Table 1.

Indicator selection criteria for New Zealand environmental health indicators.

Indicator Selection Criteria	Explanation
Data availability	Indicator must have data that can be easily and reliably extracted.
Scientifically valid	Indicator must have an established, scientifically sound link to the environmental health issue.
Sensitive	Indicator should respond relatively quickly and noticeably to changes but not show false movements.
Consistent	Indicator should be consistent with those used in other indicator programmes (including internationally) so comparisons can be made.
Comparable	Indicator should be consistent to allow comparisons over time.
Methodologically sound measurement	Indicator measurement needs to be methodologically sound.
Intelligible and easily interpreted	Indicator should be sufficiently simple to be interpreted in practice and be intuitive in the sense that it is obvious what the indicator is measuring.
Able to be disaggregated	Indicator needs to be able to be broken down into population subgroups or areas of particular interest, such as ethnic groups or regional areas.
Timely	Data needs to be collected and reported regularly and frequently to ensure it is reflecting current and not historical trends.

Source: Based on the indicator selection criteria published by the Advisory Committee on Official Statistics [9].