Quality of death certificates in Valencia, Spain.

Aims and methodA retrospective review of death certificates issued at a large psychiatric hospital in North Cheshire during the 1980s and 1990s.ResultsDementia, which was the recorded clinical diagnosis in 78% of all deceased, was reported in 31% of death certificates, while other psychiatric disorders (22% of all deceased) appeared in only 2% of certificates. Autopsy appears to have very little or no value in improving the quality of death certificates in psychiatry.Clinical implicationsThe onus is on the clinicians to produce adequate death certificates. Recording chronic conditions present at death, such as dementia and other psychiatric disorders, in addition to those directly causing or contributing to death would improve the epidemiological value of death certificates.

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Mortality and quality of death certification in a cohort of patients with Parkinson’s disease and matched controls in North Wales, UK at 18 years: a community-based cohort study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018969 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. e018969 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Peter Hobson ◽

Jolyon Meara

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Death Certificates ◽

Death Certification ◽

Community Based ◽

Risk Of Mortality ◽

North Wales ◽

Quality Of Death ◽

Underlying Cause Of Death

ObjectiveThis investigation reports the cause and the quality of death certification in a community cohort of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and controls at 18 years.SettingDenbighshire North Wales, UK.ParticipantsThe community-based cohorts consisted of 166 patients with PD and 102 matched controls.Primary outcomesAll-cause mortality was ascertained at 18 years by review of hospitals’ primary care records and examination of death certificates obtained from the UK General Register Office. Mortality HRs were estimated using Cox proportional regression, controlling for covariates including age at study entry, age at death, gender, motor function, mood, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and cognitive function.ResultsAfter 18 years, 158 (95%) of patients in the PD cohort and 34 (33%) in the control cohort had died. Compared with the general UK population, the PD cohort had a higher risk of mortality (standard mortality rate, 1.82, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.13). As the primary or underlying cause of death, PD was not reported in 75/158 (47%) of the death certificates. In addition, although 144/158 (91%) of the PD cohort had a diagnosis of dementia, this was reported in less than 10% of death certificates. The main cause of death reported in the PD cohort was pneumonia (53%), followed by cardiac-related deaths (21%). Compared with controls, patients with PD had a greater risk of pneumonia (2.03, 95% CI 1.34 to 3.6), poorer HRQoL and more likely to reside in institutional care at death (P<0.01).ConclusionThis investigation found that PD was associated with an excess risk of mortality compared with the general population. However, PD as a primary or underlying cause of death recorded on certificates was found to be suboptimal. This suggests that the quality of mortality statistics drawn from death certificates alone is not a valid or reliable source of data.

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IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF DEATH WITH PALLIATIVE TRACHEOSTOMY

10.26226/morressier.578e3b4dd462b80292381f37 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Enamul Ali

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Death

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Decisions About Periviable Babies in Dutch Neonatal Intensive Care Units; Quality-of-Life and Quality-of-Death Concerns

Current Pediatric Reviews ◽

10.2174/1573396311309010009 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 40-45

Author(s):

A. A. Eduard Verhagen

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care Units ◽

Quality Of Death

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Determining the psychometric properties of a novel questionnaire to measure “preparedness for the future” (Prep FQ)

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes ◽

10.1186/s12955-021-01759-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Daren K. Heyland ◽

J. Paige Pope ◽

Xuran Jiang ◽

Andrew G. Day

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Construct Validity ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Well Being ◽

High Quality ◽

The Future ◽

Quality Of Death ◽

Test Retest Reliability

Abstract Background People are living longer than ever before. However, with living longer comes increased problems that negatively impact on quality of life and the quality of death. Tools are needed to help individuals assess whether they are practicing the best attitudes and behaviors that are associated with a future long life, high quality of life, high quality of death and a satisfying post-death legacy. The purpose of paper is to describe the process we used to develop a novel questionnaire (“Preparedness for the Future Questionnaire™ or Prep FQ”) and to define its psychometric properties. Methods Using a multi-step development procedure, items were generated, for the new questionnaire after which the psychometric properties were tested with a heterogeneous sample of 502 Canadians. Using an online polling panel, respondents were asked to complete demographic questions as well as the Prep-FQ, Global Rating of Life Satisfaction, the Keyes Psychological Well-Being scale and the Short-Form 12. Results The final version of the questionnaire contains 34 items in 8 distinct domains (“Medico-legal”, “Social”, “Psychological Well-being”, “Planning”, “Enrichment”, “Positive Health Behaviors”, “Negative Health Behaviors”, and “Late-life Planning”). We observed minimum missing data and good usage of all response options. The average overall Prep FQ score is 51.2 (SD = 13.3). The Cronbach alphas assessing internal reliability for the Prep FQ domains ranged from 0.33 to 0.88. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) used to assess the test–retest reliability had an overall score of 0.87. For the purposes of establishing construct validity, all the pre-specified relationships between Prep FQ and the other questionnaires were met. Conclusion Analyses of this novel measure offered support for its face validity, construct validity, test–retest reliability, and internal consistency. With the development of this useful and valid scale, future research can utilize this measure to engage people in the process of comprehensively assessing and improving their state of preparedness for the future, tracking their progress along the way. Ultimately, this program of research aims to improve the quality and quantity of peoples live by helping them ‘think ahead’ and ‘plan ahead’ on the aspects of their daily life that matter to their future.

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