How to educate citizens about death and dying? - Lessons learned from the implementation of Last Aid courses in 16 countries

Aims: The majority of Europeans want to die at home. To make this happen both knowledge and attitude are important. Knowledge and reflection about death and dying are parts of Last Aid Courses.
The main goals of the international Last Aid Course project are to empower citizens to participate in end-of-life care.
Methods and approach: An International Last Aid working group was established between 2017 and 2019. Participating countries can send up to two delegates to the Last Aid working group. During meetings of the International Last Aid working group the country representatives agree on a consensus about the curriculum and contents of the Last Aid course slide presentation.
Results: At present 16 countries participate in the international Last Aid working group. Commitment to participate in an international working group and respect for the consensus reached in the group are paramount in order to ensure quality of the courses in all participating countries. The main barrier encountered within the last four years for international cooperation is the assumption that major changes to address cultural differences are needed in all countries.
Conclusions/lessons learned: Our experiences from different countries so far show that a consensus common curriculum with minor national adaptations is possible. Furthermore Last Aid Courses are well accepted by the citizens in all participating countries although cultural differences exist. Standardisation of the Last Aid is as important as for First Aid courses in order to ensure quality and to enable international research on the effects of the courses. Last aid courses can be seen as educational foundation for compassionate communities.