Community-based surveillance of maternal deaths in rural Ghana.

Objective: To examine the feasibility and effectiveness of community-based maternal mortality surveillance in rural Ghana, where most information on maternal deaths usually comes from retrospective surveys and hospital records.

Methods: In 2013, community-based surveillance volunteers used a modified reproductive age mortality survey (RAMOS 4+2) to interview family members of women of reproductive age (13-49 years) who died in Bosomtwe district in the previous five years. The survey comprised four yes-no questions and two supplementary questions.