Public health

Pathology

Pedagogy

Disease

Palliative care

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Pandemic

Outbreak

Nursing

Political science

Psychology

Virology

Death education

Advance care planning

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Gerontology

Public education

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Public administration

Curriculum

Medicine

Death Studies

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and deaths of any nation. Deaths due to COVID-19, especially among older adults and people of color, have created an urgency for advanced care planning (ACP). Despite benefits of ACP, only one-third of U.S. adults have completed advance directives, in part due to a lack of death education. We recommend four actions to increase death education and ACP completion: (1) integrate death education into teacher preparation programs, (2) incorporate death education in undergraduate curricula, (3) provide better education in death and dying to future health professionals, and (4) educate the public.

COVID-19 brings a new urgency for advance care planning: Implications of death education