title: The geography of maternal and newborn health: the state of the art.
abstract: As the deadline for the millennium development goals approaches, it has become clear that the goals linked to maternal and newborn health are the least likely to be achieved by 2015. It is therefore critical to ensure that all possible data, tools and methods are fully exploited to help address this gap. Among the methods that are under-used, mapping has always represented a powerful way to 'tell the story' of a health problem in an easily understood way. In addition to this, the advanced analytical methods and models now being embedded into Geographic Information Systems allow a more in-depth analysis of the causes behind adverse maternal and newborn health (MNH) outcomes. This paper examines the current state of the art in mapping the geography of MNH as a starting point to unleashing the potential of these under-used approaches. Using a rapid literature review and the description of the work currently in progress, this paper allows the identification of methods in use and describes a framework for methodological approaches to inform improved decision-making. The paper is aimed at health metrics and geography of health specialists, the MNH community, as well as policy-makers in developing countries and international donor agencies.
authors.affiliation: Gaia GeoSystems, Muscat, Oman. steeve.ebener@gaia-geosystems.org.
authors.forename: Steeve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ebener
authors.affiliation: ICS Integrare, Barcelona, Spain. maria.guerra.arias@integrare.es.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guerra-Arias
authors.affiliation: WHO, Geneva, Switzerland. campbellj@who.int.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: WorldPop, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. andy.tatem@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Tatem
authors.affiliation: USAID, Washington, DC, USA. amoran@usaid.gov.
authors.forename: Allisyn C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. faj100@soton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Fiifi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Amoako Johnson
authors.affiliation: NORAD, Oslo, Norway. helga.fogstad@norad.no.
authors.forename: Helga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fogstad
authors.affiliation: AMDD and FHI 360, Durham, USA. stenbergk@who.int.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stenberg
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. s.neal@soton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Neal
authors.affiliation: AMDD and FHI 360, Durham, USA. pbailey@fhi360.org.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA. reidmporter@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Reid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. z.matthews@soton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007229:Infant Welfare / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008429:Maternal Welfare / Q000639:trends*; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards