title: Measuring coverage in MNCH: new findings, new strategies, and recommendations for action.
abstract: Considerable progress has been made in reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality worldwide, but many more deaths could be prevented if effective interventions were available to all who could benefit from them. Timely, high-quality measurements of intervention coverage--the proportion of a population in need of a health intervention that actually receives it--are essential to support sound decisions about progress and investments in women's and children's health. The PLOS Medicine "Measuring Coverage in MNCH" Collection of research studies and reviews presents systematic assessments of the validity of health intervention coverage measurement based on household surveys, the primary method for estimating population-level intervention coverage in low- and middle-income countries. In this overview of the Collection, we discuss how and why some of the indicators now being used to track intervention coverage may not provide fully reliable coverage measurements, and how a better understanding of the systematic and random error inherent in these coverage indicators can help in their interpretation and use. We draw together strategies proposed across the Collection for improving coverage measurement, and recommend continued support for high-quality household surveys at national and sub-national levels, supplemented by surveys with lighter tools that can be implemented every 1-2 years and by complementary health-facility-based assessments of service quality. Finally, we stress the importance of learning more about coverage measurement to strengthen the foundation for assessing and improving the progress of maternal, newborn, and child health programs.
authors.affiliation: Institute for International Programs, Department of International Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. jbrycedanby@aol.com
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bryce
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blanc
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hancioglu
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Newby
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Requejo
authors.forename: Tessa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wardlaw
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D046688:Child Mortality; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003906:Developing Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D015397:Program Evaluation; D058996:Quality Improvement; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires