Article Text
Abstract
Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a national social movement. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the life educational program and to make recommendations related to its delivery. The subjects were 252 students between the ages of 7 and 13 from one elementary school in southern Taiwan. The objective of this education program is to introduce life-cycle concepts that would help the student learn coping skills for the painful events. The program lasted 40 min and was conducted as follows: (1) A brief introduction and rapport building (10 min); (2) Presentation of a Flash video which introduced the concept of the life-cycle experience (10 min); (3) An open discussion session (20 min). Discussion outlines consisted of: a) natural life processes b) dealing with grief and loss and c) healthy attitudes toward life-and-death. The results showed that the video could become a catalyst for student discussion of life-and-death issues.
Some findings Among the students who had relatives or friends who suffered from severe illnesses or had passed away; that 91% felt that they had no one to discuss their feelings with, and that 76% thought their loved one who died suffered in pain. 23% of all students had experienced the death of a pet and the grief they felt was in proportion to the pain their pet had endured while dying. The results of this study provided insights into the students' feeling and needs related to life and death issues and also pointed out that ACP's promotion should early evolve within the daily school experience.