Cause of death information is one of the most important products of any DSS site.  DSS sites rely on verbal autopsy VA) techniques to obtain population estimates of causes of death. 

Verbal autopsy (VA) (the process of interviewing relatives or friends of a deceased person about the circumstances of a medically uncertified death, in order to arrive at a conclusion on the cause of death) has become common practice in developing country situations. It is not the same thing as certification by an attending physician, nor as a pathologist’s post mortem examination. However, particularly in settings where most deaths are not medically certified, it is an important substitute in that VA findings can provide significant insights into patterns of mortality, and so highlight public health priorities.