Assessing child survival programs in developing countries : testing lot quality assurance sampling

"Assessing Child Survival Programs" provides local health system managers with basic principles for rapid, precise programme monitoring and evaluation in difficult tropical conditions. Joseph Valadez explains how to adapt Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS), as used in industrial quality control more than half a century ago, to assess health programme coverage and technical quality of service providers. The author shows that by examining no more than 19 children from a health facility catchment area, a manager can judge whether coverage with child survival interventions has reached a minimal level. He also shows how to observe health in workers performing a task six times to judge their technical competency. This book demonstrates that quick assessment can provide the information needed to enhance child survival throughout the developing world.