PLOS Collection Explores Measurement Challenges in Expanding Coverage of MNCH Interventions

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By: Sarah Blake, MHTF consultant

As we noted last week, PLOS Medicine launched a new collection on May 7, Measuring Coverage in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.The collection compiles evidence related to tools and indicators for collecting high quality evidence to expand coverage and improving the quality of care for key health interventions.

About the collection:

Measuring Coverage in Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, a PLOS Collection, presents innovative assessments of the validity of measuring population coverage for interventions in this field. Coverage indicators are widely used to assess whether interventions are reaching women and children in low- and middle-income countries, particularly through population-based household surveys. This collection of original research articles and reviews shows that while some indicators can be measured accurately, others may not provide valid results and therefore need further investigation and development.

Highlights of the “Measuring Coverage” collection include two articles that address approaches for strengthening quality of maternal health services: “Validating Women’s Self-Report of Emergency Cesarean Sections in Ghana and the Dominican Republic,” and Testing the Validity of Women’s Self-Report of Key Maternal and Newborn Health Interventions during the Peripartum Period in Mozambique.”

The collection also includes reviews key determining and interpreting inequalities in coverage and discussing  new findings, strategies and recommendations for action.

For more, watch video of the May 7 launch event at the National Press Club, or visit Impatient Optimists to read a blog post by Miriam Claeson and Wendy Prosser of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.