Title: Indicators for Monitoring Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: A Systematic Review of Indicator Selection Methods.

Authors: Schwemlein, Stefanie; Cronk, Ryan; Bartram, Jamie

Published In Int J Environ Res Public Health, (2016 Mar 17)

Abstract: Monitoring water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) is important to track progress, improve accountability, and demonstrate impacts of efforts to improve conditions and services, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Indicator selection methods enable robust monitoring of WaSH projects and conditions. However, selection methods are not always used and there are no commonly-used methods for selecting WaSH indicators. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review of indicator selection methods used in WaSH-related fields. We present a summary of indicator selection methods for environment, international development, and water. We identified six methodological stages for selecting indicators for WaSH: define the purpose and scope; select a conceptual framework; search for candidate indicators; determine selection criteria; score indicators against criteria; and select a final suite of indicators. This summary of indicator selection methods provides a foundation for the critical assessment of existing methods. It can be used to inform future efforts to construct indicator sets in WaSH and related fields.

PubMed ID: 26999180

MeSH Terms: No MeSH terms associated with this publication