Death in a Time of Corona

Help us understand how COVID-19 is changing deathcare, funerals, and memorialisation worldwide by contributing to this collaborative, open research platform.

We have established a platform to share accounts of how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing deathcare, including end-of-life and mortuary care, arranging funerals, and ongoing memorialisation. This information is of interest to us as part of research into death and technology in the 21st century led by the DeathTech Research Team at The University of Melbourne. We’d like to know what you are experiencing now – e.g. how are funerals happening, how are bodies being handled, what is different?

Please upload your reflections to the interactive map here. (https://padlet.com/hannahgould/deathduringcorona) To add a reflection, click on the large plus sign, select a location, and then add your text. You can also email deathtech-research@unimelb.edu.au if you would prefer that we upload your contribution.

We’re particularly interested in first-person accounts, reflections on new technologies being use and new rituals, and the emotional, professional, and social impact of these changes. You can include links to news articles, images, or videos. The researchers will also add published articles about death during COVID-19 to the map. 

You can choose to upload anonymously if you wish. You can also choose to identify yourself and/or your company in the post. The location you set for the post can be as specific or general as you wish. 

Privacy and Access

As an open platform, you can also view what is happening elsewhere in the world and learn from others facing similar circumstances. This means that your contribution will be public, and access is not limited to the research team. 

You are free to withdraw your contribution at any time. Please contact DeathTech (deathtech-research@unimelb.edu.au) to do so.

If you are uploading images or videos, please ensure you are the one to have taken them (or can cite the original source) and have permission of those in them to upload the image/video. 

The software platform being used for this project is called Padlet. The privacy policy for Padlet can be found here.

If you would like more information about the wider project, please contact the DeathTech Research Team (deathtech-research@unimelb.edu.au).

This is part of a research project that has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of The University of Melbourne. Ethics ID number 1954540.1.