Community Acceptance and Willingness to Participate in Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) in Bauchi, Nigeria; A Cross Sectional Study

Le résumé fourni par la source

Background: Verbal and Social Autopsy(VASA) is a meticulously conceptualized framework established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to systematically document and determine the predominant causes of mortality within a given community, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where the majority of deaths occur outside of hospital settings. This study aims to determine acceptance and willingness to participate in verbal and social autopsy in selected communities of Bauchi, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between June and December 2024 with 289 adult residents of selected communities in the Bauchi Local Government Area (LGA) of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Participants were enrolled using multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS (version 23). Results: A total of 289 participants were interviewed. The mean age of the respondents was 39 and a standard deviation of 9.6. A significant proportion of the participants are married (78. 2%), the majority are Hausa-speaking (34. 6%) and are males (64. 0%), business owners (31. 5%) and have a tertiary level of education (56.4%). The findings indicated a high proportion of poor knowledge (87.2% ), although 67.5% expressed willingness to accept and participate in VASA. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, sex, occupation, educational attainment and monthly income serve as predictors of knowledge, while marital status, educational attainment, occupation and monthly income are significant predictors of willingness to accept and participate in VASA. Conclusion: This study explored community acceptance and participation in verbal and social autopsy processes in selected communities within Bauchi town. Although the study indicates a willingness to embrace VASA, a significant deficiency was observed in understanding VASA. The study underscores the need for targeted educational interventions to improve community understanding and acceptance of verbal and social autopsy processes in Bauchi, as well as the need for continuous operational research to explore evolving community perceptions, assess the effectiveness of current engagement strategies, and identify innovative approaches to improve participation in VASA.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.