Maternity Information Matrix

Project Name: Maternity Information Matrix
Commencement: 2011
Completed: February 2012
Funding Source: AIHW
Project Status: Complete
Project Officer: Natasha Donnolley
 

Background:

In 2010 the NPESU undertook a review of existing maternity information. A key output of this work was the systematic documentation of national and jurisdictional data collections, the Maternity Information Matrix (MIM) and a report, Maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality: a review of data collections in Australia, which documented existing maternity data as well as some of the more obvious gaps and opportunities. A scoping exercise was recommended to identify in a rigorous manner, data gaps and areas of information needs or improvement.  

NPESU undertook to make the MIM available as a web-based electronic index of maternity data items organised on a topic-by-topic basis, representing the maternity pathway. It provides a snapshot of data items and metadata collected at a point in time and provides a basis for future data development.

An update of the MIM was conducted between August and October 2011 to reflect data collection practices as at July 2011 as part of Stage 1 of the National Maternity Data Development Project (NMDDP). The NMDDP is a collaborative project being undertaken by AIHW in collaboration with NPESU to develop a nationally consistent and comprehensive maternity data collection in Australia.

Aims:

The MIM is an essential tool and necessary first step towards assisting with the development of accurate, consistent, complete, reliable and timely maternity information by providing a summary of all available maternity-related data in a single index.

Method:

The MIM version2 was populated through a review of existing national and jurisdictional-level data collection and reporting practices.

Significance:

Accurate, consistent and complete maternity information will underpin consultation and development work around national data and information needs for maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in Australia.

Updating the MIM:

As the data collections included were established for administrative or surveillance purposes, they are subject to change and development. The information contained in the MIM will need to be regularly updated. The MIM has been available in a web-based format from January 2012.  Version 3 of the MIM has been produced by AIHW to reflect data collection practices as at 1 July 2013.

 

The MIMv3 can be found at:  http://maternitymatrix.aihw.gov.au/Pages/About-the-MIM.aspx

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