RESUMEN
The effectiveness of the autopsy as an educational tool in forensic medicine courses has been widely acknowledged, and medical students were expected to attend regularly. Nevertheless, the use of autopsies for teaching has dramatically declined in recent years and worldwide despite their high-value benefits. This study aims to understand the importance and relevance of attending autopsies during forensic teaching sessions and identify any challenges that may impede attendance. A self-administered online questionnaire that assesses the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to autopsies attendance was distributed to fourth-year medical students at the National Defence University of Malaysia and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. A total of 99 respondents were involved in this study. Our findings indicate that most respondents (over 85%) demonstrated good knowledge of forensic medicine. Pearson's statistical test revealed a significant correlation between the knowledge and students' attitudes toward autopsy. This study demonstrates the need to strategically integrate autopsy attendance into medical curricula to encourage constructive attitudes and practices among medical students. Students gain the most benefits from frequently attending autopsies. Passionate educators can conduct preparatory sessions to set expectations and address concerns, encourage students to process their experiences, and reinforce learning outcomes in the mortuary setting. Mandatory autopsy teaching should be integrated into the curriculum to ensure medical students have the necessary skills and knowledge to become competent doctors.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Motorcycle fatalities constitute the majority of road traffic deaths in Malaysia. The aims of this study were to describe the pattern of fatal injuries among Klang Valley fatal motorcyclists and to describe the factors associated with fatal (vs non-fatal) injuries. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed on data from a case series of injured (fatal and non-fatal) motorcyclists recruited from Klang Valley between 14th March 2010 and 13th March 2011. Fatal cases in the cases series were identified from the Police files. Non-fatal cases were recruited from five major hospitals in the study region. Information used in the analyses were obtained from Police crash reports, hospital medical records, and Coroner's records of the participant sample. RESULTS: Of the 177 fatal cases, 142 (80.2%) were categorised as instantaneous death while 35 (19.8%) cases were categorised as experiencing delayed death. Thirty two percent of the cases had a Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) of 5 with head injury being the most common cause of death. Significant predictors of fatal (vs non-fatal) injury included ethnic groups, monthly income, alcohol and drug use and road type. Alcohol and drug use was shown to be the strongest predictor with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 14.77 (95% CI 3.32-65.65). CONCLUSION: Factors related to the motorcyclists, road user behaviour and the road environment as well as pre-hospitalisation emergency care must be addressed efficiently in low and middle income countries to reduce the number and severity of motorcycle-related injuries.
