Maternal death surveillance efforts: notification and review coverage rates in 30 low-income and middle-income countries, 2015–2019

Objective Performance of maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR) relies on the system’s ability to identify and notify all maternal deaths and its ability to review all maternal deaths by a committee. Unified definitions for indicators to assess these functions are lacking. We aim to estimat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jason Hsia, Michel Brun, Jean-Pierre Monet, Florina Serbanescu, Lillian Whiting-Collins, A C Moran
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2023-02-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/2/e066990.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849762793719332864
author Jason Hsia
Michel Brun
Jean-Pierre Monet
Florina Serbanescu
Lillian Whiting-Collins
A C Moran
author_facet Jason Hsia
Michel Brun
Jean-Pierre Monet
Florina Serbanescu
Lillian Whiting-Collins
A C Moran
author_sort Jason Hsia
collection DOAJ
description Objective Performance of maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR) relies on the system’s ability to identify and notify all maternal deaths and its ability to review all maternal deaths by a committee. Unified definitions for indicators to assess these functions are lacking. We aim to estimate notification and review coverage rates in 30 countries between 2015 and 2019 using standardised definitions.Design Repeat cross-sectional surveys provided the numerators for the coverage indicators; United Nations (UN)-modelled expected country maternal deaths provided the denominators.Setting 30 low-income and middle-income countries responding to the Maternal Health Thematic Fund annual surveys conducted by the UN Population Fund between 2015 and 2019.Outcome measures Notification coverage rate (CRn) was calculated as the proportion of expected maternal deaths that were notified at the national level annually; review coverage rate (CRr) was calculated as the proportion of expected maternal deaths that were reviewed annually.Results The average annual CRn for all countries increased from 17% in 2015 to 28% in 2019; the average annual CRr increased from 8% to 13%. Between 2015 and 2019, 22 countries (73%) reported increases in the CRn—with an average increase of 20 (SD 18) percentage points—and 24 countries (80%) reported increases in CRr by 7 (SD 11) percentage points. Low values of CRr contrasts with country-published review rates, ranging from 46% to 51%.Conclusion MDSR systems that count and review all maternal deaths can deliver real-time information that could prompt immediate actions and may improve maternal health. Consistent and systematic documentation of MDSR efforts may improve national and global monitoring. Assessing the notification and review functions using coverage indicators is feasible, not affected by fluctuations in data completeness and reporting, and can objectively capture progress.
format Article
id doaj-art-90862daa858c4a70a810d1294b3caa4b
institution DOAJ
issn 2044-6055
language English
publishDate 2023-02-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Open
spelling doaj-art-90862daa858c4a70a810d1294b3caa4b2025-08-20T03:05:39ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552023-02-0113210.1136/bmjopen-2022-066990Maternal death surveillance efforts: notification and review coverage rates in 30 low-income and middle-income countries, 2015–2019Jason Hsia0Michel Brun1Jean-Pierre Monet2Florina Serbanescu3Lillian Whiting-Collins4A C Moran5Division of Population Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USATechnical Division, United Nations Population Fund, New York, New York, USATechnical Division, United Nations Population Fund, New York, New York, USADivision of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USADivision of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USADepartment of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandObjective Performance of maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR) relies on the system’s ability to identify and notify all maternal deaths and its ability to review all maternal deaths by a committee. Unified definitions for indicators to assess these functions are lacking. We aim to estimate notification and review coverage rates in 30 countries between 2015 and 2019 using standardised definitions.Design Repeat cross-sectional surveys provided the numerators for the coverage indicators; United Nations (UN)-modelled expected country maternal deaths provided the denominators.Setting 30 low-income and middle-income countries responding to the Maternal Health Thematic Fund annual surveys conducted by the UN Population Fund between 2015 and 2019.Outcome measures Notification coverage rate (CRn) was calculated as the proportion of expected maternal deaths that were notified at the national level annually; review coverage rate (CRr) was calculated as the proportion of expected maternal deaths that were reviewed annually.Results The average annual CRn for all countries increased from 17% in 2015 to 28% in 2019; the average annual CRr increased from 8% to 13%. Between 2015 and 2019, 22 countries (73%) reported increases in the CRn—with an average increase of 20 (SD 18) percentage points—and 24 countries (80%) reported increases in CRr by 7 (SD 11) percentage points. Low values of CRr contrasts with country-published review rates, ranging from 46% to 51%.Conclusion MDSR systems that count and review all maternal deaths can deliver real-time information that could prompt immediate actions and may improve maternal health. Consistent and systematic documentation of MDSR efforts may improve national and global monitoring. Assessing the notification and review functions using coverage indicators is feasible, not affected by fluctuations in data completeness and reporting, and can objectively capture progress.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/2/e066990.full
spellingShingle Jason Hsia
Michel Brun
Jean-Pierre Monet
Florina Serbanescu
Lillian Whiting-Collins
A C Moran
Maternal death surveillance efforts: notification and review coverage rates in 30 low-income and middle-income countries, 2015–2019
BMJ Open
title Maternal death surveillance efforts: notification and review coverage rates in 30 low-income and middle-income countries, 2015–2019
title_full Maternal death surveillance efforts: notification and review coverage rates in 30 low-income and middle-income countries, 2015–2019
title_fullStr Maternal death surveillance efforts: notification and review coverage rates in 30 low-income and middle-income countries, 2015–2019
title_full_unstemmed Maternal death surveillance efforts: notification and review coverage rates in 30 low-income and middle-income countries, 2015–2019
title_short Maternal death surveillance efforts: notification and review coverage rates in 30 low-income and middle-income countries, 2015–2019
title_sort maternal death surveillance efforts notification and review coverage rates in 30 low income and middle income countries 2015 2019
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/2/e066990.full
work_keys_str_mv AT jasonhsia maternaldeathsurveillanceeffortsnotificationandreviewcoverageratesin30lowincomeandmiddleincomecountries20152019
AT michelbrun maternaldeathsurveillanceeffortsnotificationandreviewcoverageratesin30lowincomeandmiddleincomecountries20152019
AT jeanpierremonet maternaldeathsurveillanceeffortsnotificationandreviewcoverageratesin30lowincomeandmiddleincomecountries20152019
AT florinaserbanescu maternaldeathsurveillanceeffortsnotificationandreviewcoverageratesin30lowincomeandmiddleincomecountries20152019
AT lillianwhitingcollins maternaldeathsurveillanceeffortsnotificationandreviewcoverageratesin30lowincomeandmiddleincomecountries20152019
AT acmoran maternaldeathsurveillanceeffortsnotificationandreviewcoverageratesin30lowincomeandmiddleincomecountries20152019