When a person dies, the cause of death is most often identified in terms of a particular organ system that failed (e.g., heart failure), a type of cancer (e.g., lung cancer), or perhaps a detrimental accident (e.g., automobile accident).

Guided by this module’s background reading (Chapter 3 of Health and Behavior: The Interplay between the Biological, Behavioral, and Societal Influences and Behavioral Health Factors), discuss why reporting the cause of death in this manner is rather misleading. (Hint: what are the actual CAUSES of death?)