Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSM Medical University)

Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSM Medical University) in Lucknow, India (formerly King George Medical College), is committed to the dissemination and advancement of knowledge in biomedical sciences.

The college was a collaborating member of the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium (PHMRC). The project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the Gates Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative #13 to develop technologies that permit quantitative assessment of population health status.

CSM Medical University researchers helped to implement a validated verbal autopsy study by identifying gold standard cases of deaths occurring in hospitals following a prescribed set of diagnostic criteria. Verbal autopsies were administered by interviewing family members of the deceased. This information can help create an accurate picture of causes of death in populations where vital registration systems are incomplete or nonexistent.

The data were analyzed in conjunction with data from the Philippines, Tanzania, Mexico, and the Andhra Pradesh site in India to enhance the verbal autopsy instrument and inform the development of new analysis methods. CSM Medical University researchers collaborated on the PHMRC from 2007 to the project’s conclusion in 2011.

Individual collaborators:

• Vishwajeet Kumar
• Aarti Kumar
• Ramesh Ahuja