TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - Causes of stillbirth, neonatal death and early childhood death in rural Zambia by verbal autopsy assessments
JO  - Tropical medicine and international health
A1  - Turnbull, Eleanor
A1  - Lembalemba, Mwila K.
A1  - Guffey, M. Brad
A1  - Bolton-Moore, Carolyn
A1  - Mubiana-Mbewe, Mwangelwa
A1  - Chintu, Namwinga
A1  - Giganti, Mark J.
A1  - Nalubamba-Phiri, Mutinta
A1  - Stringer, Elizabeth M.
A1  - Stringer, Jeffrey S. A.
A1  - Chi, Benjamin H.
SP  - 894
EP  - 901
VL  - 16
IS  - 7
N2  - Objectives  To describe specific causes of the high rates of stillbirth, neonatal death and early child childhood death in Zambia. Methods  We conducted a household-based survey in rural Zambia. Socio-demographic and delivery characteristics were recorded, alongside a maternal HIV test. Verbal autopsy questionnaires were administered to elicit mortality-related information and independently reviewed by three experienced paediatricians who assigned a cause and contributing factor to death. For this secondary analysis, deaths were categorized into: stillbirths (foetal death ≥28 weeks of gestation), neonatal deaths (≤28 days) and early childhood deaths (>28 days to <2 years). Results  Among 1679 households, information was collected on 148 deaths: 34% stillbirths, 26% neonatal and 40% early childhood deaths. Leading identifiable causes of stillbirth were intrauterine infection (26%) and birth asphyxia (18%). Of 32 neonatal deaths, 38 (84%) occurred within the first week of life, primarily because of infections (37%) and prematurity (34%). The majority of early childhood deaths were caused by suspected bacterial infections (82%). HIV prevalence was significantly higher in mothers who reported an early childhood death (44%) than mothers who did not (17%; P < 0.01). Factors significantly associated with mortality were lower socio-economic status (P < 0.01), inadequate water or sanitation facilities (P < 0.01), home delivery (P = 0.04) and absence of a trained delivery attendant (P < 0.01). Conclusion  We provide community-level data about the causes of death among children under 2 years of age. Infectious etiologies for mortality ranked highest. At a public health level, such information may have an important role in guiding prevention and treatment strategies to address perinatal and early childhood mortality.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1360-2276
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2011.02776.x
ID  - ref1
ER  -