Tanzania Infant Illness Severity and Careseeking Data from VASA Studies

52.5 KB of data from seven Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) studies in Africa and Asia, analyzing the relationship between caregivers' perception of illness severity and formal healthcare seeking for neonates and 1–11-month-olds. The dataset, authored by Henry D. Kalter and last updated in May 2026, likely contains variables for illness signs, severity classification, and careseeking outcomes. It was used to develop a 2-sign and multiple sign method for classifying illness severity.

Use Cases

• Training classification models to identify mild, moderate, and severe infant illness based on activity level and feeding behavior.
• Analyzing demographic and illness covariates associated with formal healthcare seeking during fatal illnesses.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the 2-sign method as a practical tool for encouraging careseeking for neonates.

Strengths

• Data is derived from seven distinct VASA studies, providing a multi-country perspective.
• The analysis developed and validated a specific 2-sign method for classifying neonatal illness severity.
• The dataset is openly available under a CC-BY-4.0 license.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• The 52.5 KB file size suggests a very limited scope, likely containing summary or aggregated data rather than raw records.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the specific VASA studies conducted.

Provenance

Source

Henry D. Kalter via figshare.

Collection Method

Derived from seven Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) studies conducted in Africa and Asia.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-22 17:46:40; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Includes data from studies in Africa and Asia, with specific analysis for Tanzania and six African countries.