Added value of an open narrative in verbal autopsies: a mixed-methods evaluation from Malawi

Exploring challenges and recommendations for verbal autopsy implementation in low-/middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study of Iringa Region-Tanzania

BACKGROUND

Verbal autopsy (VA) plays a vital role in providing cause-of-death information in places where such information is not available. Many low-/middle-income countries (LMICs) including Tanzania are still struggling to yield quality and adequate cause-of-death data for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS).

OBJECTIVE

To highlight challenges and recommendations for VA implementation to support LMICs yield quality and adequate mortality statistics for informed decisions on healthcare interventions.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

STUDY SETTING

Iringa region in Tanzania.

PARTICIPANTS

41 people including 33 community health workers, 1 VA national coordinator, 5 national task force members, 1 VA regional coordinator and 1 member of the VA data management team.

RESULTS

The perceived challenges of key informants include a weak death notification system, lengthy VA questionnaire, poor data quality and inconsistent responses, lack of clarity in the inclusion criteria, poor commitment to roles and responsibilities, poor coordination, poor financial mechanism and no or delayed feedback to VA implementers. Based on these findings, we recommend the following strategies for effective adaptation and use of VAs: (1) reinforce or implement legislative procedures towards the legal requirement for death notification. (2) Engage key stakeholders in the overall implementation of VAs. (3) Build capacity for data collection, monitoring, processing and use of VA data. (4) Improve the VA questionnaire and quality control mechanism for optimal use in data collection. (5) Create sustainable financing mechanisms and institutionalisation of VA implementation. (6) Integrating VA Implementation in CRVS.

CONCLUSION

Effective VA implementation demands through planning, stakeholder engagement, upskilling of local experts and fair compensation for interviewers. Such coordinated endeavours will overcome systemic, technical and behavioural challenges hindering VA's successful implementation.

Perceptions of child death in Jigawa State, Nigeria: a mixed-methods study on how sociocultural nuances shape paediatric mortality reporting

BACKGROUND

Vital statistics are critical for effective public health and monitoring progress towards child survival. Nigeria has the highest global under-five mortality rate; however, deaths are often under- or misreported.

OBJECTIVE

We explored perceptions of child deaths and socio-cultural factors influencing the reporting of child deaths in Jigawa State, Nigeria.

METHODS

We conducted a triangulation mixed-methods study in Kiyawa local government area, Jigawa, including: four focus group discussions (FGDs) with 8-12 women, six key informant interviews (KII) with Imams, and process data from 42 verbal autopsies (VAs) conducted with caregivers of deceased children. Data was collected between November 2019-April 2021. Purposive sampling was used to recruit FDG and KII participants and two-stage systematic and simple random sampling was employed to recruit VA participants. Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis; VA data was described with proportions.

RESULTS

Five categories emerged from FGDs: culturally grounded perceptions of child death, etiquette in mourning and offering condolence, formal procedures surrounding child death, the improving relationship between hospital and community, and reporting practices. Women expressed that talking or crying about a death was not culturally accepted, and that prayer is the most acceptable form of coping and offering condolence. Many women expressed that death was God's will. These findings correlated with VAs, in which visible signs of emotional distress were recorded in 31% of the interviews. Three categories emerged from KIIs: religion as part of formal procedures surrounding child death, communities support the bereaved, and multilayered reasons for unreported deaths. Imams serve a key role as community leaders, involved in both the logistical and religious aspects of their community, though they are not involved in mortality reporting.

CONCLUSION

Religion plays a central role in burial practices, community mourning rituals, and expression of grief, but does not extend to reporting of child deaths. Imams could provide an opportunity for improving vital registration.

Mixed-methods analysis of select issues reported in the 2016 World Health Organization verbal autopsy questionnaire

BACKGROUND

Use of a standardized verbal autopsy (VA) questionnaire, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) instrument, can improve the consistency and reliability of the data it collects. Systematically revising a questionnaire, however, requires evidence about the performance of its questions. The purpose of this investigation was to use a mixed methods approach to evaluate the performance of questions related to 14 previously reported issues in the 2016 version of the WHO questionnaire, where there were concerns of potential confusion, redundancy, or inability of the respondent to answer the question. The results from this mixed methods analysis are discussed across common themes that may have contributed to the underperformance of questions and have been compiled to inform decisions around the revision of the current VA instrument.

METHODS

Quantitative analysis of 19,150 VAs for neonates, children, and adults from five project teams implementing VAs predominately in Sub-Saharan Africa included frequency distributions and cross-tabulations to evaluate response patterns among related questions. The association of respondent characteristics and response patterns was evaluated using prevalence ratios. Qualitative analysis included results from cognitive interviewing, an approach that provides a detailed understanding of the meanings and processes that respondents use to answer interview questions. Cognitive interviews were conducted among 149 participants in Morocco and Zambia. Findings from the qualitative and quantitative analyses were triangulated to identify common themes.

RESULTS

Four broad themes contributing to the underperformance or redundancy within the instrument were identified: question sequence, overlap within the question series, questions outside the frame of reference of the respondent, and questions needing clarification. The series of questions associated with one of the 14 identified issues (the series of questions on injuries) related to question sequence; seven (tobacco use, sores, breast swelling, abdominal problem, vomiting, vaccination, and baby size) demonstrated similar response patterns among questions within each series capturing overlapping information. Respondent characteristics, including relationship to the deceased and whether or not the respondent lived with the deceased, were associated with differing frequencies of non-substantive responses in three question series (female health related issues, tobacco use, and baby size). An inconsistent understanding of related constructs was observed between questions related to sores/ulcers, birth weight/baby size, and diagnosis of dementia/presence of mental confusion. An incorrect association of the intended construct with that which was interpreted by the respondent was observed in the medical diagnosis question series.

CONCLUSIONS

In this mixed methods analysis, we identified series of questions which could be shortened through elimination of redundancy, series of questions requiring clarification due to unclear constructs, and the impact of respondent characteristics on the quality of responses. These changes can lead to a better understanding of the question constructs by the respondents, increase the acceptance of the tool, and improve the overall accuracy of the VA instrument.