“We Want to Talk about Death, Dying and Grief and to Learn about End-of-Life Care”—Lessons Learned from a Multi-Center Mixed-Methods Study on Last Aid Courses for Kids and Teens
Background: Last Aid Courses (LAC) for adults have been established in 21 countries in Europe, Australia and America to improve the public discussion about death and dying and to empower people to participate in end-of-life care provision. In 2018, the first Last Aid Courses for kids and teens (LAC-...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/2/224 |
| _version_ | 1797298568339390464 |
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| author | Georg Bollig Kirsti Gräf Harry Gruna Daniel Drexler Raymund Pothmann |
| author_facet | Georg Bollig Kirsti Gräf Harry Gruna Daniel Drexler Raymund Pothmann |
| author_sort | Georg Bollig |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Last Aid Courses (LAC) for adults have been established in 21 countries in Europe, Australia and America to improve the public discussion about death and dying and to empower people to participate in end-of-life care provision. In 2018, the first Last Aid Courses for kids and teens (LAC-KT) were introduced. The aim of the study was to explore the views and experiences of the course participants and Last Aid Course instructors on the LAC-KT. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used. The views of the LAC-KT participants, aged 7 to 17 years, on the LAC-KT were collected using a questionnaire. In addition, the experiences of the Last Aid Course instructors were explored in focus group interviews. Results: The results show that 84% of the participants had experiences with death and dying and 91% found the LAC-KT helpful for everyone. The majority of the participants appreciate the opportunity to talk and learn about death, dying, grief and palliative care. Conclusions: The LAC-KT is feasible, very well accepted and a welcome opportunity for exchanging and obtaining information about dying, grief and palliative care. The findings of the study indicate that the LAC-KT should be offered to all interested children and teenagers and included in the school curriculum. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:37:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5f376f2918a462996ab7cebc506e41f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:37:53Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5f376f2918a462996ab7cebc506e41f2024-02-23T15:12:26ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672024-02-0111222410.3390/children11020224“We Want to Talk about Death, Dying and Grief and to Learn about End-of-Life Care”—Lessons Learned from a Multi-Center Mixed-Methods Study on Last Aid Courses for Kids and TeensGeorg Bollig0Kirsti Gräf1Harry Gruna2Daniel Drexler3Raymund Pothmann4Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, Palliative Medicine and Pain Therapy, Helios Klinikum, 24837 Schleswig, GermanyLetzte Hilfe Deutschland gGmbH, 24837 Schleswig, GermanyLetzte Hilfe Deutschland gGmbH, 24837 Schleswig, GermanyLetzte Hilfe Deutschland gGmbH, 24837 Schleswig, GermanyLetzte Hilfe Deutschland gGmbH, 24837 Schleswig, GermanyBackground: Last Aid Courses (LAC) for adults have been established in 21 countries in Europe, Australia and America to improve the public discussion about death and dying and to empower people to participate in end-of-life care provision. In 2018, the first Last Aid Courses for kids and teens (LAC-KT) were introduced. The aim of the study was to explore the views and experiences of the course participants and Last Aid Course instructors on the LAC-KT. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used. The views of the LAC-KT participants, aged 7 to 17 years, on the LAC-KT were collected using a questionnaire. In addition, the experiences of the Last Aid Course instructors were explored in focus group interviews. Results: The results show that 84% of the participants had experiences with death and dying and 91% found the LAC-KT helpful for everyone. The majority of the participants appreciate the opportunity to talk and learn about death, dying, grief and palliative care. Conclusions: The LAC-KT is feasible, very well accepted and a welcome opportunity for exchanging and obtaining information about dying, grief and palliative care. The findings of the study indicate that the LAC-KT should be offered to all interested children and teenagers and included in the school curriculum.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/2/224Last Aid Course kids/teensawarenessdeathdyingdeath literacypalliative care |
| spellingShingle | Georg Bollig Kirsti Gräf Harry Gruna Daniel Drexler Raymund Pothmann “We Want to Talk about Death, Dying and Grief and to Learn about End-of-Life Care”—Lessons Learned from a Multi-Center Mixed-Methods Study on Last Aid Courses for Kids and Teens Children Last Aid Course kids/teens awareness death dying death literacy palliative care |
| title | “We Want to Talk about Death, Dying and Grief and to Learn about End-of-Life Care”—Lessons Learned from a Multi-Center Mixed-Methods Study on Last Aid Courses for Kids and Teens |
| title_full | “We Want to Talk about Death, Dying and Grief and to Learn about End-of-Life Care”—Lessons Learned from a Multi-Center Mixed-Methods Study on Last Aid Courses for Kids and Teens |
| title_fullStr | “We Want to Talk about Death, Dying and Grief and to Learn about End-of-Life Care”—Lessons Learned from a Multi-Center Mixed-Methods Study on Last Aid Courses for Kids and Teens |
| title_full_unstemmed | “We Want to Talk about Death, Dying and Grief and to Learn about End-of-Life Care”—Lessons Learned from a Multi-Center Mixed-Methods Study on Last Aid Courses for Kids and Teens |
| title_short | “We Want to Talk about Death, Dying and Grief and to Learn about End-of-Life Care”—Lessons Learned from a Multi-Center Mixed-Methods Study on Last Aid Courses for Kids and Teens |
| title_sort | we want to talk about death dying and grief and to learn about end of life care lessons learned from a multi center mixed methods study on last aid courses for kids and teens |
| topic | Last Aid Course kids/teens awareness death dying death literacy palliative care |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/2/224 |
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