A prospective key informant surveillance system to measure maternal mortality – findings from indigenous populations in Jharkhand and Orissa, India

2008

Measuring Maternal Mortality in Indigenous Populations in India

Sample size: 13602 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Barnett Sarah, Nair Nirmala, Tripathy Prasanta, Borghi Jo, Rath Suchitra, Costello Anthony

Primary Institution: UCL Centre for International Health and Development, Institute of Child Health, University College London

Can a key informant surveillance system effectively measure maternal mortality in remote populations with poor vital registration?

The key informant surveillance system produced high, plausible birth and death rates in a remote population in India.

13,602 births were identified with a crude birth rate of 28.2 per 1000 population.
A maternal mortality ratio of 722 per 100,000 live births was recorded.
29% of deaths to women aged 15-49 were classified as maternal deaths.

This study shows a new way to track how many mothers die during childbirth in hard-to-reach areas, helping to improve care for them.

Key informants identified all births and deaths to women of reproductive age over 110 weeks, with follow-up interviews to classify maternal deaths.

Potential for intentional misclassification of maternal deaths and underreporting due to migration.

Some maternal deaths may be misclassified, and the sample size, while large, may not be sufficient for precise measurement.

The study involved a population of 228,186, predominantly indigenous people (73%) in remote areas.

591–882

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