[A pilot program to improve causes of death certification in primary care of Catalonia, Spain]

The BEDTAR pilot program assessed changes in the quality of certification of death's causes after a training session for the primary care physicians in the Tarragona's Area of Catalonia, in the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Before-after evaluative study with intervention and without control group.

The study population was the physicians of the reformed primary health care network of the AT.

The training session began with a test consisting of certifying 3 deaths. This test was followed by a theoretical and practical seminar. The session concluded with a final test consisting on certifying the same 3 cases. The variables used to evaluate the quality the certification were: logical sequence the death causes, correct position on death certificate of the immediate, intermediate and basic causes, precise use of cardiac arrest and other ill-defined diseases, appropriate use of abbreviations, legibility, vocabulary and, finally, use of all the available information.

The final participation of the study population was 71% and the global program efficacy was 59%.

The BEDTAR program improved the quality of certification and emphasized the relevancy and the applicability of the results.