Abstract Objectives This study investigates the experiential learning needs of death education among Chinese medical students. Methods A questionnaire survey was administered to a convenience sample of 1,089 medical students from 33 universities across mainland China to assess their experiential learning needs in death education, and both exploratory factor analysis and regression analyses were conducted on the collected data. Results Among students, 96.70 % held a neutral or positive attitude toward death education, 65.11 % had heard about it, 29.48 % received it in school, 13.87 % studied it independently. Desired content included caring for life, how to care terminal patients, self-care, while preferred methods involved facing the front line of life and death, basic theory learning in class, life and death storytelling. Gender, parental education level, and attitudes toward death education were significant influencing factors. Conclusions The study reveals a strong demand for experiential death education among Chinese medical students, highlighting the need for diverse, experience-based and learner-centered curriculum design.
Yao et al. (Thu,) studied this question.