Factors associated with death literacy among Swedish adults: A cross-sectional exploratory study

Death literacy is a recent conceptualization representing both individual and community competence, for example, a set of knowledge and skills for engaging in end-of-life-related situations. Little is yet known about which factors are associated with death literacy. A cross-sectional survey using the Swedish version of the Death Literacy Index, the DLI-S, was therefore conducted to explore associations between death literacy and sociodemographic, health, and experience variables.

A quota sample of 503 adults (mean age 49.95 ± 17.92), recruited from an online Swedish survey panel, completed a survey comprising the DLI-S and background questions.

A hierarchical regression model with 3 blocks explained 40.5% of the variance in death literacy, F(22, 477) = 14.75. The sociodemographic factors age, gender, education, widowhood, and religious/spiritual belief accounted for 13.7% of the variance. Adding professional care factors contributed to an additional 15.8% of variance, with working in health care being significantly associated with death literacy. Including experiential factors explained another 11.0% of the variance, of which experiences of caring for and supporting dying and grieving people, both in a work, volunteer, or personal context, were positively associated with death literacy.

This study contributes a tentative explanatory model of the influence of different factors on death literacy, outlining both direct and indirect associations. Our findings also support the hypothesized experiential basis for death literacy development in the Swedish context. The moderate degree of overall variance explained suggests there may be additional factors to consider to better understand the death literacy construct and how its development may be supported.