Abstract
Regional differences in mortality from cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, strokes, and other causes have been observed in England and Wales. To determine to what extent the death certification practices of doctors influence these variations, we surveyed 123 British general practitioners and housemen. Each doctor completed death certificates based on fictitious case histories. We found that diagnostic groupings did not vary significantly according to the doctors' region, type of practice, place of medical training, sex, or year of qualification. Doctors qualifying before 1955, however, appeared more inclined than their younger colleagues to list stomach cancer on the death certificate.
Full text
PDFSelected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bourke G. J., Hall M. A. A study of some certified causes of death and age of the certifying doctor. J Ir Med Assoc. 1968 Apr;61(370):115–122. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- REID D. D., ROSE G. A. ASSESSING THE COMPARABILITY OF MORTALITY STATISTICS. Br Med J. 1964 Dec 5;2(5422):1437–1439. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5422.1437. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]