Coronavirus: Dealing with Death, Dying and Grief

Erica Borgstrom, a medical anthropologist and lecturer at The Open University, explores why death from coronavirus is not the type of death we expect.

Even if we have been fortunate enough not to experience loss ourselves during this pandemic, there may be colleagues who have. So, how can we support grieving colleagues during these challenging times? 

Ever heard of advance care planning? Setting out what you’d want to happen to you if you became too unwell to make your own decisions doesn’t have to be morbid but can be incredibly helpful and give you peace of mind. Find out more in this interactive video simulation…

Explore interesting and challenging ideas around death, dying and grief. This free course, An introduction to death, dying and grief, invites you to think more deeply about death and dying and encourages you to think about it in different ways. This course will introduce you to different perspectives on death; ethical issues related to dying and...

This free course, Death and medicine: postponement and promise, helps you to explore the extent to which death and dying in western societies are medical events and what aspects of death and dying might be neglected as a consequence. The course covers the way that such things as medicine provide the context of the experiences associated with the...

This free advanced level course, Exploring depression, serves as an introduction to masters level study in neurosciences and mental health. Focusing on depression, you will consider key issues concerning diagnosis, causes and interventions. You will also begin to explore theoretical models, biological and psychological explanations, and look at ...

This free advanced level course, Exploring anxiety, serves as an introduction to masters level study in neurosciences and mental health. Focusing on anxiety, you will consider key issues concerning diagnosis, causes and interventions. You will also learn how to evaluate news items, and to go behind the headlines and begin to explore some of the ...

What can you do if you're not comfortable talking about mental health issues with your peers? Dr Jonathan Leach and Dr Mathijs Lucassen set out six ways of getting the support you need. 

Are paranormal experiences real? Can being 'spiritual' help with the way you feel about death, dying and grief? This film interactive delves into spiritual healing and your views on life after death...

Ever heard of advance care planning? Setting out what you’d want to happen to you if you became too unwell to make your own decisions doesn’t have to be morbid but can be incredibly helpful and give you peace of mind. Find out more in this interactive video simulation…

Explore interesting and challenging ideas around death, dying and grief. This free course, An introduction to death, dying and grief, invites you to think more deeply about death and dying and encourages you to think about it in different ways. This course will introduce you to different perspectives on death; ethical issues related to dying and...

For many, this question may at first seem like an odd one. It may be something you have never thought about – thinking about what the end of life may be like. For others, dying may not seem like something you can ‘plan for’, preferring to presume it is down to fate. And you might be wondering why question something you might have very little ...

Most people haven't heard of advance care plans or may avoid planning for end-of-life care. Dr Erica Borgstrom tells us why...

Suzanne Newcombe discusses what happens to us after we die in this short video..

How do you tell someone that they're dying? And how will they respond to the news? This series explores different ways of breaking bad news and looks at the impact of how the news is delivered has upon the person hearing it.

Learning from palliative and end of life care.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to work in end of life care as a health care professional supporting dying patients and their families? Working with people who are dying can be both rewarding and emotionally draining. 

The concept of wellbeing is intended to be holistic and cover the entire life course and life events. However, when it comes to dying, wellbeing is usually not the first (or in top ten even) of words that people think about. People may be more familiar with thinking about ‘quality of life’, which if often linked to patient outcomes. In this ...

It is well established that work impacts on people’s wellbeing. People often presume and create a separation between their work life and their private life.  However, life events like having a terminal diagnosis, which may be considered private, can impact a person’s work. In this article, we provide several tips for supporting people with a ...