Do Mobile Phone Surveys Supplement Other Mortality Surveillance Methods? Results From a National Study in Bangladesh

OBJECTIVES: To test whether mobile phone surveys conducted remotely might generate data on deaths that are not covered by mortality surveillance systems established in laboratories and health facilities, or in institutions involved in the post-mortem management of corpses (e.g., morgues, cemeteries). METHODS: We conducted a national survey of mobile phone users in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents were asked to list the deaths that had occurred in their household in recent years. For each death, they were also asked to indicate whether the deceased had been diagnosed with COVID-19 prior to death, whether the death occurred at home or at a health facility, and where the burial took place. Using these data, we represented the overlap between data generated…