DEATH EDUCATION IN PARAMEDIC PROGRAMS - A NATIONWIDE ASSESSMENT

In an exploratory study, we obtained information on death education in paramedic programs. A self-administered survey war sent to all U.S. p aramedic training programs (N = 537). The survey ascertained the metho d of instruction, educational supplements, assessment techniques, and integration of death education into general course work. The status of pact, present, and future death education offerings in paramedic prog rams was also elicited. Analysis war performed on the usable surveys ( response rate = 51%). The overwhelming majority (95%) of programs offe r death education, with more offerings now than 10 years ago. Legal-et hical topics were the most often included death-related instruction. I n the majority of programs, a lecture (didactic) format was used for i nstruction and closed-ended tests were used for assessment. Results on other educational supplements and assessment techniques are also pres ented.