Chanda Stephen Longa, Cheelo Mweene, Mwango Chomba, Moyo Peter, Kamalonga Kashala, Kapombe Priscilla, Chisumpa Vesper, Tembo Emmanuel, Kapina Muzala, Chilengi Roma
Surveillance and Disease Intelligence, Zambia National Public Health Institute, Lusaka, Zambia.
Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2024 Nov 12;112(1):21-25. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.24-0302. Print 2025 Jan 8.
Accurate cause-of-death statistics are vital for public health policy, but less than one-third of deaths globally are assigned a cause. Verbal autopsy (VA) methods are crucial in low- and middle-income countries lacking complete civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems. We explored VA implementation in Zambia by using a previously developed framework. The National Mortality Surveillance Subcommittee under the Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Working Group within the Ministry of Health coordinates mortality surveillance activities in Zambia. To date, passive, non-population-representative VA data collection mechanisms have been used, leading to underrepresentation of some communities. In spite of the use of electronic data collection tools, VA systems have not been electronically linked to public health surveillance or CRVS systems. Funding for VA has largely been donor driven. Increasing government funding may ensure sustainability, while the adoption of sample-based platforms while linking VA information technology systems may make VA data more useful, timely, and accessible.
准确的死因统计对于公共卫生政策至关重要，但全球不到三分之一的死亡病例被明确死因。在缺乏完整民事登记和人口动态统计（CRVS）系统的低收入和中等收入国家，口头尸检（VA）方法至关重要。我们通过使用先前开发的框架，探索了赞比亚VA的实施情况。赞比亚卫生部监测与评价技术工作组下属的国家死亡率监测小组委员会负责协调赞比亚的死亡率监测活动。迄今为止，一直采用被动的、不具有人口代表性的VA数据收集机制，导致一些社区的数据代表性不足。尽管使用了电子数据收集工具，但VA系统尚未与公共卫生监测或CRVS系统实现电子连接。VA的资金主要由捐助者推动。增加政府资金投入可能确保可持续性，而采用基于样本的平台并将VA信息技术系统连接起来，可能会使VA数据更有用、更及时且更易于获取。
