Validation of verbal autopsy: determination of cause of deaths in Malaysia 2013
Abstract Background Mortality statistics by age, sex and cause are the foundation of basic health data required for health status assessment, epidemiological research and formation of health policy. Close to half the deaths in Malaysia occur outside a health facility, are not attended by medical per...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2017-08-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4668-y |
| _version_ | 1811325516180881408 |
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| author | Shubash Shander Ganapathy Khoo Yi Yi Mohd Azahadi Omar Mohamad Fuad Mohamad Anuar Chandrika Jeevananthan Chalapati Rao |
| author_facet | Shubash Shander Ganapathy Khoo Yi Yi Mohd Azahadi Omar Mohamad Fuad Mohamad Anuar Chandrika Jeevananthan Chalapati Rao |
| author_sort | Shubash Shander Ganapathy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Mortality statistics by age, sex and cause are the foundation of basic health data required for health status assessment, epidemiological research and formation of health policy. Close to half the deaths in Malaysia occur outside a health facility, are not attended by medical personnel, and are given a lay opinion as to the cause of death, leading to poor quality of data from vital registration. Verbal autopsy (VA) is a very useful tool in diagnosing broad causes of deaths for events that occur outside health facilities. This article reports the development of the VA methods and our principal finding from a validation study. Methods A cross sectional study on nationally representative sample deaths that occurred in Malaysia during 2013 was used. A VA questionnaire suitable for local use was developed. Trained field interviewers visited the family members of the deceased at their homes and conducted face to face interviews with the next of kin. Completed questionnaires were reviewed by trained physicians who assigned multiple and underlying causes. Reference diagnoses for validation were obtained from review of medical records (MR) available for a sample of the overall study deaths. Results Corresponding MR diagnosis with matched sample of the VA diagnosis were available in 2172 cases for the validation study. Sensitivity scores were good (>75%) for transport accidents and certain cancers. Moderate sensitivity (50% - 75%) was obtained for ischaemic heart disease (64%) and cerebrovascular disease (72%). The validation sample for deaths due to major causes such as ischaemic heart disease, pneumonia, breast cancer and transport accidents show low cause-specific mortality fraction (CSMF) changes. The scores obtained for the top 10 leading site-specific cancers ranged from average to good. Conclusion We can conclude that VA is suitable for implementation for deaths outside the health facilities in Malaysia. This would reduce ill-defined mortality causes in vital registration data, and yield more accurate national mortality statistics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:34:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18759660078540b1a4dda106075c6c3a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:34:36Z |
| publishDate | 2017-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-18759660078540b1a4dda106075c6c3a2022-12-22T02:43:04ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582017-08-011711810.1186/s12889-017-4668-yValidation of verbal autopsy: determination of cause of deaths in Malaysia 2013Shubash Shander Ganapathy0Khoo Yi Yi1Mohd Azahadi Omar2Mohamad Fuad Mohamad Anuar3Chandrika Jeevananthan4Chalapati Rao5Institut Kesihatan Umum (Institute of Public Health), Ministry of Health MalaysiaDepartment of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of MalayaInstitut Kesihatan Umum (Institute of Public Health), Ministry of Health MalaysiaInstitut Kesihatan Umum (Institute of Public Health), Ministry of Health MalaysiaInstitut Kesihatan Umum (Institute of Public Health), Ministry of Health MalaysiaDepartment of Global Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National UniversityAbstract Background Mortality statistics by age, sex and cause are the foundation of basic health data required for health status assessment, epidemiological research and formation of health policy. Close to half the deaths in Malaysia occur outside a health facility, are not attended by medical personnel, and are given a lay opinion as to the cause of death, leading to poor quality of data from vital registration. Verbal autopsy (VA) is a very useful tool in diagnosing broad causes of deaths for events that occur outside health facilities. This article reports the development of the VA methods and our principal finding from a validation study. Methods A cross sectional study on nationally representative sample deaths that occurred in Malaysia during 2013 was used. A VA questionnaire suitable for local use was developed. Trained field interviewers visited the family members of the deceased at their homes and conducted face to face interviews with the next of kin. Completed questionnaires were reviewed by trained physicians who assigned multiple and underlying causes. Reference diagnoses for validation were obtained from review of medical records (MR) available for a sample of the overall study deaths. Results Corresponding MR diagnosis with matched sample of the VA diagnosis were available in 2172 cases for the validation study. Sensitivity scores were good (>75%) for transport accidents and certain cancers. Moderate sensitivity (50% - 75%) was obtained for ischaemic heart disease (64%) and cerebrovascular disease (72%). The validation sample for deaths due to major causes such as ischaemic heart disease, pneumonia, breast cancer and transport accidents show low cause-specific mortality fraction (CSMF) changes. The scores obtained for the top 10 leading site-specific cancers ranged from average to good. Conclusion We can conclude that VA is suitable for implementation for deaths outside the health facilities in Malaysia. This would reduce ill-defined mortality causes in vital registration data, and yield more accurate national mortality statistics.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4668-yVerbal autopsyValidationMortalityCause of death |
| spellingShingle | Shubash Shander Ganapathy Khoo Yi Yi Mohd Azahadi Omar Mohamad Fuad Mohamad Anuar Chandrika Jeevananthan Chalapati Rao Validation of verbal autopsy: determination of cause of deaths in Malaysia 2013 BMC Public Health Verbal autopsy Validation Mortality Cause of death |
| title | Validation of verbal autopsy: determination of cause of deaths in Malaysia 2013 |
| title_full | Validation of verbal autopsy: determination of cause of deaths in Malaysia 2013 |
| title_fullStr | Validation of verbal autopsy: determination of cause of deaths in Malaysia 2013 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Validation of verbal autopsy: determination of cause of deaths in Malaysia 2013 |
| title_short | Validation of verbal autopsy: determination of cause of deaths in Malaysia 2013 |
| title_sort | validation of verbal autopsy determination of cause of deaths in malaysia 2013 |
| topic | Verbal autopsy Validation Mortality Cause of death |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4668-y |
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