The RADAR coverage tool: developing a toolkit for rigorous household surveys for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health & nutrition indicators

  • Global Health Action, Volume 15, No. sup1, Year 2022

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Study Justification:
The RADAR coverage tool was developed to address the need for rigorous household surveys in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to gather data on reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health & nutrition indicators. These surveys are crucial for informing the design of projects, programs, and policies, as well as evaluating their impact. However, many organizations conducting these surveys lack experience and resources in population-based data collection. The RADAR tool was created to provide a streamlined and comprehensive solution to this challenge.
Highlights:
– The RADAR coverage tool rigorously measures priority reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health & nutrition coverage indicators, allowing for equity and gender analyses.
– It uses standard, valid questions to the extent possible, ensuring data consistency and comparability.
– The tool is designed to be as light as possible, reducing the burden on survey implementers.
– It is flexible and can be customized to address specific user needs.
– The RADAR tool is compatible with the Lives Saved Tool, enabling analysis of program impact.
Recommendations:
– Prioritize the use of high-quality surveys or evaluations that have been adequately resourced.
– Ensure survey implementers have access to sufficient resources, time, and technical expertise to use the tool appropriately.
– Promote the adoption and implementation of the RADAR coverage tool by organizations conducting household surveys in LMICs.
– Provide training and capacity-building opportunities for survey implementers to enhance their skills in survey planning, implementation, and analysis.
Key Role Players:
– Researchers and experts in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health & nutrition indicators.
– Survey implementers and data collectors.
– Policy makers and program managers in LMICs.
– International organizations and donors supporting health and nutrition programs in LMICs.
– Training institutions and capacity-building organizations.
Cost Items for Planning Recommendations:
– Training and capacity-building programs for survey implementers.
– Development and dissemination of training materials and resources.
– Technical support and mentorship for survey implementers.
– Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation and impact of the RADAR coverage tool.
– Advocacy and awareness campaigns to promote the adoption of the tool.
– Collaboration and coordination efforts among stakeholders.
– Research and development to continuously improve the RADAR tool and its supporting materials.

The strength of evidence for this abstract is 7 out of 10.
The evidence in the abstract is moderately strong. The abstract describes the development of a toolkit for rigorous household surveys for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health & nutrition indicators. It highlights the aim of the toolkit, the use of standard and valid questions, and its flexibility. The abstract also mentions the successful implementation of the toolkit in Tanzania and Burkina Faso, but notes that access to sufficient resources, time, and technical expertise is necessary for its appropriate use. To improve the evidence, more specific details about the methodology, results, and impact of the toolkit could be included.

Population-based intervention coverage data are used to inform the design of projects, programs, and policies and to evaluate their impact. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), household surveys are the primary source of coverage data. Many coverage surveys are implemented by organizations with limited experience or resources in population-based data collection. We developed a streamlined survey and set of supporting materials to facilitate rigorous survey design and implementation. The RADAR coverage survey tool aimed to 1) rigorously measure priority reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health & nutrition coverage indicators, and allow for equity and gender analyses; 2) use standard, valid questions, to the extent possible; 3) be as light as possible; 4) be flexible to address users’ needs; and 5) be compatible with the Lives Saved Tool for analysis of program impact. Early interactions with stakeholders also highlighted survey planning, implementation, and analysis as challenging areas. We therefore developed a suite of resources to support implementers in these areas. The toolkit was piloted by implementers in Tanzania and in Burkina Faso. Although the toolkit was successfully implemented in these settings and facilitated survey planning and implementation, we found that implementers must still have access to sufficient resources, time, and technical expertise in order to use the tool appropriately. This potentially limits the use of the tool to situations where high-quality surveys or evaluations have been prioritized and adequately resourced.

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The RADAR coverage tool is an innovation that aims to improve access to maternal health by developing a toolkit for rigorous household surveys. This toolkit is designed to facilitate survey design and implementation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where household surveys are the primary source of coverage data. The key features of the RADAR coverage tool include:

1. Rigorous measurement of priority reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health & nutrition coverage indicators, allowing for equity and gender analyses.
2. Use of standard, valid questions to ensure data quality.
3. Lightweight design to minimize resource requirements.
4. Flexibility to address users’ specific needs.
5. Compatibility with the Lives Saved Tool for program impact analysis.

The RADAR coverage tool also includes a suite of resources to support implementers in survey planning, implementation, and analysis. It has been successfully piloted in Tanzania and Burkina Faso, where it facilitated survey planning and implementation. However, it is important to note that the tool requires sufficient resources, time, and technical expertise to be used effectively. Therefore, its use may be limited to situations where high-quality surveys or evaluations have been prioritized and adequately resourced.
AI Innovations Description
The RADAR coverage tool is a recommendation that can be developed into an innovation to improve access to maternal health. This tool is designed to facilitate rigorous household surveys for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition indicators in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The goal of the RADAR coverage tool is to measure priority health indicators, including maternal health, in a rigorous and standardized manner. It aims to ensure equity and gender analyses, use valid questions, be lightweight, flexible, and compatible with the Lives Saved Tool for program impact analysis.

The toolkit includes a streamlined survey and supporting materials to assist organizations with limited experience or resources in population-based data collection. It also provides resources for survey planning, implementation, and analysis, which are often challenging areas.

The RADAR coverage tool has been successfully piloted in Tanzania and Burkina Faso, where it facilitated survey planning and implementation. However, it is important to note that implementers still require sufficient resources, time, and technical expertise to use the tool effectively. This may limit its use to situations where high-quality surveys or evaluations have been prioritized and adequately resourced.

Overall, the RADAR coverage tool offers a comprehensive approach to improving access to maternal health by providing a standardized and rigorous method for collecting and analyzing data in LMICs.
AI Innovations Methodology
The RADAR coverage tool is an innovative toolkit designed to improve access to maternal health by facilitating rigorous household surveys for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health indicators. The goal of this toolkit is to provide organizations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with the necessary resources and support to collect accurate and reliable data on coverage indicators.

The methodology to simulate the impact of the recommendations provided by the RADAR coverage tool on improving access to maternal health involves several steps:

1. Survey Design: The toolkit helps organizations in LMICs to design surveys that rigorously measure priority reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition coverage indicators. It emphasizes the use of standard, valid questions and ensures flexibility to address users’ specific needs.

2. Equity and Gender Analysis: The RADAR coverage tool also enables organizations to conduct equity and gender analyses, ensuring that the survey data captures disparities in access to maternal health services among different population groups.

3. Lightweight Approach: The toolkit aims to be as light as possible, meaning it provides a streamlined and efficient approach to survey implementation. This helps organizations with limited resources or experience in population-based data collection to conduct surveys effectively.

4. Compatibility with Lives Saved Tool: The RADAR coverage tool is designed to be compatible with the Lives Saved Tool, which is used for analyzing the impact of maternal health programs. This compatibility allows for the analysis of program impact based on the survey data collected.

5. Pilot Testing and Evaluation: The toolkit has been piloted in Tanzania and Burkina Faso to assess its effectiveness in survey planning and implementation. The feedback and lessons learned from these pilot studies help refine and improve the toolkit.

It is important to note that while the RADAR coverage tool can facilitate survey planning and implementation, it still requires organizations to have sufficient resources, time, and technical expertise to use the tool appropriately. Therefore, the use of this toolkit may be limited to situations where high-quality surveys or evaluations have been prioritized and adequately resourced.

Statistics:
Citations: 3
Authors: 15
Identifiers:
DOI: 10.1080/16549716.2021.2006419
Research Areas:
Community Interventions, Food Security, Health System and Policy, Maternal and Child Health, Quality of Care, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Social Determinants
Study Countries:
Burkina Faso, Multi-Countries, Tanzania
Study Design:
Cross Sectional Study, Grounded Theory, randomised-control-trial
Study Approach:
Quantitative
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