Development of a standard verbal autopsy manager tool to improve death and cause of death data quality, use and linkages

Ifakara Health Institute is undertaking a project to develop a verbal autopsy management tool for improving the integration and availability of verbal autopsy data. The project aims to contribute significantly to enhancing mortality data quality and utilization.

Approximately 75% of deaths go undocumented, highlighting a significant gap in mortality data. There are ongoing initiatives by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and international bodies to standardize data collection to achieve comprehensive mortality data coverage, including community deaths. 

This project, implemented by Ifakara Health Institute aims to fill these gaps by developing a tool to manage and collect verbal autopsy (VA) data, enhancing the documentation and understanding of causes of death. The tool will utilize trained physicians, mathematical algorithms, and machine learning models to process the collected data.

The project involves developing a flexible verbal autopsy management tool designed to improve the integration and availability of VA data. This tool will support the systematic collection, management, and analysis of mortality data, particularly from community deaths, ensuring higher quality and more comprehensive mortality records.

The primary users of this tool will be the mortality surveillance unit at the Ministry of Health, with a specific focus on identifying and documenting community causes of death.

The project is planned to be executed over six months, from May/June to October/November 2024.