Dying to talk

• Main Authors: Chan, Lynn Xiao Ying, Ng, Janice Li Ting, Tan, Hazel Su-Qing, Yeo, Zhi Yi
• Other Authors: Arul Indrasen Chib
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/137596
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Dying to Talk, a digital campaign, encouraged Singaporeans aged 45 to 59, to kick start conversations about death and dying with their families to address social taboos. The month-long campaign was successful in increasing the number of end-of-life (EOL) conversations by 5% and improving the quality of those conversations by 14.5%. The campaign also attained a positive achievement index for eight out of ten of its output objectives. This report highlights that the lack of conversations about death is a result of its taboo nature in Singapore and other community-oriented Asian societies. The need for this campaign is substantiated by the adverse effects suffered in the home when a loved one eventually passes on, particularly since EOL decision making in Singapore society is a familial affair. Based on our literature review and formative research, the lack of conversation concerning preferences on medical care or funeral arrangements prior to death, transfers the burden of decision-making on to their middle-aged children, who were chosen as our target audience. Guided by the theoretical framework of taboo, reducing this burden on our target audience’s family members formed the main private benefit of having such conversations, and became the primary message driven across throughout the campaign. The team addressed the sensitive topic in a sentimental way, disseminating a series of Death Over Dinner videos featuring four Singaporean families who gathered to talk about death around the dining table. Viewers were then encouraged to take home that conversation by requesting for a Dabao Kit or downloading one off the website.