A survey of professionals' training and experiences in delivering death notifications

A mail survey was conducted of 240 people from different professions that r outinely encountered death to assess their previous training and experience s in delivering death notifications. Nearly 40% of these persons had receiv ed neither classroom nor experiential training in death notification, altho ugh 70% of respondents had performed at least one notification. The causes of death that contributed to notifiers' distress during notification includ ed (a) violent crime, (b) drunk driving crashes, (c) suicide, and (d) the d eath of a child. Survivor reactions that were the most difficult for notifi ers to manage during the notification included (a) attempts to harm self or others (b) physical acting-out, and (c) intense anxiety. Notifiers indicat ed that they most frequently coped with the stresses of notification by (a) spending time with family, (b) talking with coworkers, and (c) spending ti me alone. The implications of the results and the needs for systematic deat h notification education were discussed.