Certification of deaths at Umtata General Hospital, South Africa

Audited information on the causes of death is one of the basic components of a country's health information system. Data are usually derived from death certificates. There are many shortcomings in the routine collection of such information. A critical analysis of Umtata General Hospital's (UGH) death certification was done establish how these shortcomings might influence reporting. Such an audit is simple, cheap and useful for monitoring the quality of mortality information. It can be used in health planning and management.

To determine the accuracy of death certification by doctors in Umtata General Hospital.

The study was carried out at UGH. Three hundred and four (304) death notification forms collected over a period of 1 year from January 1999 to December 1999 were studied. These forms were obtained from different clinical departments.

The majority of deaths (78.9%) were certified as cardiorespiratory failure. In the remaining (21.1%) cases the causes of death were stated as due to esophageal carcinoma, lobar pneumonia, severe shock, diarrhea, and unknown.

Doctors at Umtata General Hospital are not experienced in death certification. Cardiorespiratory failure is neither a cause of death nor a mechanism of death.

There is need for continuing education on death certification by doctors at UGH.