Mobile Phone Survey Estimates of Perinatal Mortality in Malawi: A Comparison of Data from Truncated and Tull Pregnancy Histories

Georges Reniers, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Julio E. Romero-Prieto, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Boniface Dulani, Institute of Public Opinion and Research

Mobile Phone Surveys (MPS) offer advantages over in-person surveys in terms of cost and ease of implementation, but the methods and validity of the results are not well established. In this contribution, we use data from the Malawi Rapid Mortality Mobile Phone Survey (RaMMPS) to estimate stillbirth and perinatal mortality rates from Full Pregnancy Histories (FPH) and Truncated Pregnancy Histories (TPH). FPH estimates are in line with estimates from the Demographic and Health Survey and the UN Inter-agency Group on child Mortality Estimation (IGME). Mortality estimates derived from the TPH instrument are unrealistically high and also sensitive to the post-stratification weighting procedure. We conclude that MPS are a promising method for collecting perinatal mortality data, and particularly so via the FPH instrument.