Objective: To assess the awareness, knowledge and practice regarding death certification and registration among citizens of Karachi, Pakistan.
Methodology: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at urban neighborhoods of Karachi from February to May 2023. A sample of 531 house-hold heads was selected with age between 20 to 65 years of both genders. Awareness, knowledge and practice regarding death certification and registration were assessed through a questionnaire either online or in person.
Results: Mean age of the participants was 42.43±12.93 years. There were 308 (58%) male, and 223 (42%) female participants. About 191 (36%) participants had awareness of death registration and certification while 165 (31.1%) had knowledge of the process. Inheritance issues and property claims turned out to be the leading reasons for death registration and certification practice. Among those who did not register the deaths, lack of clarity of the process was the leading cause in 157 (46.4%), about 59 (17.4%) reported that they had no claim over inheritable property. Leading cause for not obtaining a death certificate for cause of death, was death outside hospital in 144(39.6%), followed by lack of time in101 (27.8%).
Conclusion: Only 36% of the study participants had awareness of registration and certification while 31.1% had knowledge about death registration and certificate. The awareness and knowledge regarding death certification and registration is very low even among citizens of urban settings of metropolitan city, which needs to be addressed by health policy makers.
Key words: Death registration, death certificate, civil registration and vital statistics, awareness, knowledge, practice.
|
