Applying the InterVA-4 model to determine causes of death in rural Ethiopia
Background: In Ethiopia, most deaths take place at home and routine certification of cause of death by physicians is lacking. As a result, reliable cause of death (CoD) data are often not available. Recently, a computerized method for interpretation of verbal autopsy (VA) data, called InterVA, has b...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2014-10-01
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| Series: | Global Health Action |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/download/25550/pdf_1 |
| _version_ | 1811245315718643712 |
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| author | Berhe Weldearegawi Yohannes Adama Melaku Mark Spigt Geert Jan Dinant |
| author_facet | Berhe Weldearegawi Yohannes Adama Melaku Mark Spigt Geert Jan Dinant |
| author_sort | Berhe Weldearegawi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: In Ethiopia, most deaths take place at home and routine certification of cause of death by physicians is lacking. As a result, reliable cause of death (CoD) data are often not available. Recently, a computerized method for interpretation of verbal autopsy (VA) data, called InterVA, has been developed and used. It calculates the probability of a set of CoD given the presence of circumstances, signs, and symptoms reported during VA interviews. We applied the InterVA model to describe CoD in a rural population of Ethiopia. Objective: VA data for 436/599 (72.7%) deaths that occurred during 2010–2011 were included. InterVA-4 was used to interpret the VA data into probable cause of death. Cause-specific mortality fraction was used to describe frequency of occurrence of death from specific causes. Results: InterVA-4 was able to give likely cause(s) of death for 401/436 of the cases (92.0%). Overall, 35.0% of the total deaths were attributed to communicable diseases, and 30.7% to chronic non-communicable diseases. Tuberculosis (12.5%) and acute respiratory tract infections (10.4%) were the most frequent causes followed by neoplasms (9.6%) and diseases of circulatory system (7.2%). Conclusion: InterVA-4 can produce plausible estimates of the major public health problems that can guide public health interventions. We encourage further validation studies, in local settings, so that InterVA can be integrated into national health surveys. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:37:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d46b16248fd4e73a6285ab9221da871 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1654-9880 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:37:49Z |
| publishDate | 2014-10-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Health Action |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d46b16248fd4e73a6285ab9221da8712022-12-22T03:29:00ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGlobal Health Action1654-98802014-10-01701610.3402/gha.v7.2555025550Applying the InterVA-4 model to determine causes of death in rural EthiopiaBerhe Weldearegawi0Yohannes Adama Melaku1Mark Spigt2Geert Jan Dinant3Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, EthiopiaDepartment of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, EthiopiaDepartment of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, EthiopiaCAPHRI, School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The NetherlandsBackground: In Ethiopia, most deaths take place at home and routine certification of cause of death by physicians is lacking. As a result, reliable cause of death (CoD) data are often not available. Recently, a computerized method for interpretation of verbal autopsy (VA) data, called InterVA, has been developed and used. It calculates the probability of a set of CoD given the presence of circumstances, signs, and symptoms reported during VA interviews. We applied the InterVA model to describe CoD in a rural population of Ethiopia. Objective: VA data for 436/599 (72.7%) deaths that occurred during 2010–2011 were included. InterVA-4 was used to interpret the VA data into probable cause of death. Cause-specific mortality fraction was used to describe frequency of occurrence of death from specific causes. Results: InterVA-4 was able to give likely cause(s) of death for 401/436 of the cases (92.0%). Overall, 35.0% of the total deaths were attributed to communicable diseases, and 30.7% to chronic non-communicable diseases. Tuberculosis (12.5%) and acute respiratory tract infections (10.4%) were the most frequent causes followed by neoplasms (9.6%) and diseases of circulatory system (7.2%). Conclusion: InterVA-4 can produce plausible estimates of the major public health problems that can guide public health interventions. We encourage further validation studies, in local settings, so that InterVA can be integrated into national health surveys.http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/download/25550/pdf_1InterVAcause of deathHealth and Demographic Surveillance Systemchronic non-communicableEthiopia |
| spellingShingle | Berhe Weldearegawi Yohannes Adama Melaku Mark Spigt Geert Jan Dinant Applying the InterVA-4 model to determine causes of death in rural Ethiopia Global Health Action InterVA cause of death Health and Demographic Surveillance System chronic non-communicable Ethiopia |
| title | Applying the InterVA-4 model to determine causes of death in rural Ethiopia |
| title_full | Applying the InterVA-4 model to determine causes of death in rural Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Applying the InterVA-4 model to determine causes of death in rural Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Applying the InterVA-4 model to determine causes of death in rural Ethiopia |
| title_short | Applying the InterVA-4 model to determine causes of death in rural Ethiopia |
| title_sort | applying the interva 4 model to determine causes of death in rural ethiopia |
| topic | InterVA cause of death Health and Demographic Surveillance System chronic non-communicable Ethiopia |
| url | http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/download/25550/pdf_1 |
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