Although South Africa has a well-established Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system, the quality of mortality statistics obtained from the death notification forms completed by medical doctors is still suboptimal.
We sought to address the lack of training of medical students and doctors on proper certification of cause of death by developing a free online training course based on the ICD principles of identifying the underlying cause of death, and compatible with the death notification form used in South Africa.
We are happy to report that the online training tool has been completed and was recently launched: - www.deathcertification.org
How does it work?
- The platform enables self-learning on how to correctly complete a death certificate, understanding the importance of correct medical certification of cause of death, and the role of doctors in producing reliable cause of death statistics.
- Case scenarios are presented throughout the training and each module is followed with a self-assessment to consolidate the information that has been covered.
- Assessments linked to Continuing Education Units are available. The participant can register for a final assessment.
- The training is delivered on a platform that is compatible with computers, tablets and mobile phones. It includes voice-over recordings and downloadable reading materials.
- Expected to take about 90 minutes, the course can be done at own pace.
Acknowledgements
The training programme arose from the South South African National Cause-of-Death Validation Project, supported in part by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the terms of Cooperative Agreement SAMRC-CDC CoAG 1U2GGH01150. It has also been supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative through the CDC Foundation Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Project, and the South African Medical Research Council. The platform development has been done by the Centre for Community Technologies at Nelson Mandela University.