Abstract
BackgroundAs low-income countries strive to meet targets for Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, there is growing need to track coverage and quality of high-impact peripartum interventions. At present, nationally representative household surveys conducted in low-income settings primarily measure contact with the health system, shedding little light on content or quality of care. The objective of this study is to validate the ability of women in Mozambique to report on facility-based care they and their newborns received during labor and one hour postpartum.Methods and FindingsThe study involved household interviews with women in Mozambique whose births were observed eight to ten months previously as part of a survey of the quality of maternal and newborn care at government health facilities. Of 487 women whose births were observed and who agreed to a follow-up interview, 304 were interviewed (62.4%). The validity of 34 indicators was tested using two measures: area under receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) and inflation factor (IF); 27 indicators had sufficient numbers for robust analysis, of which four met acceptability criteria for both (AUC >0.6 and 0.75<IF<1.25). Two of these indicators are considered high demand and are recommended for incorporation into international survey programs: presence of a support person during labor/delivery and placement of the newborn skin to skin against the mother. Nine indicators met acceptability criteria for one of the validity measures. All 13 indicators are recommended for use in in-depth maternal/newborn health surveys.ConclusionsWomen are able to report on some aspects of peripartum care. Larger studies may be able to validate some indicators that this study could not assess due to the sample size. Future qualitative research may assist in improving question formulation for some indicators. Studies of similar design in other low-income settings are needed to confirm these results.
Highlights
As low-income countries strive to meet their targets for Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, there is an urgent need to increase use and quality of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) care services
To better monitor global trends, there is a strong demand to improve MNCH coverage indicators, spurred mainly by efforts in response to the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health [1] and the Countdown to 2015 initiative [2]. Such indicators are critical at the national level to provide actionable information regarding the adequacy of the content and quality of MNCH care to achieve desired health outcomes
Nationally representative household surveys conducted in low-income settings, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) track few indicators that measure care during the intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods
Summary
As low-income countries strive to meet their targets for Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, there is an urgent need to increase use and quality of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) care services. To better monitor global trends, there is a strong demand to improve MNCH coverage indicators, spurred mainly by efforts in response to the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health [1] and the Countdown to 2015 initiative [2] Such indicators are critical at the national level to provide actionable information regarding the adequacy of the content and quality of MNCH care to achieve desired health outcomes. Nationally representative household surveys conducted in low-income settings, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) track few indicators that measure care during the intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods. These are limited to: location of birth, qualification of birth attendant, and cesarean section. The objective of this study is to validate the ability of women in Mozambique to report on facility-based care they and their newborns received during labor and one hour postpartum
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
