IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v71y2010i10p1728-1738.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A lost cause? Extending verbal autopsy to investigate biomedical and socio-cultural causes of maternal death in Burkina Faso and Indonesia

Author

Listed:
  • D'Ambruoso, Lucia
  • Byass, Peter
  • Qomariyah, Siti Nurul
  • Ouédraogo, Moctar

Abstract

Maternal mortality in developing countries is characterised by disadvantage and exclusion. Women who die whilst pregnant are typically poor and live in low-income and rural settings where access to quality care is constrained and where deaths, within and outside hospitals, often go unrecorded and unexamined. Verbal autopsy (VA) is an established method of determining cause(s) of death for people who die outside health facilities or without proper registration. This study extended VA to investigate socio-cultural factors relevant to outcomes. Interviews were conducted with relatives of 104 women who died during pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum in two rural districts in Indonesia and for 70 women in a rural district in Burkina Faso. Information was collected on medical signs and symptoms of the women prior to death and an extended section collected accounts of care pathways and opinions on preventability and cause of death. Illustrative quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed and the implications for health surveillance and planning were considered. The cause of death profiles were similar in both settings with infectious diseases, haemorrhage and malaria accounting for half the deaths. In both settings, delays in seeking, reaching and receiving care were reported by more than two-thirds of respondents. Relatives also provided information on their experiences of the emergencies revealing culturally-derived systems of explanation, causation and behaviour. Comparison of the qualitative and quantitative results suggested that the quantified delays may have been underestimated. The analysis suggests that broader empirical frameworks can inform more complete health planning by situating medical conditions within the socio-economic and cultural landscapes in which healthcare is situated and sought. Utilising local knowledge, extended VA has potential to inform the relative prioritisation of interventions that improve technical aspects of life-saving services with those that address the conditions that underlie health, for those whom services typically fail to reach.

Suggested Citation

  • D'Ambruoso, Lucia & Byass, Peter & Qomariyah, Siti Nurul & Ouédraogo, Moctar, 2010. "A lost cause? Extending verbal autopsy to investigate biomedical and socio-cultural causes of maternal death in Burkina Faso and Indonesia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(10), pages 1728-1738, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:10:p:1728-1738
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(10)00422-3
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Bank, 2006. "Making the New Indonesia Work for the Poor," World Bank Publications - Reports 8172, The World Bank Group.
    2. Thaddeus, Sereen & Maine, Deborah, 1994. "Too far to walk: Maternal mortality in context," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 1091-1110, April.
    3. Nikièma, Béatrice & Haddad, Slim & Potvin, Louise, 2008. "Women Bargaining to Seek Healthcare: Norms, Domestic Practices, and Implications in Rural Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 608-624, April.
    4. Tim Ensor & Mardiati Nadjib & Zahid Quayyum & Amila Megraini, 2008. "Public funding for community-based skilled delivery care in Indonesia: to what extent are the poor benefiting?," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 9(4), pages 385-392, November.
    5. Peter Byass, 2007. "Who Needs Cause-of-Death Data?," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(11), pages 1-2, November.
    6. Kristiansen, Stein & Santoso, Purwo, 2006. "Surviving decentralisation?: Impacts of regional autonomy on health service provision in Indonesia," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 247-259, August.
    7. Allotey, Pascale & Reidpath, Daniel, 2001. "Establishing the causes of childhood mortality in Ghana: the 'spirit child'," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(7), pages 1007-1012, April.
    8. Sibley, Lynn & Sipe, Theresa Ann & Koblinsky, Marge, 2004. "Does traditional birth attendant training improve referral of women with obstetric complications: a review of the evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(8), pages 1757-1768, October.
    9. Storeng, Katerini Tagmatarchi & Baggaley, Rebecca F. & Ganaba, Rasmané & Ouattara, Fatoumata & Akoum, Mélanie S. & Filippi, Véronique, 2008. "Paying the price: The cost and consequences of emergency obstetric care in Burkina Faso," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 545-557, February.
    10. Lynn P Freedman, 2005. "Achieving the MDGs: Health systems as core social institutions," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 48(1), pages 19-24, March.
    11. Jeremy Shiffman & Ana Lucía Garcés del Valle, 2006. "Political History and Disparities in Safe Motherhood Between Guatemala and Honduras," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 32(1), pages 53-80, March.
    12. Nelson, Paul J., 2007. "Human Rights, the Millennium Development Goals, and the Future of Development Cooperation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2041-2055, December.
    13. Barnes-Josiah, Debora & Myntti, Cynthia & Augustin, Antoine, 1998. "The "three delays" as a framework for examining maternal mortality in Haiti," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 981-993, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Peter Winskill & Aggrey Dhabangi & Titus K. Kwambai & Amani Thomas Mori & Andria Mousa & Lucy C. Okell, 2023. "Estimating the burden of severe malarial anaemia and access to hospital care in East Africa," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, December.
    2. Gouda, Hebe N. & Flaxman, Abraham D. & Brolan, Claire E. & Joshi, Rohina & Riley, Ian D. & AbouZahr, Carla & Firth, Sonja & Rampatige, Rasika & Lopez, Alan D., 2017. "New challenges for verbal autopsy: Considering the ethical and social implications of verbal autopsy methods in routine health information systems," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 65-74.
    3. Reid, Alice & Garrett, Eilidh, 2018. "Medical provision and urban-rural differences in maternal mortality in late nineteenth century Scotland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 35-43.
    4. Gouda, H.N. & Kelly-Hanku, A. & Wilson, L. & Maraga, S. & Riley, I.D., 2016. "“Whenever they cry, I cry with them”: Reciprocal relationships and the role of ethics in a verbal autopsy study in Papua New Guinea," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 1-9.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gayen, Kaberi & Raeside, Robert, 2007. "Social networks, normative influence and health delivery in rural Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(5), pages 900-914, September.
    2. Benjamin M Hunter & Sean Harrison & Anayda Portela & Debra Bick, 2017. "The effects of cash transfers and vouchers on the use and quality of maternity care services: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(3), pages 1-37, March.
    3. Hirose, Atsumi & Borchert, Matthias & Niksear, Homa & Alkozai, Ahmad Shah & Cox, Jonathan & Gardiner, Julian & Osmani, Khadija Ruina & Filippi, Véronique, 2011. "Difficulties leaving home: A cross-sectional study of delays in seeking emergency obstetric care in Herat, Afghanistan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(7), pages 1003-1013.
    4. Cook, Cynthia T., 2002. "The effects of skilled health attendants on reducing maternal deaths in developing countries: testing the medical model," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 107-116, May.
    5. Kyi Mar Wai & Akira Shibanuma & Nwe Nwe Oo & Toki Jennifer Fillman & Yu Mon Saw & Masamine Jimba, 2015. "Are Husbands Involving in Their Spouses’ Utilization of Maternal Care Services?: A Cross-Sectional Study in Yangon, Myanmar," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-13, December.
    6. David M Goodman & Rohit Ramaswamy & Marc Jeuland & Emmanuel K Srofenyoh & Cyril M Engmann & Adeyemi J Olufolabi & Medge D Owen, 2017. "The cost effectiveness of a quality improvement program to reduce maternal and fetal mortality in a regional referral hospital in Accra, Ghana," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Gouda, Hebe N. & Flaxman, Abraham D. & Brolan, Claire E. & Joshi, Rohina & Riley, Ian D. & AbouZahr, Carla & Firth, Sonja & Rampatige, Rasika & Lopez, Alan D., 2017. "New challenges for verbal autopsy: Considering the ethical and social implications of verbal autopsy methods in routine health information systems," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 65-74.
    8. Lila C. Fleming & Rashid Ansumana & Alfred S. Bockarie & Joel D. Alejandre & Karen K. Owen & Umaru Bangura & David H. Jimmy & Kevin M. Curtin & David A. Stenger & Kathryn H. Jacobsen, 2016. "Health-care availability, preference, and distance for women in urban Bo, Sierra Leone," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(9), pages 1079-1088, December.
    9. Shankar Prinja & Pankaj Bahuguna & P V M Lakshmi & Tushar Mokashi & Arun Kumar Aggarwal & Manmeet Kaur & K Rahul Reddy & Rajesh Kumar, 2014. "Evaluation of Publicly Financed and Privately Delivered Model of Emergency Referral Services for Maternal and Child Health Care in India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-11, October.
    10. Summer, Anna & Guendelman, Sylvia & Kestler, Edgar & Walker, Dilys, 2017. "Professional midwifery in Guatemala: A qualitative exploration of perceptions, attitudes and expectations among stakeholders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 99-107.
    11. Hartono, Djoni & Resosudarmo, Budy P., 2008. "The economy-wide impact of controlling energy consumption in Indonesia: An analysis using a Social Accounting Matrix framework," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1404-1419, April.
    12. Lídia Farré, 2013. "The Role of Men in the Economic and Social Development of Women: Implications for Gender Equality," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 22-51, February.
    13. Kusuma, Dian & Cohen, Jessica & McConnell, Margaret & Berman, Peter, 2016. "Can cash transfers improve determinants of maternal mortality? Evidence from the household and community programs in Indonesia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 10-20.
    14. Melberg, Andrea & Diallo, Abdoulaye Hama & Storeng, Katerini T. & Tylleskär, Thorkild & Moland, Karen Marie, 2018. "Policy, paperwork and ‘postographs’: Global indicators and maternity care documentation in rural Burkina Faso," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 28-35.
    15. Murawski, Lisa & Church, Richard L., 2009. "Improving accessibility to rural health services: The maximal covering network improvement problem," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 102-110, June.
    16. Chelsea R. Miller & Kaylee B. Crockett & Karen L. Cropsey & Jamie M. Gajos, 2024. "The association between criminal legal attitudes and healthcare utilization among adolescents: differences by gender and race," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-4, December.
    17. Sushma Rajbanshi & Mohd Noor Norhayati & Nik Hussain Nik Hazlina, 2021. "Perceptions of Good-Quality Antenatal Care and Birthing Services among Postpartum Women in Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-13, June.
    18. Graw, Valerie & Husmann, Christine Ladenburger, 2012. "Mapping Marginality Hotspots – Geographical Targeting for Poverty Reduction," Working Papers 147917, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    19. World Bank, 2012. "Cameroon : Social Safety Nets," World Bank Publications - Reports 11912, The World Bank Group.
    20. Oier Imaz & Andoni Eizagirre, 2020. "Responsible Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals in Business: An Agenda for Cooperative Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:10:p:1728-1738. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.