Validating Indicators of Family Planning, Maternal and Newborn Care – Cambodia, Bangladesh and Kenya

The overarching objective of the study is to improve the monitoring of the quality of maternal, newborn and family planning services through identifying and validating a set of indicators that can be accurately self-reported by women. The main research question is: can accurate information on the quality and content of received maternal and newborn care be self-reported by women in a survey format? The results of the study will inform the recommendation of a select number of indicators for regular use in household surveys as well as strategies to improve data collection. Specifically, the study assesses the accuracy of women’s reports of indicators of antenatal (ANC), family planning (FP) or maternal and newborn postnatal care (PNC). The study also provides insight into factors that are associated with the accuracy of reporting such as: visit number (e.g., first ANC or PNC visit, or follow-up), client age, prior parity, education level and infant age (for PNC visit). The study design for validation analyses relies on secondary analysis of matched observation and client interview data. We compare women’s reports of care received at exit interview to observation by a trained third-party observer using a structured checklist. Women’s reports of care received were collected via exit interview prior to her leaving the health facility following a health visit for herself or her newborn in health facilities located in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Kenya. Data were originally collected as part of an evaluation of a voucher and accreditation intervention led by the Population Council in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Kenya. The primary objective of the evaluation was to assess the influence of the voucher program on family planning and maternal and newborn health service utilization. A secondary objective of the voucher program was to determine whether the voucher program improved service quality by verifying service delivery through reimbursements to providers