Analysis of the filling of death certificates in Catanduva, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The death certificate is the main document for the Mortality Information System of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, covering quantitative and qualitative aspects of ethical, legal and epidemiological nature. The records of the Ministry present inconsistencies caused by many factors, especially those related to poor academic training and access to guidelines published by entities. This study sought to identify the main errors in filling death certificates registered in a teaching hospital in Catanduva, São Paulo, Brazil, from 2014 to 2017. Of the 805 certificates, 167 (20.7%) were incomplete, 59 (7.3%) had inadequate terms, 42 (5.2%) acronyms and abbreviations, 27 (3.3%) illegible handwriting, and 2 (0.2%) erasures. Despite the low frequency of errors, the analysis found deficits in knowledge and/or neglect of medical ethics, which compromise the quality of public health records.

Keywords:
Death certificates; Public health; Ethics