Can verbal autopsies be used on a national scale? Key findings and lessons from South Africa's national cause-of-death validation study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Verbal autopsy (VA), though imperfect, serves as a vital tool to determine cause-of-death, particularly for out-of-facility deaths, but challenges persist in integrating VA into Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems.

Objective

To describe the challenges and successes of collecting a national sample of verbal autopsy interviews in South Africa to obtain the cause of death profile in 2017/18.

Methods

We recruited next of kin from 27 randomly selected sub-districts (10.5%) across South Africa between September 2017 and April 2018. Trained fieldworkers conducted face-to-face interviews using the WHO2016 VA instrument, with physicians certifying underlying causes of death. Feasibility was evaluated based on response rates, participation, and data quali

SUBMITTER: Maqungo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11404373 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature