Malawi Minimal Neonatal Dataset on Illness Severity and Care-Seeking

A dataset derived from seven verbal and social autopsy studies in Africa and Asia, analyzing the relationship between caregivers' perception of neonatal illness severity and formal healthcare-seeking behavior. The dataset includes a 2-sign method based on activity level and feeding behavior to classify mild, moderate, and severe illnesses. It was authored by Henry D. Kalter and last updated on May 22, 2026.

Use Cases

• Classifying neonatal illness severity based on the described 2-sign method (activity level and feeding behavior).
• Analyzing covariates associated with formal healthcare-seeking for severely ill children, as mentioned in the multivariate analysis.
• Comparing careseeking patterns for infectious versus intrapartum- or prematurity-related neonatal conditions across different countries.
• Developing behavior change messages to encourage careseeking for moderate illness signs in neonates.

Strengths

• Data is derived from seven distinct verbal and social autopsy studies, providing a multi-study foundation.
• Includes a validated 2-sign method for classifying illness severity in neonates.
• Multivariate analysis results, such as odds ratios and confidence intervals, are reported in the description.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The dataset is very small at 86.4 KB, indicating limited scope or aggregated summary data.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Aggregated from seven verbal and social autopsy (VASA) studies conducted in Africa and Asia.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-22 17:46:35; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Includes data from studies in Africa and Asia, with specific focus on Malawi.