the quality of death certificates record in the educational and non-educational hospitals in kermanshah, iran

introduction: population-based mortality statistics are derived from the information recorded on death certificates. this information is used for many important purposes, such as development of public health programs and allocation of health care resources. therefore, the accuracy of death certificate data is important. the aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of death certificates records and its recording accuracy in educational and non-educational hospitals in kermanshah, iran. methods: in this descriptive and applied study, 321 death certificates of patients admitted and expired in educational and non-educational hospitals (1994 death) of kermanshah, iran during first six months in 2007 selected randomly and evaluated. data was collected by a checklist which validity was approved by professionals. obtained data analyzed using spss software and descriptive statistics. results: 51.1% and 24% of death certification in educational and non-educational hospitals were qualified respectively. the demographic information of death certification were incomplete in 7.6% and 28.8% of cases in educational and non-educational hospitals, respectively. 3.3% and 12.2% of death certificates in educational and non-educational hospitals were filled by attending physician, respectively. in 33.7% and 45.4% of cases in educational and non-educational hospitals the mechanism of death or nonspecific condition listed as the cause of death, respectively. regarding the cause of death in 64.1% and 74.7% of cases in educational and non-educational hospitals sequence of events dose not make sense, respectively. conclusion: current status of death certificate record quality in the hospitals, especially non-educational ones is inappropriate and needed to contemplate. considering the importance and value of data contained in the death certificate and its many uses, it is necessary to improve the awareness of physicians about different types of errors in completing death certificates.