title: Ethiopia's assessment of emergency obstetric and newborn care: setting the gold standard for national facility-based assessments.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the methods used to implement Ethiopia's 2008 emergency obstetric and newborn care services (EmONC) assessment; highlight how the collaborative process contributed to immediate integration of results into national and subnational planning; and explain how the experience informed the development of a set of tools providing best practices and guidelines for other countries conducting similar assessments.
  
  
  METHODS
  A team of maternal and newborn health experts from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), together with representatives from the Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, provided technical guidance for the 18-month process and facilitated demand for and use of the assessment results. Eighty-four trained data collectors administered 9 data collection modules in 806 public and private facilities. Field work and data were managed by a private firm who, together with the core team, implemented a multi-layered plan for data quality. Columbia University's Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program provided technical assistance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results were published in national and regional reports and in 1-page facility factsheets informing subnational planning activities. Assessment results-which have been published in journal articles-informed water infrastructure improvements, efforts to expand access to magnesium sulfate, and FMOH and UN planning documents. The assessment also established a permanent database for future monitoring of the health system, including geographic locations of surveyed facilities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ethiopia's assessment was successful largely because of active local leadership, a collaborative process, ample financial and technical support, and rapid integration of results into health system planning.
authors.affiliation: Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA. ekeyes@fhi.org
authors.forename: Emily B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Keyes
authors.forename: Abonesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haile-Mariam
authors.forename: Neghist T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Belayneh
authors.forename: Wasihun A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Gobezie
authors.forename: Luwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Muna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.forename: Henok
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kebede
mesh_terms: D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011787:Quality of Health Care