Details:

Alternative Title:
Ann Glob Health
Personal Author:
Bunei, Milka ; Muturi, Peter ; Otiato, Fred ; Njuguna, Henry N. ; Emukule, Gideon O. ; ... More +
Bunei, Milka ; Muturi, Peter ; Otiato, Fred ; Njuguna, Henry N. ; Emukule, Gideon O. ; Otieno, Nancy A. ; Dawa, Jeanette ; Chaves, Sandra S. ; Less -
Description:
Background: Clinical autopsies are not often part of routine care, despite their role in clarifying cause of death. In fact, autopsy rates across the world have declined and are especially low in sub-Saharan Africa. Objectives: We set out to identify factors associated with acceptance of pediatric autopsies among parents of deceased children less than five years old, and examined local preferences for minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) procedures during post-mortem (PM) examinations. Methods: From December 2016 to September 2017, we contacted 113 parents/next of kin who had been previously approached to consent to a PM examination of their deceased child as part of a Kenyan study on cause of death. Interviews occurred up to three years after the death of their child. Findings: Seventy-three percent (83/113) of eligible study participants were enrolled, of whom 62/83 (75%) had previously consented to PM examination of their child. Those who previously consented to PM had higher levels of education, were more likely employed, and had more knowledge about certain aspects of autopsies than non-consenters. The majority (97%) of PM consenters did so because they wanted to know the cause of death of their child, and up to a third believed autopsy studies helped advance medical knowledge. Reasons for non-consent to PM examination included: parents felt there was no need for further examination (29%) or they were satisfied with the clinical diagnosis (24%). Overall, only 40% of study participants would have preferred MITS procedures to conventional autopsy. However, 81% of autopsy non-consenters would have accepted PM examination if it only involved MITS techniques. Conclusion: There is potential to increase autopsy rates by strengthening reasons for acceptance and addressing modifiable reasons for refusals. Although MITS procedures have the potential to improve autopsy acceptance rates, they were not significantly preferred over conventional autopsies in our study population.
Subject:
[+]
Adult
Autopsy
Cause Of Death
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Educational Status
Employment
Fathers
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Middle Aged
Mothers
Original Research
Parental Consent
Retrospective Studies
Tertiary Care Centers
Young Adult

Source:
Ann Glob Health. 2019; 85(1)
Pubmed ID:
31276331
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC6634467
Document Type:
Journal Article ;
Funding:
CDC/ ;
Place as Subject:
Kenya ;
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:9af2c13a88627f9731c0d68c6de31c8468dd9f076af053ed6b65501bc57722c9
File Type:

Supporting Files

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