Validation of SmartVA using conventional autopsy: A study of adult deaths in Brazil.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Accurate cause of death data are essential to guide health policy. However, mortality surveillance is limited in many low-income countries. In such settings, verbal autopsy (VA) is increasingly used to provide population-level cause of death data. VAs are now widely interpreted using the automated algorithms SmartVA and InterVA. Here we use conventional autopsy as the gold standard to validate SmartVA methodology.

Methods

This study included adult deaths from natural causes in São Paulo and Recife for which conventional autopsy was indicated. VA was conducted with a relative of the deceased using an amended version of the SmartVA instrument to suit the local context. Causes of death from VA were produced using the SmartVA-Analyze program. Physician coded verbal au

SUBMITTER: Hart JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9904092 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature