The current situation of death literacy among Chinese residents in the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area and its preliminary exploration on contemporary life and death education / 中国医学伦理学

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveThe aim is to understand the current situation of death literacy among Chinese residents in the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Greater Bay Area and explore educational approaches to enhance the death literacy of the social public. MethodThe Death Literacy Index was conducted among 2，002 residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area， which included 29 items from four dimensions namely practice， experience， fact， and community. ResultsThe average score of death literacy among the respondents was moderate （6.70）， with scores for practical and experiential knowledge （7.32， 7.50） higher than those for factual and community knowledge （6.20， 6.10）. The weakest content included discussing bereavement with people who have just lost loved ones （5.07）， laws and regulations related to death at home （5.35）， and providing support for the terminal person and their families in the community. ConclusionThe death literacy of the Chinese residents in the Greater Bay Area was moderate， in which community knowledge was the weakest with a lack of concern and support for the terminal person and the caregivers. Therefore， community health promotion strategies were proposed to strengthen death education for the public and promote the death literacy of the residents.