VERBAL AUTOPSY AS A TECHNIQUE TO ESTABLISH CAUSES OF INFANT AND CHILD-MORTALITY

In order to develop a method for retrospectively establishing causes o f paediatric deaths in Mangochi District, Malawi, we translated a verb al autopsy questionnaire into Chichewa and Chiyao. This form was used to interview guardians of 82 children who died in hospital between Jun e 1993 and May 1994. Based on the guardians' answers, we were able to determine the causes of death for these children, According to our exp erience, verbal autopsy appeared simple to administer and relatively e asy to interpret. To test the validity of this method in southern Mala wi, we compared its results to hospital diagnoses, using a sample of 3 6 children who had died in hospital and whose records could be located . In this preliminary validation, we found a high sensitivity and spec ificity for the most common childhood illnesses in the area. Thus, ver bal autopsy appeared a promising method of collecting population-based information about paediatric mortality, the full applicability of whi ch should be tested in larger studies in Malawi.