Citizens appreciate talking about death and learning end-of-life care – a mixed-methods study on views and experiences of 5469 Last Aid Course participants

Figures & data

Figure 1 Flowchart of Last Aid course participants, respondents and included questionnaires

Table 1 The Last Aid Course questionnaire

Table 2 The Last Aid Course contents

Module nr.	Main theme	Topic	Course content (examples)
Module 1	Dying as a normal part of life	To care and to accompany	When does the dying process start? Caring for dying people Who cares and who supports the carer? Hospice philosophy and Palliative Care What will be important for me when I have to die?
Module 2	Planning ahead	To make plans and decisions on your own	Communication and preparation How can we reach god decisions? To make provisions (e.g. living will) Social networks
Module 3	Relieving suffering	To alleviate suffering	Living until the end of life Options to handle and alleviate pain and other distressing symptoms (drugs and non-pharmacological options) The role of eating and drinking at the end of life (including artificial nutrition and fluid management) What to do if nothing helps
Module 4	Final goodbyes	To say farewell – cultural aspects of death and dying	Is there a right place to be? Grief and bereavement Rituals around the end of life Burial – national rules and regulations Summary and questions Feedback and farewell

Figure 2 Age distribution of Last Aid Course participants. Note: Age range from minimum 15 to maximum 94

Table 3 Basic data from the participants

		Total
		N=5469
Age group	18–64	3764 (73.6%)
	65+	1347 (26.4%)
Gender	Female	4075 (87.9%)
	Male	560 (12.1%)
Profession	Medical	428 (9.4%)
	Non-medical	4125 (90.6%)
Rating – Module 1	Very good	3704 (69.8%)
	Good	1488 (28.1%)
	Satisfactory	93 (1.8%)
	Inadequate	19 (0.4%)
Rating – Module 2	Very good	3347 (63.5%)
	Good	1774 (33.7%)
	Satisfactory	126 (2.4%)
	Inadequate	22 (0.4%)
Rating – Module 3	Very good	3941 (74.2%)
	Good	1274 (24.0%)
	Satisfactory	71 (1.3%)
	Inadequate	28 (0.5%)
Rating – Module 4	Very good	3736 (71.3%)
	Good	1377 (26.3%)
	Satisfactory	107 (2.0%)
	Inadequate	21 (0.4%)
Overall ranking of the course as a whole	Very good	3505 (75.8%)
	Good	1081 (23.4%)
	Satisfactory	25 (0.5%)
	Inadequate	16 (0.3%)
Beneficial for everyone	Yes	5260 (97.9%)
	No	114 (2.1%)
Learned a lot new things	Yes	4425 (84.4%)
	No	820 (15.6%)
The contents were easy to understand	Yes	5398 (99.4%)
	No	34 (0.6%)
I will recommend the course	Yes	5321 (99.0%)
	No	56 (1.0%)

Figure 3 Participants ranking of overall course. Stratified by age, gender and medical education

Figure 4 Participants ranking of the four modules