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Agincourt HDSS

Agincourt HDSS is a HDSS based in South Africa.

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Population: 120,000
Established: 1992
Setting: Rural
Unit of observation: Individual

Bushbuckridge sub-district · South Africa Cohort site South Africa

About the cohort

The Agincourt Health and socio-Demographic Surveillance System in the Bushbuckridge sub-district, northeast South Africa, lies adjacent to the Kruger Park and Mozambique. Population enrolment in 1992/3 was followed by annual in-person updates and, from 2017, three updates per year (following the SAPRIN¹ protocol) of one in-person visit to the household and two call centre-based interviews.

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Hosted by the SAMRC/Wits-Agincourt Research Centre (a WHO Collaborating Centre), School of Public Health, Wits University, the HDSS gathers longitudinal information on all vital events with a verbal autopsy on every death to establish a probable cause. The clinic-link system in each PHC facility in the study setting enables linkage of all HDSS individuals with their clinical records.

With an emphasis on innovation and community engagement, the HDSS provides a platform for research elucidating causal pathways and testing interventions across the life course, including cardiovascular conditions, HIV/AIDS, mental health, sleep disorders, multimorbidity, migration and health, and natural resources. ¹SAPRIN: South African Population Research Infrastructure Network

Location

Mpumalanga Province, Ehlanseni District, Bushbuckridge sub-district, South Africa

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Longitudinal surveillance

01
Baseline
Population enrolment in 1992/3
02
Follow-up
Annual in-person updates initially; from 2017, one household visit and two call-centre interviews each year
03
Mortality
Verbal autopsy for every recorded death
04
Record linkage
PHC clinical-record linkage through the clinic-link system