Learning through loss: implementing lossography narratives in death education

High death anxiety and ambiguous loss: Lessons learned from teaching through the COVID-19 pandemic

For gerontological educators, topics such as mortality, loss, and end-of-life issues often emerge or are central in their courses. However, teaching in the era, and aftermath, of the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the salience of death and loss, raising questions about best practices and teaching pedagogies to support student learning amidst a global crisis. This qualitative study utilized written narratives collected during the pandemic from students enrolled in an undergraduate thanatology course. Content analysis of written narratives (n = 44) revealed three themes that can help inform strategies to best support student learning during challenging times. Participants desired more flexibility; compassion and understanding; and more targeted resources and socioemotional support. Results have immediate implications for educators teaching during the pandemic and for years to come. We provide recommendations for teaching and learning support, as well as advocate for more university and community-based thanatology and gerontology education offerings.

Young adults' experiences with loss and grief during COVID-19

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are experiencing unprecedented cumulative loss and grief. Guided by life course theory, we used inductive qualitative analysis and explored young adults' (N = 86) written accounts of their earliest and most significant losses associated with COVID-19, as well as their coping mechanisms. Overall, participants experienced substantial loss, especially losses related to their education and social life/events. We discuss five subthemes related to approaches to coping and five subthemes related to barriers to coping. Our findings are relevant to informing strategies that support adapting to significant loss in early adulthood, beyond the pandemic.

Operationalizing intersectionality as a framework in qualitative grief research

The field of thanatology emphasizes understanding grief as situated within social contexts. Yet, existing research largely examines individual experiences, neglecting to critically examine the role that sociocultural systems and forms of oppression play in how people grieve. In this manuscript, we use the social constructionist model of grief as an epistemological stepping stone to operationalize intersectionality as a framework to engage in this critical qualitative research. We provide an overview of the research process implementing an intersectional framework, including examples of research questions and procedures throughout, and discuss implications for helping praxis and education and future scholarship.