Recommendations for use of VA and SA in humanitarian crises
| Data | Data on morbidity, mortality and social determinants collected on a timely and continuous basis during crises, in partnership with key actors and communities to effectively inform policy and programmatic responses. |
| VA | Automated VA methods further developed and adapted in accordance with the crisis setting where they are used, and with reference to guidance on international standards, to obtain valid, comparable and context-specific information. |
| SA | Methodology and questionnaires further developed, with standardisation where possible to develop or adjust interventions and help decision-making and resource allocation cognisant of social and health systems contexts of outcomes. |
| VA and/or SA in combination with other data collection methods | Integrating VA and/or SA with other methods for data collection can provide a more holistic understanding of the situation while safeguarding scarce resources. |
| Community involvement | Community involvement in the research process to develop responses tailored to specific cultural and social norms, lived realities and social injustices, enhancing appropriateness, acceptability, and ultimately effectiveness and efficiency of responses. |
| Ethical considerations | Ethical considerations of protecting research participants from harmful consequences (eg, distress from repeated interviews on deaths of relatives) and around full and informed consent to participate in the research process require particular attention. |
| Coordinated communication | Oversight of activities by a single body is important for improving coordination and synergies across agencies. Information sharing platforms to enhance communication and coordination in crisis settings and make responses more efficient. |
SA, social autopsy; VA, verbal autopsy.