Importance of explanation before and after forensic autopsy to the bereaved family: lessons from a questionnaire study.
J Med Ethics
; 36(2): 103-5, 2010 Feb.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20133405
ABSTRACT
To investigate how bereaved families felt about the explanation received before and after forensic autopsies, the authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of the bereaved families whose next of kin underwent a forensic autopsy at the two Departments of Forensic Medicine and a few bereaved families of crime victims. Of 403 questionnaires sent, 126 families responded. Among 81.5% of the respondents who received an explanation from policemen before the autopsy, 78.8% felt that the quality of the explanation was poor or improper. In Japan, the law has restricted disclosure of information from a forensic autopsy. Despite legal restrictions, 82% wanted to hear from the person who conducted the autopsy. However, police explained the results of autopsy to 65.2% of respondents. Among the families whose frustration and anger increased after autopsy, 86.4% had not been satisfied with the explanation before the autopsy. Additionally, 57.7% had not been informed on the autopsy findings at the time of the questionnaire when more than 2 years had passed after the autopsy. These results reminded us of the importance of an explanation before and shortly after a forensic autopsy for a better understanding and acceptance by bereaved families.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Relações Profissional-Família
/
Autopsia
/
Luto
/
Família
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
País como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2010
Tipo de documento:
Article