Abstract

Introduction: When practicing their profession, doctors undergo considerable stress and lead a poor lifestyle. They are prone to early death. The Algerian health system has not planned a program for systematically capturing deaths occurring among doctors. Such a tool makes it possible to assess the prevalence of early death, to understand its causes and to establish a national surveillance and prevention program. Purpose: convince the Health authorities of the implementation of an administrative death capture system and health monitoring and of the need to install a physician mortality observatory. Objectives: - estimate the number of deaths - describe the sociodemographic and professional aspects of deceased doctors - classify the causes of mortality. Method: retrospective descriptive study, based on the collection of information concerning the deaths of surviving practicing doctors during the decade 2010 - 2020. It is based on global research on social networks, the written and online press, and contact by messaging or by telephone from admins, parents, and colleagues. Results: 57 deaths, including 27 during COVID19, 34 men and 23 women, 11 resident doctors, 4 orthopedic surgeons, 16 work in a university hospital. The causes in decreasing order of frequency: sudden death – suicide – diseases of the circulatory system – chronic diseases – accidents. Conclusion: the most common causes are generally linked to stress and physical and mental exhaustion. The establishment of an observatory with administrative capture of deaths is essential.