Table 1. Examples of studies assessing criterion validity.

Indicator domain	Examples of studies (reference standard and setting)
Care coverage	Women’s self-report compared to: • Observations during antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care from     ○ Hospitals in Kenya [40, 43],     ○ Health facilities in Mozambique [44]. Women’s self-report compared to: • Medical records from medical booklets and HMIS: China through population-based survey [45].
Coverage of maternal and newborn care interventions, skilled provider at birth, caesarean section rate
Care content and quality	Women’s self-report compared to: • Observations of care in hospitals in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Nepal [46] • Medical records/facility registers in hospitals in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Nepal [46].
Immediate initiation of breastfeeding, newborn resuscitation
Impact	Women’s self-report compared to: • Biomarkers and/or medical diagnoses as captured in clinical notes in samples drawn from:     ○ Indonesian hospitals [47],     ○ Ghana hospital [48],     ○ A tertiary hospital in Brazil [49],     ○ Maternity hospitals in Bolivia [50]. Women’s self-report compared to: • Clinical examination findings from a community survey in Egypt [51].
Prevalence of maternal morbidities or obstetric complications (e.g. haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, labour dystocia, prolapse), prevalence of severe maternal morbidity or near miss