to death, dying and grief
Explore interesting and challenging ideas around death, dying and grief. This free course invites you to think more deeply about death and dying and encourages you to think about it in different ways. It will introduce you to different perspectives on death; ethical issues related to dying and end-of-life care; as well as expressions of grief.
- 7 hours study
- Level 2: Intermediate
Living with death and dying, explores how knowledge of and beliefs about death and encounters with death affect people’s lives. It will also examine the concept of a ‘good death’ from an individual perspective in order to enhance the quality of dying.
- 4 hours study
- Level 1: Introductory
Ageing and disability: Transitions into residential care
Moving into a care home can have a profound emotional impact on an individual just the anticipation of residential care is one of the biggest sources of fear for the elderly. This free course discusses the role of social workers and care staff in supporting individuals through the transition, and how residential environments affect quality of life.
- 11 hours study
- Level 2: Intermediate
Further reading
On the death of a baby: Parents experience of grief and loss
Dr Kerry Jones is a Lecturer in End of Life Care and researches bereavement across the whole life span. In this article, she debunks some common misconceptions and outlines ways to support parents who are going through this loss.
Seven things to remember when supporting a dying person
Dr Erica Borgstrom is a medical anthropologist whose teaching and research focuses on death and dying, with a particular emphasis on end of life care. Dr Borgstrom considers seven essentials to bear in mind when supporting someone who is dying. They are adapted from the Government publication Five Priorities for Care of the Dying Person to recognise the valuable work nurses do when supporting someone at the end of their life.
The complex issues of death and dying
The only certainty in life is death. Visiting Academic in Health and Social Care, Dr Carol Komaromy, researched the complex issues of death and dying, covering topics like the place of grief in society and how people cope with death depending on their gender or profession. In this piece she shares some of her findings.
Find out more
About Dying Matters Awareness Week
Studying Health & Social Care at The Open University
