Current Status of Knowledge, Attitude and Awareness of Medical Students on Forensic Autopsy in Tumkur District of Karnataka

Abstract

Background: Autopsy is an investigative procedure that has been in use since several years. Even though it helps in arriving at a decision regarding the cause of death and many other things, its use is declining recently, which should be a cause of concern. Material and Method: It is a descriptive, cross sectional study which was carried out among 3rd and 4th year medical students of a tertiary care teaching hospital, using set of questionnaires. Results: Questionnaires were distributed to 250 medical students. 15 students didn’t return the proforma and 25 student’s data were not included due to incomplete and lack of internal consistency. Finally the data of 210 participants were collected and included in the study and results were analysed. This study shows the students had a reasonable knowledge and good attitude towards medicolegal autopsy. Almost 89.5% of students had knowledge and awareness about postmortem examination from their medical curriculum and 67.1% of the students would not mind autopsy to be performed on themselves or relatives. Conclusion: Knowledge, awareness and attitude has a main role in improvement in the field of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.