Project Lead: Abraham D. Flaxman, UW Global Health
Data Science Lead: Bryna Hazelton, Naomi Alterman
The purpose of this project was to modernize SmartVA-Analyze, an existing open-source verbal autopsy (VA) software, by transitioning its codebase from Python 2 to Python 3. Verbal autopsy is a crucial tool for estimating the causes of death in settings where medical certification is unavailable, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. By collecting data from interviews with the deceased’s relatives or caregivers, VA provides insights into mortality patterns, supporting the formulation of health policies and guiding the allocation of resources. However, with Python 2 now long discontinued, maintaining and deploying the current software was become increasingly challenging, limiting its accessibility and functionality.
The update aimed to ensure compatibility with modern computing environments, enhance the software’s usability, and enable easy installations. By doing so, we maintained the software’s current functionality and also positioned it for future integration with modern AI.
In summary, we succeeded! SmartVA-Analyze 3.0 is now openly available and future extensions will not require an ancient version Python.