Documentation and Reporting of Perinatal Deaths in Two Districts of Karnataka, India: A Situational Analysis
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Documentation and Reporting of Perinatal Deaths in Two Districts of Karnataka, India: A Situational Analysis HN HARSHA KUMAR,1 SHANTARAM BALIGA,2 PRALHAD KUSHTAGI,3 NUTAN KAMATH2 AND SUCHETA S RAO2 From Departments of 1Community Medicine, 2Pediatrics, and 3Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Karnataka, India.
Correspondence to: Dr HN Harsha Kumar, Former Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), 575 001, Karnataka, India. [email protected] Submitted: February 18, 2019; Initial review: June 07, 2019; Accepted: January 01, 2020.
Objectives: In Karnataka state, perinatal mortality rate is almost equal to infant mortality rate. This preliminary study was conducted in two districts of Karnataka to study potential problems to start of perinatal death audit. Methods: Hospitals providing maternal and child health care services, which met study inclusion criteria, in Dakshina Kannada and Koppal Districts were included. Following variables were studied: (i) Documentation and reporting systems in these hospitals; (ii) Role of health care personnel in documentation and reporting (iii) Existing system of audit, if any. Results: Totally 94 hospitals met our criteria with Dakshina Kannda District having 63 (67.02%) and the rest in Koppal District. Documentation and reporting was poor in Koppal District and inadequate in Dakshina Kannada district. Health care personnel were apprehensive about perinatal death audit. Conclusion: Problems identified need to be addressed before starting perinatal death audit. Keywords: Death audit, Infant mortality, Perinatal mortality. Published online: June 12, 2020; PII: S097475591600194
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arnataka has shown a reduction of infant mortality rate (IMR) from 71 in the year 1980 to 35 in the year 2011 [1]. The perinatal mortality rate (PMR) has also decreased from 40.2 in the year 1980 to 33.4 in the year 2011 [1]. But the contribution of PMR to IMR in Karnataka has varied from 60 to 70% during this period of time. For reasons that are not clear, the contribution of PMR to IMR in Karnataka has increased from 95 to almost 99% from the year 2011 to 2013 [1]. An audit of perinatal deaths could help in understanding and rectifying the causes for perinatal deaths. However, there is no perinatal death audit system in India. To start a perinatal death audit system, it is essential to carry out a preliminary study exploring the issues and problems that exist to start perinatal death audit. Thus, a preliminary study would help understand the problems that need to be addressed to start a perinatal death audit system. The maternal and child health care facilities are not uniformly developed in Karnataka; the northern districts lag behind the southern districts [1]. The issues and challenges to starting a perinatal death audit in a relatively backward northern district of Karnataka may not be the same as compared with a better developed southe
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