Abstract
Although autopsy plays a vital role in forensic medicine, the rates have been recently declining around the world. We surveyed all interns and physicians at our hospital to determine how Saudi physicians viewed autopsies with regard to the challenges, priorities, and requirements, and also how they felt about autopsy-based research and postmortem examination techniques. The results shed light on how these constructs affected the physician's perception of the implications of autopsy.
We prepared a cross-sectional study using a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire distributed to interns and physicians at our institution. From a population of 596 physicians, we sampled 234. Structural equation modeling was used to assess 6 constructs and their 40 indicators.
The survey results demonstrated two main barriers for interns and physicians to perform autopsies: respect for the religious beliefs of the families of the deceased and respect for family mourning.
Measures can be taken to improve autopsy rates, such as training of medical staff in communication and counselling, implementing a streamlined and stress-free process, and increasing public awareness of the benefits of autopsy through campaigns and educational programs. Among the many virtues of educating Saudi physicians and residents about the significance of increasing autopsy rates and familiarizing them with their procedures, developing professional competence among medico-legal experts cannot be overemphasized.
•Respect for the religious beliefs of the families of the deceased and respect for family mourning seem to be the main barriers for conducting autopsies in Saudi Arabia.•Owing to the socio-cultural constraints and the religious traditions in Saudi Arabia, skepticism towards autopsies is more pronounced than in most Western countries.•Among the many virtues of educating Saudi physicians and residents about the significance of increasing autopsy rates and familiarizing them with autopsy procedures, persuading the medical staff with the need for autopsy studies and for developing professional competence among pathologists and medico-legal experts cannot be overemphasized.