Perinatal mortality remains one of the most severe blind spots in global maternal health: between 45 and 50 percent of perinatal deaths in low-income countries go unmeasured due to inadequate vital registration systems. This measurement gap prevents accurate assessment of maternal and newborn health crises and hinders evidence-based policy decisions.
A new validation study from Bangladesh offers a solution. Researchers demonstrated that mobile phone-administered pregnancy history interviews can reliably capture perinatal mortality data with 82% accuracy and 88% response completeness—while costing 65% less than traditional in-person surveys. The method proved accessible to 79% of rural participants, demonstrating feasibility even in remote, resource-constrained settings.
This breakthrough suggests that mobile technology can help countries close the data gap and obtain the perinatal mortality estimates needed to advance maternal and newborn health initiatives. By transforming how data is collected, phone-based surveys offer a pathway toward more complete, timely global health monitoring.
Read the full article on GMJ Newsroom.
Was this article helpful?
