Indicators to Measure Adolescent Health at the Country, Regional, and Global Levels: Results of a Five-Year Selection Process by the Global Action for the Measurement of Adolescent Health

Andrew D Marsh; Holly Newby; Simone Storey; Diana Yeung; Theresa Diaz; Valentina Baltag; Anshu Banerjee; Parviz Abduvahobov; Emmanuel Adebayo; Peter S Azzopardi; Mariame Gueye Ba; Krishna Bose; Marcelo Cardona; Liliana Carvajal-Velez; Saeed Dastgiri; Lucy Fagan; B Jane Ferguson; Howard S Friedman; Ann Hagell; Jo Inchley; Anna E Kågesten; Sarah C Keogh; Ann-Beth Moller; Elizabeth M Saewyc; Kun Tang; Regina Guthold

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.02.010

Indicators to Measure Adolescent Health at the Country, Regional, and Global Levels: Results of a Five-Year Selection Process by the Global Action for the Measurement of Adolescent Health

J Adolesc Health. 2024 Jun;74(6S):S31-S46. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.02.010.

Authors

Andrew D Marsh¹, Holly Newby², Simone Storey², Diana Yeung³, Theresa Diaz², Valentina Baltag², Anshu Banerjee², Parviz Abduvahobov⁴, Emmanuel Adebayo⁵, Peter S Azzopardi⁶, Mariame Gueye Ba⁷, Krishna Bose⁸, Marcelo Cardona⁹, Liliana Carvajal-Velez¹⁰, Saeed Dastgiri¹¹, Lucy Fagan¹², B Jane Ferguson¹³, Howard S Friedman¹⁴, Ann Hagell¹⁵, Jo Inchley¹⁶, Anna E Kågesten¹⁷, Sarah C Keogh², Ann-Beth Moller¹⁸, Elizabeth M Saewyc¹⁹, Kun Tang²⁰, Regina Guthold²

Affiliations

¹ Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: amarsh@who.int.
² Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Department of International Health, Institute for International Programs, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁴ Health and Education Section, Division for Peace and Sustainable Development, Education Sector, UNESCO, Paris, France.
⁵ Adolescent Health Unit, Institute of Child Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
⁶ Department of Paediatrics, Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Program, Telethon Kids Institute, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
⁷ Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odontology/Gynecology, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal; Obstetrics Clinic, University Teaching Hospital A. Le Dantec, Dakar, Senegal.
⁸ Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore.
⁹ Center for Eating and feeding Disorders Research, Mental Health Center Ballerup, Copenhagen University Hospital - Mental Health Services, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁰ Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring, Data and Analytics Section, UNICEF, New York, New York.
¹¹ Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
¹² UN Major Group for Children and Youth, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.
¹³ Independent Consultancy, Tannay, Switzerland.
¹⁴ Technical Division, United Nations Population Fund, New York, New York.
¹⁵ Independent Consultant, London, United Kingdom.
¹⁶ MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
¹⁷ Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁸ Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research World Health Organization includes the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁹ School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²⁰ Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

PMID: 38762261
DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.02.010

Abstract

Purpose: To improve adolescent health measurement, the Global Action for the Measurement of Adolescent health (GAMA) Advisory Group was formed in 2018 and published a draft list of 52 indicators across six adolescent health domains in 2022. We describe the process and results of selecting the adolescent health indicators recommended by GAMA (hereafter, "GAMA-recommended indicators").

Methods: Each indicator in the draft list was assessed using the following inputs: (1) availability of data and stakeholders' perceptions on their relevance, acceptability, and feasibility across selected countries; (2) alignment with current measurement recommendations and practices; and (3) data in global databases. Topic-specific working groups comprised of GAMA experts and representatives of United Nations partner agencies reviewed results and provided preliminary recommendations, which were appraised by all GAMA members and finalized.

Results: There are 47 GAMA-recommended indicators (36 core and 11 additional) for adolescent health measurement across six domains: policies, programs, and laws (4 indicators); systems performance and interventions (4); health determinants (7); health behaviors and risks (20); subjective well-being (2); and health outcomes and conditions (10).

Discussion: These indicators are the result of a robust and structured five-year process to identify a priority set of indicators with relevance to adolescent health globally. This inclusive and participatory approach incorporated inputs from a broad range of stakeholders, including adolescents and young people themselves. The GAMA-recommended indicators are now ready to be used to measure adolescent health at the country, regional, and global levels.

Keywords: Adolescent health; Adolescents; Global health; Indicators; Measurement; Monitoring.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Health*
Female
Global Health*
Health Status Indicators
Humans

Grants and funding

001/WHO_/World Health Organization/International