title: Communicating with the coroner: how religion, culture, and family concerns may influence autopsy decision making.
abstract: Based on coronial data gathered in the state of Queensland in 2004, this article reviews how a change in legislation may have impacted autopsy decision making by coroners. More specifically, the authors evaluated whether the requirement that coronial autopsy orders specify the level of invasiveness of an autopsy to be performed by a pathologist was affected by the further requirement that coroners take into consideration a known religion, culture, and/or raised family concern before making such an order. Preliminary data reveal that the cultural status of the deceased did not affect coronial autopsy decision making. However, a known religion with a proscription against autopsy and a raised family concern appeared to be taken into account by coroners when making autopsy decisions and tended to decrease the invasiveness of the autopsy ordered from a full internal examination to either a partial internal examination or an external-only examination of the body. The impact of these findings is briefly discussed.
authors: School of Justice, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. b.carpenter@qut.edu.au
authors: Belinda
authors: B
authors: Carpenter
authors: School of Marketing and Management, University of Southern Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Glenda
authors: G
authors: Adkins
authors: Queensland State Coroner Office, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Barnes
authors: Forensic Scientific Services, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Charles
authors: C
authors: Naylor
authors: School of Justice, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Nelufa
authors: N
authors: Begum
mesh_terms: D001293:Attitude to Death; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D001344:Autopsy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002423:Cause of Death; D003142:Communication; D003334:Coroners and Medical Examiners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011793:Queensland; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012938:Social Perception; D012945:Social Values