AN ASSESSMENT OF SOURCES OF INFORMATION IN POST-PERINATAL INFANT DEATH REVIEWS

The objective of this study was to identify adverse social and medical factors contributory to postperinatal deaths and at which stage of th e case study each factor was found. The sources of information assesse d were: (i) recorded data from case notes, laboratory and postmortem f indings, and (ii) created information from (a) home interview and (b) case discussion held in the family doctor's office. The deaths were ca tegorized into seven clinicopathological groups and adverse factors in to general demographic and personal psychosocial, Among the 87 sequent ial post-perinatal infant deaths, 325 adverse factors were identified; of these, 125 (38%) were judged to be actionable by the carers. Of 18 3 (56%) adverse factors found in the case notes, only 36 were actionab le. Forty-five more adverse factors were found at home interview; 26 ( 58%) of these were actionable. At case discussion another 97 adverse f actors were revealed; 63 (65%) were actionable, thus proving the most important source of actionable information.