Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased

Bigot Cedric Egnonwa; Badou Agnes; Agbodande Anthelme; Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon; Azon Kouanou Angele

doi:doi:10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11

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Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased

Bigot Cedric Egnonwa, Badou Agnes, Agbodande Anthelme, Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon, Azon Kouanou Angele

Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 8, Issue 3)

Received: 5 April 2022 Accepted: 9 May 2022 Published: 24 May 2022

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Abstract

This study aimed to describe the knowledge of relatives of the deceased regarding forensic autopsy and to analyze their perceptions of this forensic act. The focus of the study was the relatives of deceased individuals who died in violent contexts or suffered suspicious deaths, in which case a forensic autopsy was necessary. A total of 109 people were included in the study. The majority of respondents were male (78.0%). The average age of respondents was 46 +/- 11 years. A total of 56.9% of respondents had never heard the expression "medico-legal autopsy" before the death of the relative. Respondents know. that autopsies are used to identify the cause of death in 80.7% of cases. An association was found between level of education and level of knowledge concerning forensic autopsies (p=0.001). A total of 85.3% of respondents had poor perceptions of forensic autopsy. The preservation of bodily integrity was more important than the benefits of knowing the cause of death for 57.8% of respondents. Respondents claimed that family members made at least one attempt to postpone the autopsy in 94.5% of cases. Objections to the autopsy were motivated by the fear of not being able to proceed quickly with the burial (93.6%), the fear of seeing the body undergo an aesthetic alteration (74.3%), the feeling of inflicting suffering on the deceased (45.3%) and the conception of autopsy as a practice prohibited by respondents’ religion (38.5%). The cultural and human dimensions of forensic autopsy should not be overlooked. For more support from the relatives of the deceased, it is essential to integrate, beyond medicine and law, social considerations and human.

Published in	Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11
Page(s)	91-95
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Forensic Autopsy, Knowledge, Socio-cultural Belief, Death, Justice

References

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Bigot Cedric Egnonwa, Badou Agnes, Agbodande Anthelme, Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon, Azon Kouanou Angele. (2022). Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased. Central African Journal of Public Health, 8(3), 91-95. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11

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ACS Style

Bigot Cedric Egnonwa; Badou Agnes; Agbodande Anthelme; Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon; Azon Kouanou Angele. Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2022, 8(3), 91-95. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11

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AMA Style

Bigot Cedric Egnonwa, Badou Agnes, Agbodande Anthelme, Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon, Azon Kouanou Angele. Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2022;8(3):91-95. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11

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@article{10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11,
  author = {Bigot Cedric Egnonwa and Badou Agnes and Agbodande Anthelme and Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon and Azon Kouanou Angele},
  title = {Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased},
  journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {8},
  number = {3},
  pages = {91-95},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20220803.11},
  abstract = {This study aimed to describe the knowledge of relatives of the deceased regarding forensic autopsy and to analyze their perceptions of this forensic act. The focus of the study was the relatives of deceased individuals who died in violent contexts or suffered suspicious deaths, in which case a forensic autopsy was necessary. A total of 109 people were included in the study. The majority of respondents were male (78.0%). The average age of respondents was 46 +/- 11 years. A total of 56.9% of respondents had never heard the expression "medico-legal autopsy" before the death of the relative. Respondents know. that autopsies are used to identify the cause of death in 80.7% of cases. An association was found between level of education and level of knowledge concerning forensic autopsies (p=0.001). A total of 85.3% of respondents had poor perceptions of forensic autopsy. The preservation of bodily integrity was more important than the benefits of knowing the cause of death for 57.8% of respondents. Respondents claimed that family members made at least one attempt to postpone the autopsy in 94.5% of cases. Objections to the autopsy were motivated by the fear of not being able to proceed quickly with the burial (93.6%), the fear of seeing the body undergo an aesthetic alteration (74.3%), the feeling of inflicting suffering on the deceased (45.3%) and the conception of autopsy as a practice prohibited by respondents’ religion (38.5%). The cultural and human dimensions of forensic autopsy should not be overlooked. For more support from the relatives of the deceased, it is essential to integrate, beyond medicine and law, social considerations and human.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased
AU - Bigot Cedric Egnonwa
AU - Badou Agnes
AU - Agbodande Anthelme
AU - Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon
AU - Azon Kouanou Angele
Y1 - 2022/05/24
PY - 2022
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11
DO - 10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11
T2 - Central African Journal of Public Health
JF - Central African Journal of Public Health
JO - Central African Journal of Public Health
SP - 91
EP - 95
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2575-5781
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11
AB - This study aimed to describe the knowledge of relatives of the deceased regarding forensic autopsy and to analyze their perceptions of this forensic act. The focus of the study was the relatives of deceased individuals who died in violent contexts or suffered suspicious deaths, in which case a forensic autopsy was necessary. A total of 109 people were included in the study. The majority of respondents were male (78.0%). The average age of respondents was 46 +/- 11 years. A total of 56.9% of respondents had never heard the expression "medico-legal autopsy" before the death of the relative. Respondents know. that autopsies are used to identify the cause of death in 80.7% of cases. An association was found between level of education and level of knowledge concerning forensic autopsies (p=0.001). A total of 85.3% of respondents had poor perceptions of forensic autopsy. The preservation of bodily integrity was more important than the benefits of knowing the cause of death for 57.8% of respondents. Respondents claimed that family members made at least one attempt to postpone the autopsy in 94.5% of cases. Objections to the autopsy were motivated by the fear of not being able to proceed quickly with the burial (93.6%), the fear of seeing the body undergo an aesthetic alteration (74.3%), the feeling of inflicting suffering on the deceased (45.3%) and the conception of autopsy as a practice prohibited by respondents’ religion (38.5%). The cultural and human dimensions of forensic autopsy should not be overlooked. For more support from the relatives of the deceased, it is essential to integrate, beyond medicine and law, social considerations and human.
VL - 8
IS - 3
ER -

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Author Information

Bigot Cedric Egnonwa

Unit of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Cotonou, Benin
Badou Agnes

Unit of Social Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Cotonou, Benin
Agbodande Anthelme

Unit of Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Cotonou, Benin
Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon

Unit of Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Cotonou, Benin
Azon Kouanou Angele

Unit of Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Cotonou, Benin

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APA Style

Bigot Cedric Egnonwa, Badou Agnes, Agbodande Anthelme, Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon, Azon Kouanou Angele. (2022). Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased. Central African Journal of Public Health, 8(3), 91-95. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11

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ACS Style

Bigot Cedric Egnonwa; Badou Agnes; Agbodande Anthelme; Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon; Azon Kouanou Angele. Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2022, 8(3), 91-95. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11

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AMA Style

Bigot Cedric Egnonwa, Badou Agnes, Agbodande Anthelme, Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon, Azon Kouanou Angele. Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2022;8(3):91-95. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11

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@article{10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11,
  author = {Bigot Cedric Egnonwa and Badou Agnes and Agbodande Anthelme and Wanvoegbe Armand Finagnon and Azon Kouanou Angele},
  title = {Forensic Autopsy in the Republic of Benin: Knowledge and Perceptions of Relatives of the Deceased},
  journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {8},
  number = {3},
  pages = {91-95},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20220803.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20220803.11},
  abstract = {This study aimed to describe the knowledge of relatives of the deceased regarding forensic autopsy and to analyze their perceptions of this forensic act. The focus of the study was the relatives of deceased individuals who died in violent contexts or suffered suspicious deaths, in which case a forensic autopsy was necessary. A total of 109 people were included in the study. The majority of respondents were male (78.0%). The average age of respondents was 46 +/- 11 years. A total of 56.9% of respondents had never heard the expression "medico-legal autopsy" before the death of the relative. Respondents know. that autopsies are used to identify the cause of death in 80.7% of cases. An association was found between level of education and level of knowledge concerning forensic autopsies (p=0.001). A total of 85.3% of respondents had poor perceptions of forensic autopsy. The preservation of bodily integrity was more important than the benefits of knowing the cause of death for 57.8% of respondents. Respondents claimed that family members made at least one attempt to postpone the autopsy in 94.5% of cases. Objections to the autopsy were motivated by the fear of not being able to proceed quickly with the burial (93.6%), the fear of seeing the body undergo an aesthetic alteration (74.3%), the feeling of inflicting suffering on the deceased (45.3%) and the conception of autopsy as a practice prohibited by respondents’ religion (38.5%). The cultural and human dimensions of forensic autopsy should not be overlooked. For more support from the relatives of the deceased, it is essential to integrate, beyond medicine and law, social considerations and human.},
 year = {2022}
}

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