Death is one of the core vital events documented by DSS sites. Death reporting involves use of key informants who observe and record any death occurring in the study area. This information is then passed to a DSS VA Supervisor (or enumerator who informs the VA Supervision). The VA Supervisor visits the household in which death has been reported within two weeks and contacts the data centre for verification of the event. If the information is verified the VA Supervisor then administers a verbal autopsy to one of the deceased’s relative for all reported deaths. DSS sites use trained medical personnel or lay people to conduct VA interviews. Cause of death from the VA questionnaires is reached by using usually two physicians who independently code the verbal autopsy forms using the WHO ICD classification of causes of diseases.

The Field Manager of a DSS in collaboration with the Data Manager ensures that VAs are conducted in an appropriate manner. To ensure that all deaths have had their VAs conducted, the data centre generates a list of deaths. This list is then compared to the number of VAs conducted. In case there is an inconsistency the list of death is given to the Field Manager who consults the VA Supervisors for verification. Usually VA supervisors have weekly meetings where challenges or issues facing death monitoring are raised, and solutions agreed upon are taken collectively. In each month, each of the VA Supervisors has to prepare a report of death reported and VAs conducted. The Field Manager verifies this report. Periodically the Field Manager, visits households were death has happened to determine whether a VA was conducted. In order to ascertain whether the Supervisors really do the VAs, an external evaluator visits a sample of selected households where a death happened, and conducts VAs. Discrepancies noted are eventually discussed to the Field Manager and VA Supervisors.