Determining the death burden for prioritising public health interventions necessitates detailed data on the causal pathways to death. Postmortem minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS), incorporating histology, molecular and microbial culture diagnostics, enhances cause-of-death attribution, particularly for infectious deaths. MITS proves a valid alternative to full diagnostic autopsies, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In Soweto, […]
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Acceptability of minimally invasive autopsy by community members and healthcare workers in Siaya and Kisumu counties, western Kenya, 2017–2018
Worldwide, nearly six million children under the age of five under 5 die annually, a substantial proportion of which are due to preventable and treatable diseases. Efforts to reduce child mortality indicators in the most affected regions are often undermined by a lack of accurate cause of death data. To generate timely and more accurate […]
Post-mortem Investigation of Pneumonia Deaths in Children 1-59 Months in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia countries: An observational study from 2016 to 2022
Background The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network programme undertakes post-mortem minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS), together with collection of ante-mortem clinical information, to investigate causes of childhood deaths across multiple countries. We aimed to evaluate the overall contribution of pneumonia in the causal pathway to death and the causative pathogens of fatal […]
Burden of child mortality from malaria in high endemic areas: results from the CHAMPS Network using minimally invasive tissue sampling
Background Malaria is a leading cause of childhood mortality worldwide. However, accurate estimates of malaria prevalence and causality among patients who die at the country level are lacking due to the limited specificity of diagnostic tools used to attribute etiologies. Accurate estimates are crucial for prioritizing interventions and resources aimed at reducing malaria-related mortality. Methods […]
Prevalence and missed cases of Respiratory Distress Syndrome Disease Amongst Neonatal Deaths Enrolled in the Kenya Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network (CHAMPS) Program between 2017 to 2021
Objectives. To describe RDS in neonatal deaths at the CHAMPS-Kenya site between 2017 and 2021. Methods. We included 165 neonatal deaths whose their Causes of death (COD) were determined by a panel of experts using data from post-mortem conducted through minimally invasive tissue specimen testing, clinical records, and verbal autopsy. Results. Twenty-six percent (43/165) of […]
Knowledge of COVID-19 Symptoms, Transmission, and Prevention: Evidence from Health and Demographic Surveillance in Southern Mozambique
Understanding community members’ knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and prevention is essential for directing public health interventions to reduce disease spread and improve vaccination coverage. Here, we describe knowledge of COVID-19 transmission, prevention, and symptoms among community residents in Mozambique. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 33,087 households in a Health and Demographic Surveillance System in […]
Neurological symptoms in sick children and correlation with postmortem causes of death (CHAMPS)
Importance The emergence of acute neurological symptoms in children necessitates immediate intervention. Although low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear the highest burden of neurological diseases, there is a scarcity of diagnostic and therapeutic resources. Therefore, current understanding of the etiology of neurological emergencies in LMICs relies mainly on clinical diagnoses and verbal autopsies. Objective To […]
Health care-seeking behavior for child illnesses in western Kenya Qualitative findings from the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Study
Background Child mortality in Kenya is 41 per 1,000 live births, despite extensive investment in maternal, newborn, and child health interventions. Caregivers’ health-seeking for childhood illness is an important determinant of child survival, and delayed healthcare is associated with high child mortality. We explore determinants of health-seeking decisions for childhood illnesses among caregivers in western […]
Household Hardships and Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Shocks in Eastern Ethiopia
Background COVID-19 resulted in enormous disruption to life around the world. To quell disease spread, governments implemented lockdowns that likely created hardships for households. To improve knowledge of consequences, we examine how the pandemic period was associated with household hardships and assess factors associated with these hardships. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using quasi-Poisson […]
Initial findings from a novel population-based child mortality surveillance approach: a descriptive study
Background Sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia contributed 81% of 5·9 million under-5 deaths and 77% of 2·6 million stillbirths worldwide in 2015. Vital registration and verbal autopsy data are mainstays for the estimation of leading causes of death, but both are non-specific and focus on a single underlying cause. We aimed to provide granular data […]