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CHAMPS Data
The Power of Data
CHAMPS’ precise, accurate, real-time data explains why children under five are dying.
- SEE ALSO DATA ON:
- Neonate
- Infant & Child
- Populations Enrolle
- Test
Explore the Data
Four Levels of Data Access
CHAMPS data can be used for a variety of research and evaluation purposes. For that reason, we offer four levels of data, the first of which — Summarized Data — is accessible here on our site. To access additional levels of data, a request form must be filled out.
- Level 1: Summarized Data
- Level 2: De-Identified Data
- Level 3: Limited Data
- Level 4: Potentially Identifiable Data
Summarized data are updated in real-time and available to all on our web site with one click. These data provide summaries of the CHAMPS eligible and enrolled cases at each surveillance site, as well as determined causes of death across each of our sites. Cause of death data are categorized by Stillbirth, Neonate, and Infant and Child, and provide separate views for all causes of death, and infectious etiologies. Data summaries are updated daily.
De-identified data can be downloaded as a curated standard data set after registration and electronic acceptance of a Data Transfer Agreement (DTA).
Standard data set includes:
- Case demographics (including MITS measurements), verbal autopsy, DeCoDe results, TAC results, and lab results
- Additional curated standard datasets in development
- Data transformations performed to de-identify this dataset: Case identifiers replaced with surrogates; dates shifted; narrative/summary fields removed
To view documentation for the de-identified dataset prior to downloading, obtain descriptive metadata or the citation for the dataset, please visit the CHAMPS Dataverse and scroll to the bottom of the page.
To access the CHAMPS R package, visit our GitHub Portal. The package provides utilities to read and transform L2 s data into convenient formats, functions to compute several statistics of interest, and some utilities for presenting these statistics in various formats such as plots and HTML tables.
A curated limited data set is available following registration and execution of a Data Use Agreement (DUA). The delivery time for this data set is dependent on DUA execution, and is estimated at 4-8 weeks. Please request this data set via the link below and follow the instructions to complete and upload the Data Use Agreement (DUA).
Standard limited dataset includes:
- Case demographics (including MITS measurements), verbal autopsy, DeCoDe results, TAC results, and lab results
- Additional curated limited datasets in development
- Data transformations performed to created this limited dataset: Case identifiers replaced with surrogates; narrative/summary fields removed
To view documentation for the limited dataset prior to downloading, obtain descriptive metadata or the citation, please visit the CHAMPS Dataverse and scroll to the bottom of the page.
To access the CHAMPS R package, visit our GitHub Portal. The package provides utilities to read and transform L2 data into convenient formats, functions to compute several statistics of interest, and some utilities for presenting these statistics in various formats such as plots and HTML tables.
Potentially identifiable datasets are only available via request. A CHAMPS staff member will contact you and provide further instructions once we receive your request.
A potentially identifying data set is available following registration, execution of a Data Use Agreement (DUA), and IRB approval. Timing is dependent on IRB approval and DUA execution, and is estimated at 3-6 months.
Privacy Constraints: Dependent on IRB approval – may include case photos, geo-location coordinates, free-text and narrative fields.
Understanding the Data
Mortality Coding Background
Members of Determination of Cause of Death, or DeCoDe, panels at each CHAMPS site review all data available for each death and follow WHO guidance to attribute causes of death. These procedures include using ICD-10 (10th International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) to classify conditions and recording causes of death in a format matching WHO’s death certificate. In some situations, a death will have an immediate cause (lower respiratory infection, for example) that occurred in an otherwise healthy child. In these situations, the immediate and underlying cause of death will be the same. In other situations, a death may have an immediate cause (lower respiratory infection, for example) that occurred as a consequence of a child having other diseases (HIV infection, for example). In this case, the condition that originally existed that gave rise to one or more complications that led to death is known as the underlying cause of death. Comorbid conditions are those that may have contributed to the cause of death, but not directly. CHAMPS records immediate and underlying causes of death and comorbid conditions. In rare cases, the data available to DeCoDe panels are not adequate to determine a cause of death with any certainty. In these situations, the cause of death is recorded as undetermined.
For stillbirths and newborns, causes of death are often related to conditions affecting the mother or complications of childbirth or preterm birth. For these situations, CHAMPS uses a WHO application of ICD-10 for the perinatal period, ICD-PM. Because deaths in young infants may be attributed to both perinatal causes and conditions that arise after birth, CHAMPS is working to standardize procedures for deaths occurring in this age group. In situations where ICD-10 and ICD-PM codes are inconsistent, ICD-PM principles will be applied. Note that results may change as data are updated and coding procedures become more refined.
Data Collection Methods
If a case meets CHAMPS eligibility criteria, the team seeks informed consent from the parents or guardians to further investigate the cause of death through the postmortem minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) procedure and laboratory investigations. The laboratory investigations include microbiology, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria testing. Additional advanced diagnostics include multiplex molecular testing for many specific viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic pathogens as well as tissue histopathology. The site teams also request consent to perform caregiver interviews, known as verbal autopsies, to explore the symptoms and conditions that may have led to the child’s death, and to collect any clinical records. Families are free to decide whether to take part in the procedures.
For those cases in which families grant consent and the MITS procedure has been performed, completing the tests and assembling the information requires 4 months. Then, an expert panel reviews all laboratory, clinical and verbal autopsy information on each case and assigns a final cause of death. This final cause of death is then provided to the family members.
Things to Note
Only a fraction of child deaths occurring in CHAMPS sites are reflected; the numbers are not adjusted for deaths in children not enrolled or for population size. No conclusions should be made about the overall contribution of each cause to total deaths for a CHAMPS site or other population.
Data that contribute to CHAMPS cause of death determinations are complex, and we're learning how expert panels should interpret it to assign causes of death. How we report the chain of causation will likely change over time.
Results presented here will change as the CHAMPS team refines methods and cleans data. If you find information that appears incorrect or confusing, contact us.
News & Resources
CHAMPS Data in Use
Conferences and Meetings
August 31, 2021
Webinar Recording – An Introduction to Using CHAMPS Data
Thank you to everyone who attended today’s live webinar, An Introduction to Using CHAMPS Data with Dr. Dianna Blau. In her presentation, Dr. Blau gave an overview of how CHAMPS data are generated, where they are accessible, and ways they may be utilized. Stay tuned for future webinars exploring our data and other crucial aspects (…)
Case Examples
April 28, 2022
A malnourished infant that died with HIV, complicated by gastroenteritis and sepsis caused by bacterial and fungal infections
A 1-year-old baby with a history of tuberculosis (TB) was undergoing treatment through the Ministry of Health TB program when she became ill with a fever, cough, frequent stool, and lack of appetite. The baby’s symptoms did not stop despite treatment at home, so after 3 days, her mother decided to take her to an (…)
Case Examples
March 23, 2022
An early neonate who died of hyaline membrane disease, complicated by bilateral pneumothorax, premature birth and maternal hypertension
An HIV-positive mother gave birth to a 30-week-old baby girl upon arriving at the hospital with gestational hypertension. Due to her high blood pressure and detected fetal distress, the baby was born prematurely via C-section. At delivery the baby presented a weak cry, irregular breathing, bluish discoloration of the hands and feet. She was treated (…)
Conferences and Meetings
March 8, 2022
Webinar – A Deeper Dive into CHAMPS Data
Join Dr. Dianna Blau for another interactive session on using and analyzing CHAMPS data. Building on our introductory data webinar in August, in this session Dr. Blau took participants deeper into the data, describing the top causes of death and highlighting key findings for the three age groups CHAMPS assesses: stillbirths, neonates, and infants/children under (…)
Case Studies
November 23, 2021
Case Study: Improving Death Notifications at Hiwot Fana Hospital
CHAMPS published a new case study led by Tseyon Tesfaye, a researcher at the CHAMPS Ethiopia site. This case study compares practices and timing between CHAMPS mortality surveillance and the standard hospital death notification system, providing recommendations and next steps to streamline mortality surveillance processes. Improving Death Notifications at Hiwot Fana Hospital: The Added (…)