Key Resources
Note: Resources will be periodically updated as new content is made available. Page last updated on Oct 25 2018 11:39:16 (EST)From job aids, to key studies, to online courses, below are key resources to learn about implementing MITS.
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MITS Annual Meeting 2020
Cause of Death
Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe) Diagnosis standards; Guidance for standardized interpretation of CHAMPS data Version 2
Created in 2017 by the Child Health And Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network, this protocol provides guidance for diagnosis standards for assigning cause of death in children including assigning levels of certainty and linking each diagnosis with ICD-10 codes.
Validity of a minimally invasive autopsy tool for cause of death determination in pediatric deaths in Mozambique: An observational study
Published in 2017 as part of the CaDMIA project, this observational study describes minimally invasive autopsy and concordance rates in determining cause of death compared with conventional autopsy in pediatric deaths in Mozambique.
Validity of a minimally invasive autopsy tool for cause of death determination in maternal deaths in Mozambique: An observational study
Published in 2017 as part of the CaDMIA project, this observational study describes minimally invasive autopsy and concordance rates in determining cause of death compared with conventional autopsy in maternal deaths in Mozambique.
Validity of a minimally invasive autopsy tool for cause of death determination in stillborn babies and neonates in Mozambique: An observational study
Published in 2017 as part of the CaDMIA project, this observational study describes minimally invasive autopsy and concordance rates in determining cause of death compared with conventional autopsy in stillborn and neonatal deaths in Mozambique.
Course on Death Certification
This online self-study module by the WHO provides instruction and guidance for completing the international certificate of cause of death.
ICD-11 Reference Guide
The ICD-11 Reference guide contains information about the design and use of ICD-11 including basic and advanced coding for mortality and standards and definitions for reporting.
University of Melbourne Handbook for physicians on cause of death certification
This handbook includes generic guidelines for certifying cause of death, particularly in LMICs.
WHO ICD-11 Training Package
This series of asynchronous training modules offers guidance for using the ICD-11 coding tool and browser, completing the international form of certificate cause of death, rules for coding mortality and morbidity and information related to each chapter of ICD-11.
WHO Cause of Death Quick Reference Guide
A quick reference guide by the WHO on how to fill in the medical certificate of cause of death. It includes a step by step approach and the frequently used ill-defined terms.
Verbal Autopsy
In 2022 the WHO released a revised Verbal Autopsy Instrument. The revised instrument and all supporting materials can be found on the WHO VA standards website. Supporting materials include:
Verbal autopsy standards: The 2022 WHO verbal autopsy instrument
A manual to support implementation of the revised 2022 instrument.
Verbal autopsy field interviewer manual 2022
To assist interviewers using the electronic version of the VA instrument.
2022 WHO verbal autopsy instrument
Paper forms for training and data managers.
ODK for VA Quick Guide
For installing and configuring components of ODK for electronic data capture.
Pathology/Microbiology
Infectious cause of death determination using minimally invasive autopsies in developing countries
Published in 2016 by the CaDMIA project, this manuscript describes the pathological procedures including histological and microbiological analysis conducted as part of a minimally invasive autopsy.
Pathological Methods Applied to the Investigation of Causes of Death in Developing Countries: Minimally Invasive Autopsy Approach
Published in 2015 by the CaDMIA project, this manuscript describes the procedure for the collection of bodily fluids and tissue samples as part of a minimally invasive autopsy.
CHAMPS MITS Specimen Collection SOP v2.0
The CHAMPS Network has released an updated version of the Standard Operating Procedures for MITS sample collection across the CHAMPS Network. This version includes revised guidance for specimens in stillbirths and placentas.
Social Behavioral Sciences
Assessment of community perceptions and the feasibility of conducting child mortality and pregnancy surveillance
Created by the Child Health And Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network this protocol describes the methods and outcomes used in this formative research to evaluate the cultural, social, religious and geographical factors affecting the feasibility of conducting MITS in children under 5 years.