IJCM_213A: Feasibility and acceptability of different rapid methods for estimation of potentially missed mortality events during COVID-19 pandemic time in West Bengal

Background: During the surge of COVID-19 pandemic, the mechanism of reporting and documentation of deaths was inadequate. It is crucial to establish the mechanism for measuring the actual events of COVID-19 and associated mortalities as well during this pandemic situation. This is the first instance of application of different rapid methods for death estimation during the pandemic situation. If found to be valid, these methods may be useful for other countries with limited resources and less developed death registration system. Objective: To find out the feasibility, acceptability of different rapid method for estimating the cause of deaths among the general population & healthcare workers and also to estimate the number of deaths among allopathic doctors. Methodology: The study was conducted from September 2022 to October 2023. Target population being adult deceased person between 1st April 2020 to 30th November 2022 among general population, health care worker and allopathic doctor. For the general population, the study was conducted in one urban municipal area and two sub-centres of Habra Block I under North 24 Parganas district with WHO Verbal Autopsy (VA) tool for adult. Complete enumeration with snowballing, compartmental and capture-recapture method was adopted for general population, health care worker and allopathic doctor respectively. Results: Overall, 300 VA could be performed (121 urban & 179 rural) among general population. There were challenges related to both feasibility & acceptability in terms of data access, permission and cooperation. Research team employed a combination of persistence, local collaboration, and strategic decision-making to successfully collect data. Acceptability was more in rural area. Total number of deceased doctors was estimated to be 246 from two different lists. Conclusion: Rapid methods may be employed as a part of response systems during pandemic or any future disasters if adequate governmental support and assistance is obtained along with aid from the local people.