A conference which aims to tackle the stigma around death will take place at the start of May as part of Dying Matters Awareness Week. The event takes place every year at the cotton Exchange Building in Liverpool and helps to dispel and myths or worries that people may have about death or the final years of their life. Having been organised in support of Hannah Todd from The Life After and linked to the national campaign run by Hospice UK the event will take place on the 6th May between 10am and 2pm.

Included in the event will be a pannel discussion on grief in the work place with speakers from speakers from Smooth HR, Inner Solutions and Morecrofts, focusing on how employers can support staff. There will be another discussion on future planning to help ensure that people have the right measures in place to protect their family and close relatives for when the time comes. There will be a group of expert speakers who will share their knowledge and expertise on the practical steps to take to protect your loved ones.

The occasion will also provide the ideal opportunity for employers, HR professionals and those involved in workplace policy but is also open to everyone so no one will feel excluded and will be able to improve their know how to ensure they are well prepared.

Dying Matters Awareness Week 2026 is organised by Hospice UK and runs from 4 to 10 May. This year’s theme is “Let’s talk about Death and Dying” (source: https://www.hospiceuk.org/our-campaigns/dying-matters/dying-matters-awareness-week).

Hospice UK says the campaign is intended to help break stigma around death, dying and grief and encourage more open conversations in communities and workplaces (source: https://www.hospiceuk.org/our-campaigns/dying-matters).

ACAS, which is an independent UK public body providing free, impartial advice to employers and employees, says there is no general legal right to paid time off for bereavement in the UK, unless someone qualifies for parental bereavement pay when a child dies (source: https://www.acas.org.uk/time-off-for-bereavement).

People are invited to join the discussion online to help normalise the element of talking about death. There is a broad online community where people from around the world can share their thoughts and feelings on the subject matter. This will help other people know what the event is all about so they can find out whether it is right for them or not.

When it comes to grieving in the west, the focus is often placed on the individual. People talk about their personal grief, and counselling is usually arranged for just one person – even support groups are attended by individual members. But the reality is that the family – or for many Indigenous people, the tribe – grieves collectively, and in some cultures, this is more pronounced than others.

In Hindu families in India, for example, relatives and friends come together to support the immediate family in an elaborate 13-day ritual. A widow ceases to be the head of the household and her place is taken by the wife of her oldest son.

Typical of Native American culture, the Lakota tribe elders use the phrase “mitakuye oyasin”, meaning “we are all related”. The death of anyone in the tribe is felt by all.

The energy and stamina which young adults who are studying nursing bring to the profession is invaluable; however, life experience with death and dying or funerals is often lacking in younger people. This next section was written to provide the young nursing student or novice nurse, who may not have had any previous experience with attending a funeral service, some basic information about funerals. Although most cultures and religions have their own unique rituals and traditions associated with funeral practices and mourning, we will identify some basic components found in the traditional funeral in the United States.