Implementing community-based minimally invasive tissue sampling for mortality surveillance in rural South Africa: A process evaluation of the Vukamberi project

Community-based all-age minimally invasive tissue sampling in rural Bushbuckridge, South Africa screened 408 notified deaths and achieved 65.2% consent for 206 eligible cases.

• Why it matters: Cause-of-death data are limited where most deaths occur at home without certification, and MITS has mainly been used for stillbirths and child deaths.
• What they did: The Vukamberi prospective process evaluation (07 July 2024–30 June 2026) assessed reach, adoption, fidelity, feasibility, acceptability, and timeliness using prospectively collected death records.
• The result: Median time was 15 hours to notification and 37 hours to MITS completion, with 96.6% target-organ adherence; adaptive, culturally responsive consent and reliable consumables supported feasible enrolment.

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