Shams El Arifeen1, Joy E Lawn2, Shafiqul Ameen3, Abu Bakkar Siddique1, Kimberly Peven2,4, Qazi Sadeq-Ur Rahman1, Louise T Day2, Josephine Shabani5, Ashish Kc6, Dorothy Boggs2, Donat Shamba5, Tazeen Tahsina1, Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman1, Sojib Bin Zaman1, Aniqa Tasnim Hossain1, Anisuddin Ahmed1, Omkar Basnet7, Honey Malla7, Harriet Ruysen2, Hannah Blencowe2, Fred Arnold8, Jennifer Requejo9. 1. Maternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), 68 Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2. Centre for Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive & Child Health (MARCH), London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK. 3. Maternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), 68 Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh. shafiqul.ameen@icddrb.org. 4. Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, King's College London, London, UK. 5. Department of Health Systems, Impact Evaluation and Policy, Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 6. International Maternal and Child Health, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. 7. Research Division, Golden Community, Lalitpur, Nepal. 8. Demographic and Health Survey Program, ICF, Rockville, MD, USA. 9. Division of Data, Analysis, Planning and Monitoring, United Nations Children's Fund, Headquarters, New York, New York, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Population-based household surveys, notably the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), remain the main source of maternal and newborn health data for many low- and middle-income countries. As part of the Every Newborn Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study, this paper focuses on testing validity of measurement of maternal and newborn indicators around the time of birth (intrapartum and postnatal) in survey-report. METHODS: EN-BIRTH was an observational study testing the validity of measurement for selected maternal and newborn indicators in five secondary/tertiary hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania, conducted from July 2017 to July 2018. We compared women's report at exit survey with the gold standard of direct observation or verification from clinical records for women with vaginal births. Population-level validity was assessed by validity ratios (survey-reported coverage: observer-assessed coverage). Individual-level accuracy was assessed by sensitivity, specificity and percent agreement. We tested indicators already in DHS/MICS as well as indicators with potential to be included in population-based surveys, notably the first validation for small and sick newborn care indicators. RESULTS: 33 maternal and newborn indicators were evaluated. Amongst nine indicators already present in DHS/MICS, validity ratios for baby dried or wiped, birthweight measured, low birthweight, and sex of baby (female) were between 0.90-1.10. Instrumental birth, skin-to-skin contact, and early initiation of breastfeeding were highly overestimated by survey-report (2.04-4.83) while umbilical cord care indicators were massively underestimated (0.14-0.22). Amongst 24 indicators not currently in DHS/MICS, two newborn contact indicators (kangaroo mother care 1.00, admission to neonatal unit 1.01) had high survey-reported coverage amongst admitted newborns and high sensitivity. The remaining indicators did not perform well and some had very high "don't know" responses. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed low validity for collecting many maternal and newborn indicators through an exit survey instrument, even with short recall periods among women with vaginal births. Household surveys are already at risk of overload, and some specific clinical care indicators do not perform well and may be under-powered. Given that approximately 80% of births worldwide occur in facilities, routine registers should also be explored to track coverage of key maternal and newborn health interventions, particularly for clinical care.
BACKGROUND: Population-based household surveys, notably the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), remain the main source of maternal and newborn health data for many low- and middle-income countries. As part of the Every Newborn Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study, this paper focuses on testing validity of measurement of maternal and newborn indicators around the time of birth (intrapartum and postnatal) in survey-report. METHODS: EN-BIRTH was an observational study testing the validity of measurement for selected maternal and newborn indicators in five secondary/tertiary hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania, conducted from July 2017 to July 2018. We compared women's report at exit survey with the gold standard of direct observation or verification from clinical records for women with vaginal births. Population-level validity was assessed by validity ratios (survey-reported coverage: observer-assessed coverage). Individual-level accuracy was assessed by sensitivity, specificity and percent agreement. We tested indicators already in DHS/MICS as well as indicators with potential to be included in population-based surveys, notably the first validation for small and sick newborn care indicators. RESULTS: 33 maternal and newborn indicators were evaluated. Amongst nine indicators already present in DHS/MICS, validity ratios for baby dried or wiped, birthweight measured, low birthweight, and sex of baby (female) were between 0.90-1.10. Instrumental birth, skin-to-skin contact, and early initiation of breastfeeding were highly overestimated by survey-report (2.04-4.83) while umbilical cord care indicators were massively underestimated (0.14-0.22). Amongst 24 indicators not currently in DHS/MICS, two newborn contact indicators (kangaroo mother care 1.00, admission to neonatal unit 1.01) had high survey-reported coverage amongst admitted newborns and high sensitivity. The remaining indicators did not perform well and some had very high "don't know" responses. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed low validity for collecting many maternal and newborn indicators through an exit survey instrument, even with short recall periods among women with vaginal births. Household surveys are already at risk of overload, and some specific clinical care indicators do not perform well and may be under-powered. Given that approximately 80% of births worldwide occur in facilities, routine registers should also be explored to track coverage of key maternal and newborn health interventions, particularly for clinical care.
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