Perceptions of speech-pathology and audiology students concerning death and dying: a preliminary study

Formal training in dealing with death and dying issues is not a standard content area in communication sciences and disorders programmes' curricula. At the same time, it cannot be presumed that pre-professional students' personal background equips them to deal with these issues.

To investigate the perceptions of pre-professional speech-language pathology and audiology students' need for formal training in death and dying issues.

Participants were 230 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in communication sciences and disorders courses in a southern, metropolitan university, in the USA. A questionnaire developed by the researchers was given. Post-hoc analyses were conducted.

Results indicated that participants desired training in the area of death and dying before entering the professional world, even though they rated themselves to be fairly knowledgeable about the topic. Preferred methods for acquiring knowledge about death and dying were personal and professional experiences, followed by consulting professional resources, classroom instruction, and talking to professionals who are familiar with death and dying.

Education in death and dying is needed by pre-professional, speech-language pathology and audiology students who appear to be at risk for professional obstacles and emotional trauma from the death of their patients.