ArticlePloS one2020
What is meant by validity in maternal and newborn health measurement? A conceptual framework for understanding indicator validation.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The development of proxy indicators to measure workforce well-being in emergency obstetric and neonatal care settings.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- Monitoring childbirth and immediate postpartum care quality: A scoping review of indicators in high-income countries.PloS one · 2026Article
- Effective coverage of maternal and newborn health services across the antepartum and peripartum continuum in primary health care in Ethiopia.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Pre‑partum blood leukocyte profiles distinguish gestational inflammatory stages that predict birth‑related adverse outcomes.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
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- Measuring social, economic, policy, and health system determinants of maternal health and survival: An urgent global priority.PloS one · 2025Article
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- Assessing the validity of maternal report on breastfeeding counselling in Kosovo's primary health facilities.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Improvements in Obstetric and Newborn Health Information Documentation following the Implementation of the Safer Births Bundle of Care at 30 Facilities in Tanzania.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
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- Length of stay and determinants of early discharge after facility-based childbirth in Cameroon: analysis of the 2018 Demographic and Health Survey.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Out of sight, out of mind? Evidence from cross-sectional surveys on hidden caesarean sections among women with stillbirths in Ghana, 2007 and 2017.BMJ global health · 2023Article
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- Towards a harmonised framework for developing quality of care indicators for global health: a scoping review of existing conceptual and methodological practices.BMJ health & care informatics · 2022Article
- Measurement tools and indicators for assessing nurturing care for early childhood development: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRigorous monitoring supports progress in achieving maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity reductions. Recent work to strengthen measurement for maternal and newborn health highlights the existence of a large number of indicators being used for this purpose. The definitions and data sources used to produce indicator estimates vary and challenges exist with completeness, accuracy, transparency, and timeliness of data. The objective of this study is to create a conceptual overview of how indicator validity is defined and understood by those who develop and use maternal and newborn health indicators.
methodsA conceptual framework of validity was developed using mixed methods. We were guided by principles for conceptual frameworks and by a review of the literature and key maternal and newborn health indicator guidance documents. We also conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 32 key informants chosen through purposive sampling.
resultsWe categorised indicator validity into three main types: criterion, convergent, and construct. Criterion or diagnostic validity, comparing a measure with a gold standard, has predominantly been used to assess indicators of care coverage and content. Studies assessing convergent validity quantify the extent to which two or more indicator measurement approaches, none of which is a gold-standard, relate. Key informants considered construct validity, or the accuracy of the operationalisation of a concept or phenomenon, a critical part of the overall assessment of indicator validity.
conclusionGiven concerns about the large number of maternal and newborn health indicators currently in use, a more consistent understanding of validity can help guide prioritization of key indicators and inform development of new indicators. All three types of validity are relevant for evaluating the performance of maternal and newborn health indicators. We highlight the need to establish a common language and understanding of indicator validity among the various global and local stakeholders working within maternal and newborn health.
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