Improving coverage measurement

Because of challenges in measurement, progress can often only be tracked through the use of proxy measures, which increase the risk of inappropriate decisions being made in maternal and newborn health. This issue affects stakeholders around the world, particularly women and children who might benefit from life-saving interventions.

Many health groups around the world have described the need to improve measurement for mothers and newborns. These include the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP), Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) and the Global Strategy for Women, Children and Adolescent’s Health 2016-2030.

IDEAS aims to improve the measurement of priority indicators for maternal and newborn health by testing the coverage estimates derived from multiple sources – including household interviews, service user exit interviews, last event interviews with health facility staff and review of facility records – against gold standard coverage estimates obtained by the observation of births.

We do this, for example, in Gombe State, Nigeria, when we use birth observations as gold standard measures of health worker behaviour to assess the validity of routine data recorded in healthcare registers, and of women’s reports during exit interview and at subsequent household follow-up. We also undertake qualitative research to better understand how women perceive respectful maternity care in Nigeria.

IDEAS team members collaborate closely with ENAP and EPMM metrics working groups to ensure that the learning is relevant to global and country based stakeholders.

Report
Changes in maternal and newborn health care in Uttar Pradesh, India

Interactions between families and frontline workers – their frequency, quality, and equity – and coverage of interventions for mothers and newborns in Uttar Pradesh, India

India Improving coverage measurement Tracking progress Implementation projects Intervention coverage Research findings
Report
Changes in maternal and newborn health care in Gombe State, Nigeria

Interactions between families and frontline workers – their frequency, quality, and equity – and coverage of interventions for mothers and newborns in Gombe State, Nigeria.

Nigeria Improving coverage measurement Tracking progress Understanding quality improvement Implementation projects Intervention coverage Research findings
Report
Changes in maternal and newborn health care in Ethiopia

The aim of this study was to estimate changes in maternal and newborn health care in areas of Ethiopia where implementation projects funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation were operating.

Ethiopia Improving coverage measurement Tracking progress Understanding quality improvement Intervention coverage Research findings

Published content

Report
Changes in maternal and newborn health care in Uttar Pradesh, India

Interactions between families and frontline workers – their frequency, quality, and equity – and coverage of interventions for mothers and newborns in Uttar Pradesh, India

India Improving coverage measurement Tracking progress Implementation projects Intervention coverage Research findings
Blog Post
How can we get life-saving interventions to women and babies? #HSR2016

Do innovations enhance interactions between families and front-line workers and increase life-saving intervention coverage? This is one of the...

General Improving coverage measurement Tracking progress Evaluation methods Evidence for policy and practice
Research brief
Summary of IDEAS maternal and newborn household and facility surveys in Ethiopia for local health officials

Two page summary of IDEAS household and facility surveys in Ethiopia for local health officials

Ethiopia Improving coverage measurement Intervention coverage Research findings
Journal article
Maternal, newborn, and child health and the Sustainable Development Goals-a call for sustained and improved measurement [Comment]

This paper was written by measurement experts, and discusses how to improve meausrement for women, adolescents, children and newborns in the face of the new Sustainable Development Goals.

General Improving coverage measurement Intervention coverage
Blog Post
Measuring content of contacts reveals missed opportunities to deliver quality maternal and newborn health care

Findings have been published in Plos One and the data supporting this analysis are now freely available online. Quality of health care is a big...

General Improving coverage measurement Tracking progress Understanding quality improvement Research findings
Journal article
Adding Content to Contacts: Measurement of High Quality Contacts for Maternal and Newborn Health in Ethiopia, North East Nigeria, and Uttar Pradesh, India

Families in high mortality settings need regular contact with high quality health services. This paper presents a method for estimating the population level coverage of high quality contacts.

Ethiopia India Nigeria Improving coverage measurement Understanding quality improvement Evaluation methods Intervention coverage
Journal article
Measurement of delayed bathing and early initiation of breastfeeding: a cross-sectional survey exploring experiences of data collectors in Ethiopia

This paper recommends that the inclusion of standard probes or follow-on questions to the existing survey tools assessing delayed bathing and early initiation of breastfeeding. Data collectors also require further guidance in using appropriate probes to gather accurate maternal responses.

Ethiopia Improving coverage measurement Evaluation methods Research findings
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