Background
Methods
Aim
Study design
Study setting
Participant recruitment
Participants | Karnataka | Kerala |
---|---|---|
Gender | ||
Male | 3 | 9 |
Female | 13 | 7 |
Age | ||
30–39 | 5 | 2 |
40–49 | 7 | 3 |
50–59 | 4 | 5 |
60–69 | 0 | 4 |
70–79 | 0 | 2 |
Education | ||
Primary grad | 4 | 2 |
High school grad | 4 | 5 |
Graduate | 5 | 4 |
Graduate and above | 3 | 5 |
Occupation | ||
Daily wage | 6 | 4 |
Government employee | 5 | 6 |
Private sector employee | 4 | 3 |
Unemployed | 3 | 3 |
Religion | ||
Christian | 0 | 8 |
Hindu | 16 | 7 |
Muslim | 0 | 1 |
Ethical consideration
Data collection and analysis
Results
Theme 1: perception on postmortem examination
Knowledge regarding postmortem examination
Teacher, 57, Female, Karnataka
“If it is a suspicious death, postmortem will be done…it will benefit. For a small baby I don’t think postmortem will help. For all deaths we cannot consent for autopsy. It depends on the type of death like unnatural or suspicious ones. And for small babies I don’t think there is a need.”
Housewife, 39, Female, Kerala
“Organs will be used for donation purposes and postmortem is used to check the internal organs and for donation.”
Teacher, 59, Male, Karnataka
“It is mandatory to perform a postmortem if a government employee dies when they are in job. Then only their children will get their job, their provident fund all the insurance money. But the cause of death should be known in such cases postmortem helps.”
Theme 2: reasons for refusing postmortem
Disfigurement and emotional stress
Daily wager, 39, Female, Karnataka
“It must be difficult for them to the see their child disfigured after the procedure. Full body and face will be cut right? So no parents will be able to see their own child in such a situation”
Housewife, 59, Female, Kerala
“The parents will be deeply hurt… they do not want their baby to be cut open and bleed like an animal... postmortem in a child is irrelevant in society…once the baby has died, there is no point in doing an autopsy.”
Time-consuming nature of the postmortem
Clerk, 51, Male, Karnataka
“I have gone for few postmortem, have waited a long time outside the room to get the body. It takes days to get the body back to the family.”
Disrespect to the deceased and personnel conducting postmortem
Librarian 51, Male, Kerala
“Doctors will not show interest to do a post-mortem, and it was done by other people where they will get alcohol and food to chop the skull…. the body taken will be laid on floor and nobody will care of the body and they will take an axe and hammer to break the head and the body… it will start to smell, later these hired people will do it and doctors will come and just investigate. And the rest of the things will be put back into the body in a very bad shape and re-stitched and packed”.
Restriction to practice last rites following postmortem
Teacher, 59, Male, Karnataka
“There is ritual like taking bath for the body of deceased, so if postmortem is done, there will be presence of blood here and there, hence only face and feet can only be cleaned with water. If this is not done, later in society and family this will be a talk …they will be worried what others think.”
Social worker, 42, Female, Karnataka
“At that moment before the funeral, both the father and mother will touch the baby to show their love… the last gesture of love due to her emotions...but if postmortem is done there will be restrictions to touch, kiss and hug the baby”.
Unaware of the benefits of doing postmortem
Teacher, 55, Male, Kerala
“Parents will be unaware of the social protection and necessity of an autopsy. Some parents are unaware of it. The two basic justifications for a refusal that I observe is a result of an emotional attachment, and the other is brought on by a misunderstanding of the need for postmortem.”
To restrain rumors in the society
Retired civil police, 71, Male, Kerala
“Also, people will know, there will be a talk among the society about the post-mortem, they might discuss for what purpose the autopsy is being done, etc.”
Theme 3: knowledge regarding the MITS technique
Self-employed, 43, Female, Karnataka
“No, I am not aware about MITS.”
Theme 4: advantages perceived by the participants on the MITS technique
Less disfigurement
Housewife, 52, Female, Kerala
“It is a nightmare to say that a baby’s body will be cut open. If we can investigate the cause of death using a needle, then it will be a great relief also we can avoid the disfigurement.”
Less time-consuming
Cook, 39, Female, Karnataka
“I think that will definitely benefit. To know the cause of death. This will be easy and fast, I think. The release of the body to relatives will be easy.”
Reduce emotional stress
Daily wager, 49, Male, Kerala
“There will be no mental stress seeing then body after this new autopsy technique which will benefit the society”
No delay in practicing religious rites for burial
Daily wager, 48, Female, Karnataka
“I think the new technique will be better, in this technique the reason for death is also found and there is no body and face disfigurement and can practice the rituals including bathing the deceased without any trouble.”
Theme 5: need for awareness programs
Teacher, 70, Female, Kerala
“We are ready to know the cause of death using this method. My opinion is that before implementing such a technique, try to make people aware of the novel technique. Give awareness classes to the people. Also, the fear in everyone hearing postmortem can also be reduced to a limit.”