Death education

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Death education is education about death that focuses on the human and emotional aspects of death. Though it may include teaching on the biological aspects of death, teaching about coping with grief is a primary focus. The scientific study of death is known as thanatology. Thanatology stems from the Greek word thanatos, meaning death, and ology meaning a science or organized body of knowledge.^[1] A specialist in this field is a thanatologist.

Death education refers to the experiences and activities of death that one deals with. Death education also deals with being able to grasp the different processes of dying, talk about the main topics of attitudes and meanings toward death, and the after effects on how to learn to care for people who are affected by the death. The main focus in death education is teaching people how to cope with grief. Many people feel death education is taboo and instead of talking about death and grieving, they hide it away and never bring it up with others. With the right education about death, the less taboo it may become.