Improving medical certification of cause of death: effective strategies and approaches based on experiences from the Data for Health Initiative

BMC Medicine
John D HartAlan D Lopez

Abstract

Accurate and timely cause of death (COD) data are essential for informed public health policymaking. Medical certification of COD generally provides the majority of COD data in a population and is an essential component of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems. Accurate completion of the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCOD) should be a relatively straightforward procedure for physicians, but mistakes are common. Here, we present three training strategies implemented in five countries supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiative at the University of Melbourne (UoM) and evaluate the impact on the quality of certification. The three training strategies evaluated were (1) training of trainers (TOT) in the Philippines, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka; (2) direct training of physicians by the UoM D4H in Papua New Guinea (PNG); and (3) the implementation of an online and basic training strategy in Peru. The evaluation involved an assessment of MCCODs before and after training using an assessment tool developed by the University of Melbourne. The TOT strategy led to reductions in incorrectly completed certificates of between 28% in Sri Lanka and 40% in the Philippines. Following direct tra...Continue Reading

References

Nov 22, 2007·Lancet·Prasanta MahapatraUNKNOWN Monitoring Vital Events
Jan 7, 2014·Bulletin of the World Health Organization·Rasika RampatigeAlan D Lopez
Nov 8, 2014·Bulletin of the World Health Organization·Rasika RampatigeAlan D Lopez
Jun 6, 2015·South African Medical Journal = Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif Vir Geneeskunde·E H BurgerD Bradshaw
Aug 9, 2016·Scottish Medical Journal·Aamir A Khan, Elliott Y Ah-Kee
Jan 13, 2017·MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report·Jennifer LloydGeorge Turabelidze
May 31, 2018·PloS One·Tim Adair, Alan D Lopez

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Citations

Sep 7, 2020·Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine·Pablo Millares Martin
Jun 4, 2021·BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making·Sarah Charlotte JohnsonMohsen Naghavi

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Software Mentioned

CRVS
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