| Literature DB >> 14642318 |
Nicholas Lack1, Jennifer Zeitlin, Lone Krebs, Wolfgang Künzel, Sophie Alexander.
Abstract
The main purpose of this article is to point out common pitfalls that can confuse comparative analyses of indicators of perinatal health and to discuss ways to overcome or minimize these difficulties. The challenge is to distinguish 'real' variations in the value of an indicator from variations due to differences in registration practices and definitions and from random variation. The first section presents the major properties that are desirable in indicators of perinatal health status and perinatal health care in Europe to be used for comparative purposes. The second section provides specific examples of the types of methodological difficulties encountered in European cross-country comparisons due to variations in the definition, measurement and construction of indicators. The conclusion discusses the PERISTAT project's responses to these difficulties and how these methodological constraints impact on the selection of an appropriate indicator set for Europe today.Mesh：
Year: 2003 PMID： 14642318 DOI： 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2003.09.004
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol ISSN： 0301-2115 Impact factor: 2.435