An improved method for physician-certified verbal autopsy reduces the rate of discrepancy: experiences in the Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (NHDSS), Burkina Faso.

ABSTRACT:

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Background

Through application of the verbal autopsy (VA) approach, trained fieldworkers collect information about the probable cause of death (COD) by using a standardized questionnaire to interview family members who were present at the time of death. The physician-certified VA (PCVA), an independent review of this questionnaire data by up to three physicians trained in VA coding, is currently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is widely used in the INDEPTH Network. Even given its appropriateness in these contexts, a large percentage of causes of death assigned by VAs remains undetermined. As physicians often do not agree upon a final COD classification, there remains substantial room to improve the standard VA method, potentially leading to

SUBMITTER: Ye M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3160927 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature