Chandigarh, Oct 6 (IANS) Haryana government will pilot an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-funded Verbal Autopsy project in Rohtak district to strengthen the availability and quality of information on causes of death, Additional Chief Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Sumita Misra said on Tuesday.
Rohtak has been selected as the pilot district under an AIIMS, New Delhi-led initiative being implemented in collaboration with the state Health Department.
The project is aimed at generating more systematic cause-of-death information to support health planning and public health decision-making.
Misra said the project will cover approximately 5,000 deaths during its implementation period.
Under the initiative, designated health-system personnel will identify eligible deaths and conduct Verbal Autopsy interviews through a prescribed mobile-based application.
The information collected during the interviews will subsequently be reviewed by a medical officer, who will assign the cause of death according to the prescribed process.
The initiative is intended to supplement routine death reporting by providing information on the circumstances and likely causes of death.
More reliable cause-of-death data can help health authorities understand mortality patterns at the district level and facilitate evidence-based planning and prioritisation of public health interventions.
The project is part of the AIIMS-led ICMR initiative titled, “Implementation and Scaling Up of a Model to Achieve Universal Coverage with Physician-Ascertained Cause of Death at the District Level in India”.
The implementation period is approximately eight months and will be undertaken through the existing health system in coordination with the Rohtak district health administration.
Community Health Officers and Medical Officers will be involved in the exercise.
Under the project, an honorarium of Rs 100 per completed Verbal Autopsy has been earmarked for the Community Health Officer and Rs 100 for the Medical Officer for reviewing the information and assigning the cause of death.
A digital workflow will be followed under the project, with Verbal Autopsy interviews conducted through the prescribed mobile application.
Personnel involved in the exercise will be provided training on the methodology and digital process.
The initiative also seeks to strengthen the capacity of the health workforce in documenting and reporting cause-of-death information.
–IANS
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