Validation study on assigning causes of death

Overview

Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) is the ideal source for producing death data by cause. In case of an underperforming/absence of CRVS system, alternative method known as verbal autopsy (VA) has been used to collect information of the deceased, followed by cause of death assignment by a doctor (manual method) or a computer (automated method). This study provides useful information on the performance of manual and automated methods for cause of death assignment based on VA interviews. It also recommends the use of WHO VA tool in Indian settings for improving cause of death information system.