A Qualitative Inquiry into the Application of Verbal Autopsy for a Mortality Surveillance System in a Rural Community of Southern India

The aim of this investigation was to identify operational and ethical issues encountered in the application of verbal autopsy (VA) in a rural community in south India. A qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews was conducted with 183 bereaved caregivers in rural Andhra Pradesh, India. Simple descriptive analysis was undertaken. Only 16% of adult deaths and 27% of child deaths occurred in healthcare settings. Healthcare utilization for the terminal illness was reported in two thirds of medical (non-injury) causes of death. Supporting medical evidence was available in <10% of cases to supplement the interpretation of verbal autopsies. About 14% of bereaved caregivers refused to give written consent but provided oral consent. Additional ethical concerns included inability to ensure privacy in 15% of interviews and unsolicited information from unauthorized neighbours in 5% of cases. Such methodological, logistical and ethical issues operate to impact on the quality of VAs. Consideration of these issues would strengthen ongoing efforts in the harmonization of VA procedures.