Unit information: C5 Loss and Bereavement in 2009/10

Unit name	C5 Loss and Bereavement
Unit code	MEDIM3005
Credit points	15
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Emeritus Professor. Forbes
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Health Sciences Faculty Office
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This module will be taught through distance learning and lectures/seminars run over two and a half days covering the following areas: (i) philosophy of palliative care, (ii) different cultural and religious approaches to death and bereavement, (iii) a critical analysis of theories of loss and bereavement, (vi) assessment of risk of complicated grief, and (v) models of palliative care provision.

Aims:

The aim of this module is to deepen students' understanding of the psychological, social, spiritual, ethical and legal aspects of the care of people who are dying or bereaved.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• analyse the philosophy of palliative care and the development of bereavement services
• integrate knowledge of different cultural and religious approaches to death
• discuss spiritual issues in palliative care
• examine critically theories of loss and bereavement
• show awareness of personal responses to death and grief

Teaching Information

Two and a half study days

Lectures Seminars Group work following guided reading

Assessment Information

Essay (2500 words).

Reading and References

Murray Parkes C. Bereavement – Studies of grief in adult life. Middlesex: Pelican, 1986.

Stroebe W, Stroebe M, Hansson R. A handbook of bereavement: theory practice and research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993

Irish DP, Lundqvist K and Nelson VJ (eds). Ethnic variation in dying, death and grief. Washington: Taylor and Francis, 1993.