Death Education for Palliative Psychology

Death Education for Palliative Psychology

Background
In the second half of the 20th century, medicine achieved important successes that have increased the quality of life of western people.
However, the extension of lifespan concerns also serious illness and its terminal phase. Doctors tend to prefer defensive medicine in these cases to avoid dealing with the negative emotions. As a result, the important aspect of the quality of end of life is often not taken into consideration, also the economic cost of this condition is extremely high. While palliative care in Europe is progressively developing, thanks to the work of the EAPC (European Association for Palliative Care) and to the Hospice Movement, Death Education in Europe and Israel is underdeveloped in university courses. The themes of death and dying are constantly censored because they elicit strong anxiety, and the lack of university education has been identified as a barrier to the development of this crucial area of Quality-of-Life intervention. The World Health Organization and EAPC (European Association for Palliative Care) have argued in favor of DE implementation within the post-graduate curricula because it is a basic pillar for the integration of palliative care.

Objectives
The project “Death Education for Palliative Psychology” aimed to train European university students who may in the future be part of a multidisciplinary team of palliative care and grief management. Primarily, DE4PP defined the content that must be taught to students in these two fundamental areas of intervention, the teaching methodology, the psychological strategies that must be acquired by the students to work in the future with mourners and in health facilities that care for the dying. At the same time, since contact with terminal illnesses and death requires empathy, the project aimed to propose strategies to keep anxiety at bay. Specifically, in addition to offering clinically useful tools, it also shows how contact with mortality can be an important opportunity for maturation and personal growth. As a matter of facts, psychological support in palliative care is not exclusively a job for psychologists. On the contrary, through this online course all professionals working in PC could acquire the necessary basic knowledges.

Implementation
Activities implemented by the project in the five partner countries:
- examination of death education and palliative psychology’s spread
- preliminary research on students’ confidence and interest on death education and palliative psychology, and publication of a scientific article
- creation of an e-learning platform containing a pilot course, aimed to teach the basic elements related to palliative care and psychology, bereavement, psychological support to bereavement and the different Art techniques for psychological support
- creation and delivery of four arts therapies-based workshops
- creation of the activities for the Erasmus students, such as lessons on assistance to the patient, a role-playing session on the themes of death and accompaniment to dying, and a day assisting ANT doctors in providing home care to terminally ill patients and debriefing sessions with ANT psychologists
- writing of scientific articles on the analysis of the quantitative and qualitative results collected during the pilot course
- creation of the project’s website and social media pages
- creation of online courses with free access for anyone who wants to deepen the subject of death education, palliative psychology, and arts therapies.

Results
DE4PP Partners expected students to:
- remove cultural censorship of issues related to death and dying, recognize and manage their emotional implications, enhance the spiritual and religious dimension, and counter prejudices that create discrimination against diversity.
- know the basic concepts of palliative care, communication techniques, how to recognize the importance of debate on death and dying and the legal implications of decision-making processes.
- be able to work in a team, dealing with critical cases, consider bioethical/legal dilemmas.
- use communication techniques and relational strategies to support teamwork and patient-centered intervention.
From the European point of view, the Partners expected to increase the network of collaboration between universities and to remove all forms of discrimination.
Regarding the future, the Partners intend to keep increasing the network of sharing skills and research and to disseminate the curriculum prepared with DE4PP.
A survey was submitted to students from the five countries involved to understand their opinions and needs about death education and palliative care. Subsequently, a pilot course was created to fulfil the need previously identified, divided into 9 modules.

The Partners:

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA, Italy - Coordinator

FONDAZIONE ANT ITALIA ONLUS, Italy
KATOLICKI UNIWERSYTET LUBELSKI JANA PAWLA II, Poland
UNIVERSITAET KLAGENFURT, Austria
UNIVERSITATEA LUCIAN BLAGA DIN SIBIU, Romania
UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA, Israel