King's College London

Death, dying, and bereavement are universal experiences, yet many people feel unprepared to deal with them. The concept of death literacy captures the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to talk about death, access services, support others, and make informed end-of-life decisions. While international studies have begun to explore this construct, there is currently no nationally representative evidence of death literacy levels in the UK.

This project aims to measure death literacy across the UK adult population using the validated Death Literacy Index – Revised Version (DLI-R), and to examine which individual characteristics, e.g. age, are associated with higher or lower levels of death literacy.

This novel study will provide the first UK-wide benchmark of death literacy levels, offering insight into who feels confident and capable in dealing with death, and who may need more support. Findings will identify who has lower death literacy and guide policy, health services, and community initiatives to strengthen end-of-life preparedness across the UK.