[Evaluation of procedures for identifying maternal deaths]

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Demography

Background:

• Maternal mortality surveillance in Pernambuco State, Brazil, faced challenges including low data coverage, poor data quality, and inadequate data collection instruments.
• Existing surveillance systems struggled to accurately identify maternal deaths among all female deaths.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a new data collection instrument for maternal mortality surveillance.
• To assess the effectiveness of the RAMOS method combined with a new questionnaire in improving the identification of maternal deaths.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Confidential Form for Reporting Deaths of Reproductive-Age Women.
• Application of the RAMOS (Reproductive Age Mortality Studies) method with the new questionnaire in Camaragibe, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Comparison of data collected using the new method against municipal epidemiological surveillance and death certificate systems.

Main Results:

• The RAMOS method, utilizing the new questionnaire, demonstrated superior recording of socio-demographic and female mortality variables.
• The enhanced method showed improvement compared to traditional maternal mortality surveillance and the death certificate system.
• The study identified specific areas for improvement in maternal death ascertainment.

Conclusions:

• The developed Confidential Form for Reporting Deaths of Reproductive-Age Women, when used with the RAMOS method, significantly improves maternal mortality surveillance.
• There is a clear need to integrate the RAMOS method and the new instrument into the study area's surveillance practices.
• Enhanced data collection is essential for accurate monitoring and reduction of maternal mortality.