Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal

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Volume 1, Issue 3-4, December 2019, Pages 52 - 54

Strengthening Mortality Statistics for Health Programs in Malaysia: Lessons from the Field

Authors
Chalapati Rao1, *, Mohammad Azahadi Omar2, Shubash Shander Ganapathy2, Nor Saleha Ibrahim Tamin3
1Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
2Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*Corresponding author. Email: chalapati.rao@anu.edu.au
Corresponding Author
Chalapati Rao
Received 22 September 2019, Accepted 7 December 2019, Available Online 24 December 2019.
DOI
10.2991/dsahmj.k.191214.003How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Causes of death; civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems; Malaysia; mortality; verbal autopsy
Abstract

Reliable information on causes of death is essential for an evidence-based health policy. There is a challenge in ascertaining the cause for deaths occurring without medical attention. This has been a persistent problem for Malaysia, where 50% of deaths are registered as “nonmedically certified” deaths mostly with ill-defined causes. During 2014–2016, a research study was conducted in a nationally representative sample of 15,000 deaths in Malaysia, to verify their registered causes and develop cause-specific mortality estimates. Standard Verbal Autopsy (VA) methods were used to ascertain causes for the nonmedically certified deaths in the sample. VA methods were successful in assigning specific causes for most cases with ill-defined causes of death, resulting in plausible mortality patterns. The Malaysian government issued official instructions for routine implementation of VA methods for nonmedically certified deaths. Nationwide capacity development was implemented to improve data quality. These activities provide several lessons for strengthening the national mortality statistics programs.

Copyright
© 2019 Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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<Previous Article In Issue
Next Article In Issue>
Journal
Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal
Volume-Issue
1 - 3-4
Pages
52 - 54
Publication Date
2019/12/24
ISSN (Online)
2590-3349
ISSN (Print)
2666-819X
DOI
10.2991/dsahmj.k.191214.003How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2019 Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Chalapati Rao
AU  - Mohammad Azahadi Omar
AU  - Shubash Shander Ganapathy
AU  - Nor Saleha Ibrahim Tamin
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/12/24
TI  - Strengthening Mortality Statistics for Health Programs in Malaysia: Lessons from the Field
JO  - Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal
SP  - 52
EP  - 54
VL  - 1
IS  - 3-4
SN  - 2590-3349
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/dsahmj.k.191214.003
DO  - 10.2991/dsahmj.k.191214.003
ID  - Rao2019
ER  -