The purpose of this study is to develop death education programs on a national level such as education on death and well-dying, manpower nurturing, educational systems, and construction of social systems propelled by researchers in the fields of hum ...
The purpose of this study is to develop death education programs on a national level such as education on death and well-dying, manpower nurturing, educational systems, and construction of social systems propelled by researchers in the fields of humanities, society, health and medical.
Phase I project has been carried out for three years with the following research objectives. The first goal is to lay the foundations for convergent research centered on death and well-dying and to establish a related research network. The second goal was to develop death and well-dying education programs and educational materials, and to examine the current conditions of death and foster convergent human resources at the same time. The final objective is to establish a hub center for research and education on death and well-dying and to run a death education program while establishing a research network.
One of the most important research results and outcomes of the Phase I project is the development of customized death education programs. To this end, we examined the existing death education programs, surveys, the necessity of death education for each subject, and the validity of such education and developed textbooks for death education. The death education program and textbooks suggested in this study have their significance in that they study and analyze death from a humanities, social, economic, medical, and public health perspective by investigating its meanings based on multidisciplinary approaches combining humanities, social science, and health and medical. Four textbooks on death education program were developed for the general public, students, health care providers, and social workers.
The second result of the Phase I project is that it runs the Death Education Center, a hub for convergent research and education. An advisory panel on humanities, sociology, and health care has been established, which has been the center of public relations (48 times of public relations activities on the media), establishing domestic and international networks (JALMALV, Korea Academia-Industrial Cooperation Society, Nonsan Hana Geriatric Hospital, Bulacan State University of the Philippines, etc.), and presenting research results at various conferences (10 SCI-grade papers were published, 19 conference presentations, 11 death-related symposia, and seven excellent papers).
Through the Phase I project, the research team has established the foundation and the basis of convergent research, develop various educational materials and programs, and endeavor to promote the next project to improve the quality of life of the people in Korea. Korea has dishonorably been nominated as the country that records the fastest rate of increase in terms of youth suicide and the world's number one suicide rate of elderly people (Source: 2015 OECD data). In addition to this, the quality of life of the elderly continues to decline in many other indicators with the elderly crime rate be an example. The ultimate goal of Phase Ⅱ project is to examine death and well-dying on a national level instead of a regional and university level and to propose solutions and social alternatives to vulnerable areas.