Abstract
The Dying2Learn massive open online course (MOOC) was a five-week course designed for the general community covering various topics related to death and dying, developed with a sociocultural focus that encouraged personal reflection and open discussion, rather than a medical or clinical focus. Yet, the majority of the participants identified as health care workers. Their motivations to enrolling in the course as well as their learning goals were examined. Responses to questions relating to their motivations for enrolment and learning goals were assigned codes and grouped into themes. We then made comparisons between the different demographic and occupational groups. The most commonly mentioned responses related to general interest in the topic of death and dying. HCWs were more likely to mention work-related motivations and improving communication skills than non-HCWs. We found that HCWs hoped to be better at talking about death and dying, which might indicate a possible gap in their formal education in this area.
Highlights
The topic of death is shunned by many and most are uncomfortable talking about it even though death comes to everyone [1,2]
Dying2Learn was designed to allow the participants from the general community to cover various topics related to death and dying through a five-week online course known as a massive open online course (MOOC)
We found that health care workers (HCW) are significantly more likely than non-HCWs to state this as a learning goal
Summary
The topic of death is shunned by many and most are uncomfortable talking about it even though death comes to everyone [1,2]. It is essential to have a better understanding of death and dying to be able to prepare for it and learn to accept this natural phenomenon as something part and parcel of life [3] This could be achieved through educational activities related to death, dying, and grief, known as death education [4]. Teaching such a sensitive topic in a traditional way can be tricky, stirring up unpleasant emotions or even causing students to withdraw from their emotions in order to avoid the discomfort of confronting death [5]. Social learning and the ability to freely exchange information and ideas is increasing in popularity [6,7]
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