Drug-related Death low Registration in Iran: A Mixed Method Approach for Causes, Recommendations to Solve This Problem and Geographical Evaluation of an Intervention

BACKGROUND: The death registration is conducted by different systems in Iran. The drug-related death registration is exclusively conducted by Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) and Legal Medicine Organization (LMO). This study investigates the causes of undercounting drug-related deaths (DRDs) in Iran, provides recommendations for addressing this issue, and provides a geographical evaluation of the integrity and quality of drug-related mortality registration (2014–2017). METHODS: This is a mix-method study. In part1, individual targeted interviews were conducted with 12 experts in death registration in MOHME and LMO to collect data on the causes of low registration in Iran and provide recommendations for resolving the issue. Part2 of the study involved an intervention in the form of a memorandum of understanding on reduction of low-registrations. This memorandum was signed to transfer information about the corpses between the MOHME and LMO. First, the number of DRDs (2014- 2017) was examined using capture-recapture method and, then, we calculated and compared the rate of pre-intervention (2014-2016) and post-intervention (2017) under-registration to assess whether this memorandum of understanding had been effective in reduction of under-registrations. FINDINGS: In part1, according to the participants, the causes of undercounting DRDs in LMO and MOHME were arranged and categorized into 4 categories: weak administration system, physician and personnel training problems, system constraints, and client-related problems. Also, some suggestions were presented to help resolving the problem of undercounting; these suggestions concern the administrative system, technology, and educational domains. In part 2, about half of the provinces in Iran had a positive performance in reducing the undercount. CONCLUSION: At the macro level, the memorandum of understanding between the two organizations responsible for registering deaths was effective. However, increasing the quality of data registrations requires monitoring at the micro and organizational levels to lead to a positive performance in reducing death under-registration in all provinces.