Verbal Autopsy

A verbal autopsy (VA) is a method of gathering health information about a deceased individual to determine his or her cause of death. Health information and a description of events prior to death are acquired from conversations or interviews with a person or persons familiar with the deceased and analyzed by health professional or computer algorithms to assign a probable cause of death.

Verbal autopsy is used in settings where most deaths are undocumented. Estimates suggest a majority of the 60 million annual global deaths occur without medical attention or official medical certification of the cause of death. The VA method attempts to establish causes of death for previously undocumented subjects, allowing scientists to analyze disease patterns and direct public health policy decisions.

Noteworthy uses of the verbal autopsy method include the Million Death Study in India, China's national program to document causes of death in rural areas, and the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.

The term verbal autopsy was first coined in a project of the Department of International Health of Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health which ran from 1965 to 1973 in Punjab, India. Two research projects were located in villages near Ludhiana, with headquarters in Narangwal village. Objectives of the projects were

Seven years later (1980), the Ministry of Health of Egypt conducted an investigation into prevention of child mortality from DD using a variety of intervention methods for a total population of 200,000, including 29000 children below the age of 5 in three different districts. The verbal autopsy method as originally developed in Narangwal was slightly modified to the Egyptian setting and again used to identify prevailing mortality patterns among preschoolers. Following implementation of different treatment schedules, child mortality rates dropped significantly in specific input villages over the period of study. The project site was re-visited six years following completion of the investigation confirming utility and effectiveness of the V.A. method, and applied intervention modalities respectively.

As early as the 1950s forms of VA called lay reporting were employed in countries with low coverage of medical access. The World Health Organization (WHO) continued to encourage lay reporting in such settings and in 1975 an official lay reporting form was established.

Many iterations of the questionnaire used in VA have been developed by health professionals and researchers. The WHO now employs a standard verbal autopsy method, involving a recommended questionnaire.

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