How advanced is the epidemiological transition in Papua New Guinea? New evidence from verbal autopsy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Reliable cause of death (COD) data are not available for the majority of deaths in Papua New Guinea (PNG), despite their critical policy value. Automated verbal autopsy (VA) methods, involving an interview and automated analysis to diagnose causes of community deaths, have recently been trialled in PNG. Here, we report VA results from three sites and highlight the utility of these methods to generate information about the leading CODs in the country.

Methods

VA methods were introduced in one district in each of three provinces: Alotau in Milne Bay; Tambul-Nebilyer in Western Highlands; and Talasea in West New Britain. VA interviews were conducted using the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium (PHMRC) shortened questionnaire and analysed using the SmartVA

SUBMITTER: Hart JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8743130 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature