?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=A+community+based+cross+sectional+study+on+feasibility+of+lay+interviewers+in+ascertaining+causes+of+adult+deaths+by+using+verbal+autopsy+in+rural+Wardha&rft.creator=Dongre%2C+AR&rft.creator=Singh%2C+A&rft.creator=Deshmukh%2C+PR&rft.creator=Garg%2C+BS&rft.subject=Online+Journal+of+Health+and+Allied+Sciences&rft.description=Background+%26+objectives%3A+1)+To+study+the+causes+of+adult+(15+years+and+above)+deaths+using+verbal+autopsy+(VA)+and+its+socio-demographic+characteristics.+2)+To+study+the+feasibility+of+use+of+the+lay+interviewer+to+ascertain+causes+of+adult+death+using+verbal+autopsy+and+a+simple+algorithm.+Methods%3A+The+present+study+was+done+in+Wardha+district%2C+Maharashtra%2C+India.+Taking+into+account+feasibility%2C+out+of+23+villages+of+Primary+Health+Centre%2C+Anji%2C+15+villages+were+chosen+having+total+population+of+14%2C590.++Out+of+273+estimated+adult+deaths+during+the+study+period%2C+209+(77%25)+could+be+traced+by+house+to+house+visit+and+a+lay+interviewer%2C+interviewed+the+close+caretakers+of+the+deceased.+Both+lay+interviewer+and+a+physician+individually+derived+their+diagnosis+using+verbal+autopsy+report+and+a+simplified+algorithm.+The+data+was+entered+and+analyzed+by+using+Epi_info+6.04.+The+inter-observer+reliability+between+the+lay+interviewer+and+a+physician+for+each+possible+diagnosis+was+assessed+by+using+the+Kappa+statistics.+Considering+the+diagnosis+made+by+a+physician+as+a+gold+standard%2C+the+diagnostic+and+predictive+accuracy+for+each+diagnosis+made+by+the+lay+interviewer+was+calculated.+Results%3A+The+communicable+diseases+accounted+for+52+percent+of+the+adult+deaths+while+non-communicable+for+32+percent+and+injuries+for+nine+percent+deaths.+The+overall+agreement+between+the+lay+interviewer+and+a+physician+for+communicable+diseases+was+found+to+be+good+(k+%3D+0.65+%2B+0.06)+and+for+non-communicable+diseases+it+was+found+to+be+excellent+(k+%3D+0.80+%2B+0.06).+The+lay+interviewer+using+VA+performed+adequately+for+individual+conditions+of+public+health+importance+like+acute+febrile+illness%2C+diarrheal+diseases%2C+tuberculosis+and+injuries.+Interpretation+%26+conclusions%3A+The+present+study+has+been+successful+to+demonstrate+feasibility+of+use+of+the+lay+interviewer+to+provide+useful+information+on+population-level+estimation+of+broad+causes+of+adult+deaths+and+its+socio-demographic+characteristics+that+are+reasonably+reliable.+The+study+suggests+the+possible+utility+of+the+method+for+rural+India%2C+where+the+majority+of+deaths+occur+at+home.+Further+research+work+on+development+of+sensitive+and+specific+yet+simple+algorithms+for+lay+interviewers+to+ascertain+causes+of+adult+deaths+is+required.&rft.publisher=Dr.+B.S.+Kakkilaya&rft.contributor=Kakkilaya%2C+Dr.+Sriivas&rft.date=2009-02-25&rft.type=Journal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6391%2F1%2F2008-4-4.pdf&rft.identifier=++Dongre%2C+AR+and+Singh%2C+A+and+Deshmukh%2C+PR+and+Garg%2C+BS++(2009)+A+community+based+cross+sectional+study+on+feasibility+of+lay+interviewers+in+ascertaining+causes+of+adult+deaths+by+using+verbal+autopsy+in+rural+Wardha.++%5BJournal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6391%2F