Characteristics of deceased and quality of death certificates for cases subjected to Indonesia’s management of the dead protocol for bodies with COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted many aspects of life, including death care. International and national protocols have been implemented for the management of the dead. This study aims to determine the characteristics of decedents managed according to COVID-19 protocols in Indonesia and the quality of their death certificates. This study uses a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Secondary data of deaths with COVID-19 were taken from hospital death registries, medical records, and death certificates. Data were collected from nine referral hospitals and one funeral home in 6 cities in Indonesia. The majority of the decedents were male, Muslim, with a median age of 57. Most were treated in non-intensive isolation wards, and almost half had known comorbidities. Many were still awaiting the result of their confirmative PCR at the time of death. Almost all were managed compliant with the standard protocol, and most were buried in COVID-only cemeteries. There were still deficiencies in the completeness and accuracy of the death certificates. “COVID-19” was mentioned as a cause of death in only about half of the cases, with a wide variety of terms and spelling. Management of the dead protocols for bodies with COVID-19 can generally be implemented in Indonesia. The quality of the death certificates should, however, be continuously improved.