Page 63 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
P. 63
Working on Epidemiological Data: Problems Encountered and Lessons Learned
cluding those measured in Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and
Reproductive Health Surveys (RHS)) or used in practice¹
– Distinctiveness: the indicator lacks redundancy and does not measure
something already captured under other indicators.
– In addition, where indicators are presented as part of a set, this set
should meet another criterion, namely that the overall set is coherent
and balanced.
Authors also point out that the indicators presented and analyzed where
harmonized with those already in use, giving high priority to indicators from
key initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals² and USAID’s Global
Health Initiative (GHI).³ ⁴
The recent Guide for Monitoring and Evaluating Population-Health-Environ-
ment Programs (Moreland & Curran, 2018), insists that each indicator must be
valid to accurately measure a behavior, practice or task, reliable (consistently
measurable in the same way by different observers), precise and, of course,
measurable, that is quantifiable using available tools and methods. Authors
add that indicators should also be timely, thus providing measurement at in-
tervals that are relevant and appropriate for program goals and activities, and
programmatically important, that means linked to a public health impact or
to achieving the objectives needed for impact. The last criterion, labeled in
the list above as ‘usefulness,’ needs to be stressed, being significantly impor-
tant for the scope of INTEGRA Project. The project has in fact mainly applica-
tion purposes, because the Index of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SR In-
dex) ‘will be used by health professionals when it comes to migrant women
and will have the possibility of being transferred to different health facilities
and to ensure holistic care, as it enhances both the medical and the social
dimension.’
The World Health Organization (1997), sometimes uses different words for
features already mentioned, but adds also something new in her description
of the ‘good indicator:’
– Ethical: Data must respect people’s rights to confidentiality, freedom of
¹ ‘Validity’ is here meant in a more technical sense but, being attributed to indicators tested in
the field, also in comparison with similar instruments, it seems to be more appropriate to refer
to reliability (test-retest reliability).
² See http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals.
³ See https://www.usaid.gov.
⁴ This is quite relevant for the INTEGRA Project, since the ‘new index’ aims to be inserted among
the other indexes used for the assessment of integration policies.
61
cluding those measured in Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and
Reproductive Health Surveys (RHS)) or used in practice¹
– Distinctiveness: the indicator lacks redundancy and does not measure
something already captured under other indicators.
– In addition, where indicators are presented as part of a set, this set
should meet another criterion, namely that the overall set is coherent
and balanced.
Authors also point out that the indicators presented and analyzed where
harmonized with those already in use, giving high priority to indicators from
key initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals² and USAID’s Global
Health Initiative (GHI).³ ⁴
The recent Guide for Monitoring and Evaluating Population-Health-Environ-
ment Programs (Moreland & Curran, 2018), insists that each indicator must be
valid to accurately measure a behavior, practice or task, reliable (consistently
measurable in the same way by different observers), precise and, of course,
measurable, that is quantifiable using available tools and methods. Authors
add that indicators should also be timely, thus providing measurement at in-
tervals that are relevant and appropriate for program goals and activities, and
programmatically important, that means linked to a public health impact or
to achieving the objectives needed for impact. The last criterion, labeled in
the list above as ‘usefulness,’ needs to be stressed, being significantly impor-
tant for the scope of INTEGRA Project. The project has in fact mainly applica-
tion purposes, because the Index of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SR In-
dex) ‘will be used by health professionals when it comes to migrant women
and will have the possibility of being transferred to different health facilities
and to ensure holistic care, as it enhances both the medical and the social
dimension.’
The World Health Organization (1997), sometimes uses different words for
features already mentioned, but adds also something new in her description
of the ‘good indicator:’
– Ethical: Data must respect people’s rights to confidentiality, freedom of
¹ ‘Validity’ is here meant in a more technical sense but, being attributed to indicators tested in
the field, also in comparison with similar instruments, it seems to be more appropriate to refer
to reliability (test-retest reliability).
² See http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals.
³ See https://www.usaid.gov.
⁴ This is quite relevant for the INTEGRA Project, since the ‘new index’ aims to be inserted among
the other indexes used for the assessment of integration policies.
61
