

An exploratory qualitative study was undertaken at a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India using in-depth interviews with different cadres of healthcare professionals from paediatrics, neonatology, obstetrics and forensic medicine departments. Before implementation, it was necessary to understand the perceptions, practices, acceptance and barriers among the healthcare professionals regarding MITS.

Minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) technique has recently emerged as an alternative to autopsy.

Complete diagnostic autopsy is the best possible method for CoD identification, but with limited acceptability. The currently available causes of death (CoD) and stillbirth are primarily derived from verbal autopsy (VA), a history and questionnaire based enquiry which has several limitations. For designing and implementing effective clinical and public health programs, adequate knowledge about the causes childhood deaths and stillbirths are essential. It emphasized on appropriate skill building, counseling, system organization and buy-in from institution and health authorities for sustenance of MITS.ĭespite significant progress in child and maternal health indicators, India contributes the largest share of childhood deaths and stillbirths globally.

The key facilitating factors and challenges for implementing MITS at the hospital in Indian context were identified. MITS was acceptable for the doctors, nurses and support staffs and critical for better identification of the causes of death and stillbirths. For implementation and sustenance of MITS, involvement of the institute authority and government stakeholders would be essential. The key factors for MITS acceptance were appropriate communication, trust building, involvement of senior doctors, and engagement of the counselor prior to deaths and training of the personnel. All participants perceived that MITS would be acceptable for parents due to the non-disfigurement and preferred by those who had unexplained child deaths or stillbirths in past. Some opined conduct of MITS for the cases without clear diagnosis.
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Almost all professional and support staffs were positive about the MITS and its advantage for CoD identification including co-existing and underlying illnesses. ResultsĪ total of 26 interviews (doctors, n = 10 nurses, n = 9 and support staffs, n = 7) were conducted. Inductive data analysis was done to identify the emerging themes and codes. In-depth interviews were conducted with the doctors, nurses and support staffs from pediatrics, neonatology, obstetrics and forensic medicine departments. This exploratory qualitative study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India included the hospital staffs. A formative research linked to pilot MITS implementation was conducted to document the perceptions and attitudes of the healthcare professionals and the barriers for implementation. Minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) is an alternative to autopsy for identification of the cause of death (CoD). Diagnostic autopsy, although useful for cause of death identification, have limited acceptance. India contributes the highest share of under-five and neonatal deaths and stillbirths globally.
