Accurate cause of death (COD) information is fundamental to good public health practice. The principal sources of information are medical certificates of COD for deaths in hospitals and verbal autopsies for non-hospital deaths. A verbal autopsy (VA) is a process whereby relatives of the deceased respond to questions about the medical history and terminal illness of the decedent (i.e. the illness that led directly to death). These two sources of COD data are complementary.

The purpose of this technical user guide is to provide guidelines for the collection of verbal autopsy (VA) data using an electronic, shortened VA questionnaire; the use of tablets and the Open Data Kit (ODK) for data management; and for the ascertainment of cause of death (COD) using SmartVA Analyze (Tariff).

This manual provides guidance for training on all aspects of conducting verbal autopsy (VA) using electronic collection methods. It covers the importance of VA for assigning cause of death for community deaths, the roles and responsibilities of VA interviewers and supervisors, ethics and sensitivity in conducting a VA interview, detailed review of the questions included in the four modules of the SmartVA questionnaire, and how to collect information using a tablet.

This manual is intended to provide verbal autopsy (VA)1 interviewers with the information needed to conduct interviews systematically, to ensure the information collected is reliable and valid. It
provides a complete description of the roles and responsibilities of the interviewers for conducting VAs in routine surveillance. This manual is also designed to show how to conduct an interview with

As part of the CRVS D4H Initiative, Sri Lanka is focused on improving the quality of mortality statistics. Through four prioritised interventions, CRVSsystem performance will be enhanced, leading to a significant shift in the quality of vital statistics.

Six interventions have been developed in the Solomon Islands to advance system performance by focusing on unmet objectives from the National CRVS Improvement Plan. These interventions will help advance a system that operates according to international best practice.

As part of their commitment to introduce systemic improvements in a phased and scalable manner, Rwanda will implement two interventions as part of the CRVS D4H Initiative: improving notification and registration, and implementing verbal autopsy for community deaths. These interventions will contribute to the achievement of key objectives for the government.

In line with their strong commitment to improving civil registration and vital statistics, the Philippines has identified six interventions to improve system performance, with a focus on improving mortality statistics and strengthening staff capacity.

As part of the CRVS D4H Initiative, Myanmar aims to increase the registration of deaths, improve the quality of cause of death data, and enhance understanding of the importance of civil registration. Combined, these activities will help to produce high-quality evidence for policy and planning.

Mortality coding involves transforming information on death certificates into alpha-numeric codes. This allows for the tabulation and aggregation of mortality statistics for monitoring population health. As part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiative, countries will be provided with guidance and advice on how to implement or improve mortality coding according to ICD-10 coding rules.