Getting Started
What is DigitVA?
DigitVA is a modern public health platform designed to help health systems record, understand, and address causes of death in the community through Verbal Autopsy (VA). When someone dies at home or outside a hospital, a trained health worker visits the family to record the illness timeline and symptoms using the World Health Organization (WHO) verbal autopsy questionnaire. Doctors then evaluate the narrative and symptoms to assign an authoritative medical cause of death (ICD-10 or ICD-11).
DigitVA connects every member of the health system — from ASHAs and ANMs in villages, to Community Health Officers (CHOs) and Staff Nurses at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, Medical Officers at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs), District Programme Managers (DPMs), Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), and Medical College Mentors — into a single, cohesive workflow.
The 5-Stage Process Pipeline
Every death in DigitVA moves through 5 clear, structured stages:
Stage 1: Death Register
Recording a newly reported death in the village, sub-centre, or facility by an ANM, MPW, ASHA, or Interviewer. Captures essential details like name, date of death, age, and informant contact.
Stage 2: Family Interview
Visiting the bereaved family and completing the WHO Verbal Autopsy questionnaire on the mobile app or web by a Community Health Officer (CHO), Staff Nurse, or trained Interviewer.
Stage 3: Medical Coding
A Medical Officer (MO) or Medical College Mentor reviews the illness story, clinical records, and symptom answers to assign the authoritative WHO ICD cause of death.
Stage 4: Independent Review
A Senior Medical Officer (SMO) or Medical College Faculty Reviewer independently assesses a quality-assurance sample of cases once the original coder's 24-hour correction window has closed.
Stage 5: Summary Reports
Facility In-charges, District Programme Managers (DPM), Epidemiologists, and State Project Leads view real-time progress counts, mortality trends, and cause-of-death breakdowns for their area.
Configurable Project Workflows (Plain English)
Different states and research studies run with tailored settings. DigitVA adapts smoothly to your project's rules:
- Mandatory vs. Optional Death Register: In some projects, every death must first be logged in the Death Register (by an ANM or ASHA) before an interviewer can visit the family. In other projects, an interviewer can start the verbal autopsy questionnaire directly during a household visit.
- Self-Coding directly after interview: When configured by an administrator, a Medical Officer conducting a field interview can choose to code the cause of death immediately upon completing the interview, eliminating delay.
- Pick-and-Choose vs. Automatic Random Allocation: Projects can either allow doctors to pick specific eligible cases from their area queue, or automatically assign the next random case to distribute workload evenly and prevent selection bias.
- "Within Area" vs. "All" Scope: Almost all district and facility staff have a "Within Area" scope (e.g. Within Area: Ballabgarh CHC or Within Area: District Rohtak). This means you only see and work on deaths belonging to your assigned health facility and the sub-centres or villages under it. State nodal officers and system administrators have an "All" scope covering the entire project.
What You See After Login
When you sign in, DigitVA opens your personal workspace based on your assigned role and facility:
| Your Health System Role | Landing Screen | What You See & Can Do |
|---|---|---|
| Death Reporter (ANM, MPW, ASHA) |
Report a Death / My Registered Deaths |
Register newly reported deaths in your village or sub-centre; view and update your registered death list until an interviewer completes the family visit.
Read Data Collection Guide → |
| Interviewer (CHO, Staff Nurse, Field Worker) |
Collection Worklist (/collection) |
View assigned deaths in your area; start or resume WHO Verbal Autopsy questionnaires; save in-progress drafts; submit completed family interviews.
Read Data Collection Guide → |
| Interview Supervisor (CHC SMO, PHC MO, Field Supervisor) |
Intake Supervision (/supervision) |
Monitor field visits in your facility area; review flagged interviews, address family refusals, reopen cases for correction, and mark duplicates.
Read User Roles Guide → |
| Coder (PHC/CHC Medical Officer, Resident Doctor) |
Coding Queue (/coding) |
Review family narratives and symptom responses; use WHO ICD-10 or ICD-11 coding tools; save Step 1 assessment and confirm final cause of death; recode within 24 hours.
Read Coding Workflow Guide → |
| Reviewer (Senior MO, Medical College Faculty) |
Reviewer Queue (/reviewing) |
Independently evaluate a sample of finalized cases for clinical quality assurance once the coder's 24-hour correction window closes.
Read Coding Workflow Guide → |
| Mentoring Staff & College Admin (Medical College Faculty, Residents, Nodal Officer) |
Mentoring Portal (/app/mentoring) |
View supported districts and assigned mentoring roles; manage faculty and resident accounts; jump directly into coding or reviewing queues.
Read Mentoring Institutes Guide → |
| Data Manager (District/Block Programme Manager - DPM/BPM) |
Data Manager Dashboard (/data-management) |
Track all submissions across the district or block; triage incoming cases; manage user accounts and staff grants; download summary reports and CSV exports.
Read User Roles Guide → |
| Facility In-charge (District CMO, Civil Surgeon, Block SMO, PHC MO) |
Facility & Area Dashboard (/sitepi, /area) |
Oversee all operations in your health jurisdiction; review mortality progress counts, coder completion rates, and causes of death.
Read User Roles Guide → |
| System Admin | Admin Dashboard (/admin) |
Global user management, project and site configuration, health facility hierarchy, ODK Central connections, and sync controls. |
Onboarding Flow for New Users
If you are a new user joining DigitVA, here is what happens:
- Your District Programme Manager, College Admin, or System Administrator creates your account using your email address.
- You receive an email verification link. Click the link to verify your address.
- After verification, you can set your secure password (or receive your initial password by email).
- On first login, accept the terms of service to proceed directly to your assigned dashboard.
See the Email Verification and Password Reset help pages for details on each step.
Role-Specific Help
Explore detailed guides tailored to your work in DigitVA:
- User Roles & Permissions — full breakdown of health system cadres, roles, and scope boundaries.
- Medical College & Mentoring Staff — complete guide for medical college faculty and resident mentors.
- Data Collection — practical field guide for death reporters and interviewers.
- Coding Workflow (Step 1 & 2) — clinical guide for Medical Officers and Reviewers.
- Logging In & Authentication — how to log in, password policies, and security settings.
- Data Manager Dashboard — for District and Block Programme Managers managing data and accounts.
Getting Help
If you encounter any difficulty or need your role or assigned area updated, contact your District Programme Manager, Facility In-charge, or Project Lead. System administrators can also assist with account resets and technical support.