The use of epidemiological tools in conflict-affected populations: open-access educational resources for policy-makers

Table of Contents

1. Welcome
2. Introduction: Epidemiology in crises
3. Ethical issues in data collection
4. Need for epidemiologic competence
5. Surveys - Introduction
6. Surveys - Description of sampling methods
7. Surveys - Sampling error, bias, accuracy, precision, & sample size
8. Surveys - Resources required for surveys
9. Surveys - Critiquing survey reports
10. Surveillance - When to do surveillance
11. Surveillance - Methods
12. Surveillance - Common problems
13. Programme data
14. Rapid assessment
15. Mortality - Indicators and their measurement
16. Mortality - Data sources
17. Mortality - Interpretation and action
18. Nutrition - Introduction and background
19. Nutrition - Indicators and their measurement
20. Nutrition - Data sources
21. Nutrition - Interpretation and action
22. Health services
23. Vaccination programmes
24. Water supply, sanitation, and shelter
25. Violence
26. Presentation of results
    1. Mortality indicators
    2. Morbidity indicators
    3. Nutrition indicators
    4. Vaccination indicators
    5. Other indicators
27. Formulating conclusions and recommendations
28. Dissemination and action

Mortality indicators

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The point estimate for the crude mortality rate and age-specific mortality rates when measured using surveys are usually presented with confidence intervals. Moreover, the rates themselves should always contain the population constant and time period. You cannot cite a mortality rate as just a number (for example, 2.3); this is as meaningless as giving the weight of something without the unit of weight (for example, it weighs 19). In addition, the presentation should include the time to which the estimate is applicable.

Prospective death surveillance allows you to follow trends in mortality over time. The best way to display such data are in a graph of mortality incidence rates.

Mortality can also be presented as the number of excess deaths caused by the emergency (see section Number of excess deaths for more information). As with any important estimate from a survey, this point estimate should also be presented with confidence intervals.

Cause of death is usually presented as the proportion of all deaths ascribed to each cause. The total of all the proportions should equal 100%. The presentation can be in the form of a table or pie chart. See section Measurement of causes of death in surveys for a discussion of important caveats regarding the measurement of causes of death in surveys.