Prabhat Jha
Reliable direct measurement of causes of death in low- and middle-income countries
Centre for Global Health Research|St. Michael's Hospital|University of Toronto
48 million annual deaths low middleincome countries lmics occur without medical attention time death causes death cod largely unknown review lowcost methods obtaining nationally representative cod data timelydespite clear historic evidence usefulness lmics lack reliable nationally representative cod data indirect methods estimate cod countries inadequate mainly currently rely average ratio 1 nationally representative cod every 850 estimated deaths order measure cause 25 million deaths across 110 lmics direct measurement cod far reliable relevant country priorities five feasible methods expand cod data sample registration systems form basis ongoing million death study india mds strengthening indepth network 42 demographic surveillance sites adding retrospective cod surveys demographic household health surveys 90 countries postcensus retrospective mortality surveys smaller countries systematic assembly health records lessons learned mds especially lowcost highquality methods verbal autopsy paired emerging use electronic data capture innovations make cod systems lowcost relevant wide range childhood adult conditionslowcost systems obtain report cods possible implemented widely cod systems could identify disease control priorities help detect emerging epidemics enable evaluation disease control programs advance indirect methods improve accountability expenditures disease control programs