COVID-19 brings a new urgency for advance care planning: Implications of death education.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and deaths of any nation. Deaths due to COVID-19, especially among older adults and people of color, have created an urgency for advanced care planning (ACP). Despite benefits of ACP, only one-third of U.S. adults have completed advance directives, in part due to a lack of death education. We recommend four actions to increase death education and ACP completion: (1) integrate death education into teacher preparation programs, (2) incorporate death education in undergraduate curricula, (3) provide better education in death and dying to future health professionals, and (4) educate the public.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed dying and grief: Will there be a surge of complicated grief?

Worldwide, more than 3 million people have died from COVID-19. Each decedent represents a person who was loved, will be missed, and whose death elicited grief. COVID-19 has changed the way we die and grieve. Many people have died without family members and friends present and many of the bereft have grieved and mourned alone. Individuals and communities have experienced multiple losses within a short time while suffering from concomitant stress, anxiety, and depression. More deaths and more grief will continue in the foreseeable future. Preventive education is needed to prepare for and manage the likely increase in complicated grief.

Health Behaviors of Funeral Directors in the US: A Needs Assessment.

Objectives: Little is known about the health-risk behaviors of funeral directors. We undertook a study to examine their health behavior risks by assessing perceived health behaviors. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional, descriptive study of a sample of funeral directors in the US as of September 2018. We used online survey software to disseminate a multi-wave survey to funeral directors. Results: Overall, we received 132 completed surveys (16.5% response rate). Overall, funeral directors rated themselves as healthy, but 61% reported that their mental health was not good in the previous 30 days due to stress, depression, or problems with emotions. We found that 23% reported that their poor physical or mental health keep them from doing their daily activities such as self-care, work, or recreation in the last 30 days. Other behaviors such as screenings, weight management, stress management, and substance use were found to be concerns in this population. Conclusions: Public health efforts should focus on health promotion programming with an emphasis on improving the overall health and well-being of funeral directors in the US.