Provider reported challenges with completing death certificates: A focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error.
<h4>Objectives</h4>To characterize the experiences of providers in completing the cause of death section on death certificates, with particular reference to deaths in people who have cancer.<h4>Methods</h4>Focus groups were conducted until thematic saturation was reached, res...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268566 |
| _version_ | 1818193420608339968 |
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| author | Allie Morgan Thomas Andrew Sylvia M A Guerra Valeria Luna Louise Davies Judy R Rees |
| author_facet | Allie Morgan Thomas Andrew Sylvia M A Guerra Valeria Luna Louise Davies Judy R Rees |
| author_sort | Allie Morgan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Objectives</h4>To characterize the experiences of providers in completing the cause of death section on death certificates, with particular reference to deaths in people who have cancer.<h4>Methods</h4>Focus groups were conducted until thematic saturation was reached, resulting in four groups over three months. Participants were from a variety of specialties and levels and types of training. Focus groups were recorded and transcribed verbatim and analyzed using constant comparison analysis.<h4>Results</h4>Three types of challenges to case classification were identified. 1) Infrastructural and procedural challenges encountered when completing death certificates, including the rigid structure of the form, lack of training in its completion, and lack of real-time feedback. 2) Clinical uncertainty and the varied approaches providers take to determine the cause of death based on their perception of the purpose of the death certificate. 3) Choosing cause of death in decedents with a history of cancer.<h4>Conclusions</h4>There are specific and substantial challenges in the death certification process that lead to errors in documenting the cause of death, but many of these challenges could be addressed with structural change to the forms or mechanism of training. Using these data to inform change could improve the death certification process and reliability of this data. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:46:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-76b8ad0ce45546dcbf90681f0f6fcef8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:46:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-76b8ad0ce45546dcbf90681f0f6fcef82022-12-22T00:44:08ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01175e026856610.1371/journal.pone.0268566Provider reported challenges with completing death certificates: A focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error.Allie MorganThomas AndrewSylvia M A GuerraValeria LunaLouise DaviesJudy R Rees<h4>Objectives</h4>To characterize the experiences of providers in completing the cause of death section on death certificates, with particular reference to deaths in people who have cancer.<h4>Methods</h4>Focus groups were conducted until thematic saturation was reached, resulting in four groups over three months. Participants were from a variety of specialties and levels and types of training. Focus groups were recorded and transcribed verbatim and analyzed using constant comparison analysis.<h4>Results</h4>Three types of challenges to case classification were identified. 1) Infrastructural and procedural challenges encountered when completing death certificates, including the rigid structure of the form, lack of training in its completion, and lack of real-time feedback. 2) Clinical uncertainty and the varied approaches providers take to determine the cause of death based on their perception of the purpose of the death certificate. 3) Choosing cause of death in decedents with a history of cancer.<h4>Conclusions</h4>There are specific and substantial challenges in the death certification process that lead to errors in documenting the cause of death, but many of these challenges could be addressed with structural change to the forms or mechanism of training. Using these data to inform change could improve the death certification process and reliability of this data.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268566 |
| spellingShingle | Allie Morgan Thomas Andrew Sylvia M A Guerra Valeria Luna Louise Davies Judy R Rees Provider reported challenges with completing death certificates: A focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error. PLoS ONE |
| title | Provider reported challenges with completing death certificates: A focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error. |
| title_full | Provider reported challenges with completing death certificates: A focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error. |
| title_fullStr | Provider reported challenges with completing death certificates: A focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Provider reported challenges with completing death certificates: A focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error. |
| title_short | Provider reported challenges with completing death certificates: A focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error. |
| title_sort | provider reported challenges with completing death certificates a focus group study demonstrating potential sources of error |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268566 |
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