Flinders Palliative care researchers have run their second Dying2Learn Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about death and dying in the lead-up to Dying to Know Day on 8 August.

Developed by CareSearch, the MOOC provided a community platform for open social discussion on death, dying and palliative care – often taboo subjects in day-to-day conversation.

Participants were asked upon enrolment to respond to questions about their attitudes to death.

At the end of the course, they were asked to respond to the same questions to determine whether they had experienced any changes in viewpoint.

Researchers found that the course significantly increased participants’ comfort in talking about death and dying, and strengthened their view that death was a normal part of life.

Importantly, all participants who initially ‘strongly disagreed’ that ‘death was a normal part of life’ changed their opinion to ‘strongly agree’ by the end of the course, which reflected quite a significant change in thinking.

The MOOC also included an optional section for participants that examined their feelings and competence in coping with death using more detailed and formal questionnaire scales.

Using these formal scales, researchers found that participants who already felt competent in coping with death showed further competence at the end of the course.

Researchers further found that the more of the Dying2Learn course that participants completed, the greater their increase in death coping and competence.

This was regardless of whether or not participants worked in the health professions.

Many participants commented that being part of the Dying2Learn course impacted on both their personal and professional lives.

Staff can now order a free “Dying2Learn” kit which includes products developed from the MOOC.

These can help start important conversations around death, dying and bereavement.

Staff can order a “Dying2Learn” kit and register for future Dying2Learn courses at www.caresearch.com.au/Dying2Learn.