What shapes understandings of death and dying, and how does this affect the experiences of dying people, bereaved people, those who work with them and their carers? In this module, you'll explore the social context of death and dying, considering the impact on end-of-life care and bereavement support. You’ll engage with real-life examples and think critically about how practice in this area can be improved. It's relevant to individuals working with people who are dying, the bereaved, and their families. It's also for anyone who wants to find out more about death, dying and bereavement from an academic study point-of-view.
Designed for anyone with an interest in death, dying, and bereavement, this module explores how understandings about death and dying are shaped by time, place, and culture, and introduces you to approaches and perspectives from around the world. The module focuses on the academic study of death, dying and bereavement. Some learners find the reflective elements helpful in the context of bereavement; however, the course is not designed to therapeutically support people through their own grief.
The learning materials will encourage you to consider how different social approaches to death, dying, and bereavement impact the way that end-of-life care and bereavement support are provided. You'll be introduced to cutting-edge research and seminal works in this field and have opportunities to engage with powerful real-life case studies. The module addresses important contemporary concerns, while also enabling you to think critically about ethical dilemmas and complex questions of diversity, difference and (in)equality in the provision of end-of-life care and in supporting bereaved people.
The module is designed around three key blocks of study, each comprising five learning guides:
Block 1: In the first block, you'll be introduced to the social context of death and dying, exploring what shapes our attitudes towards death and how individual and societal views about death impact upon end-of-life care. You will consider key concepts in the field such as ‘a good death’ while thinking about the role that science and medicine has played in contemporary practices around death and dying.
Block 2: You will look in more detail at the policy context for end-of-life care, and consider how this translates in day-to-day practice. You'll explore how difficult ethical decisions about people’s treatment and support are made, while engaging with hotly debated topics such as Assisted Dying. You will also learn about the importance of communication in end-of-life care, and consider how practice in this field can be improved.
Block 3: In the final block, you'll consider individual experiences of grief, as well as social and cultural responses towards those who are bereaved. The learning guides will enable you to explore and challenge traditional theories of grief and their applicability to contemporary experiences of grief and bereavement. You will also consider the way culture and society mediates responses to bereavement across the life course and explore how individuals choose to remember those who have died through memorialisation rituals and practices.
Throughout this module you will work with a rich array of audio and visual materials designed to get you thinking and to build your understanding and skills. You will be encouraged and supported to bring together core themes and ideas in a way that is relevant to you and your specific interests. You will be taught quickly and simply how to use ICT to access, analyse and communicate current issues, as well as going online to communicate with other students.
The module will also support you to develop your personal reflection skills - something we believe is vital for anyone working or studying in this field. You will be introduced to models of reflective thinking to support your learning journey on the module, and you will be encouraged to keep a note of your reflections in a personalised study diary.
This is an OU level 2 module and you need to have the study skills required for both higher education and distance learning, obtained either through OU level 1 study or from equivalent study elsewhere.
If you are studying for a Health and Social Care qualification, our OU level 1 module Introducing health and social care (K102) is ideal preparation. However, you don’t need any prior knowledge as the study material for this module is designed to be accessible if you are new to this subject.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
We are introducing a new way of submitting a TMA for this module and a small number of other modules. This will simplify the process of submitting your work and collecting your marks and feedback.
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
There are additional resources available on the module website designed to support your online learning. You will also be guided to find and research for relevant resources using the OU Library.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying K220 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
Death, dying and bereavement (K220) starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2028.
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