Evaluation of the effect of education on forensic reports prepared at the emergency service

Objectives: Forensic reports are important reports that are frequently kept in emergency clinical practice, where incomplete or defective reports may victimize the examined person or the accused. The aim of this thesis is to give education on forensic report writing to residents working in Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine and to compare the forensic reports written before and after the education and to evaluate the effect of this education on forensic reports. Method: This study was planned in a cross-sectional style. Within the scope of the study, emergency physicians were educated on forensic report writing and forensic reports written before and 3 months after the education were retrospectively analyzed. Forensic reports were evaluated according to their compliance with the procedures. Statistical analysis of the study was performed using paired T-test, One-way Anova, McNemar, McNemar Bowker and chi-square test. Results: In the study, 500 reports were analyzed, 250 before and 250 after the training. The scores of the reports before and after the education increased from 7.85 to 8.74. After the education, the rate of temporary reports decreased from 94.4% to 69.6%; the indication of the life-threatening status of the injury decreased from 100% to 93.2%; and the indication of the situation that can be resolved with simple medical intervention decreased from 99.6% to 94.8%. In the reports kept after the education, it was observed that the provisional reports, the status of the injury with the indication of the life-threatening and simple medical intervention were stated with more accurate findings (p<0,05). After the education, there was a positive change (p<0,05) in the date of issuance of the report, information about who the report belongs to on all pages, time of the event, information about the patient's clinic, description of the localization of the wounds on the body, pathology, if any, if investigations were requested, and recording of examination notes if consultation examinations were performed. After the training, the legibility of the writings and the indication of whether it could be fixed with simple medical intervention in the conclusion section of the report changed negatively (p<0,05). Conclusion: A theoretical training on forensic reports generally has positive effects. Keywords: forensic report, education, emergency service, forensic case, forensic medicine