Jil Molenaar
Biographic Data
| ID | 232883 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jil Molenaar |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jil |
| FAMILY NAME | Molenaar |
| SIGNATURE | MOLENAAR J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Antwerp |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4154-6478 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Indicator menus
There is strong impetus for internationally standardized measurement for maternal and neonatal health (MNH) to facilitate global benchmarking and accountability. Recent funding cuts have sharpened debates about whose priorities should guide measurement and what role international-level actors should play. This qualitative study combined observations and 24 semi-structured interviews in 2023-2025 with experts across multilateral agencies, bilatera…
Beyond the Demographic and Health Survey
box At the start of 2025, the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) programme was paused due to the defunding of USAID, illustrating the fragility of the international data infrastructures on which many national health systems rely
The richness of urban health realities lost in measurement monocultures
box Standardised measurement approaches obscure urban diversity and marginalise locally relevant insights
Partial pictures
Measurement of contact coverage of maternal and newborn health services may overestimate the benefits of the care that is provided, because the quality of care is not captured. It is therefore important to better understand the opportunities and challenges of capturing elements of care quality in routine health information systems (RHIS). This study explored healthcare workers’ (HCWs), health sector managers’ and policymakers’ perspectives on the…
“We have theoretical knowledge, but these are not things we do regularly”
Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during antenatal care (ANC) is crucial for maternal and fetal health. It offers an opportunity for prevention, timely diagnosis, and treatment of cardiometabolic complications during pregnancy and over women’s and babies’ life course. We aimed to describe GDM screening service provision during ANC in two hospitals in Tanzania, focusing on gaps and opportunities for improving GDM screening services…
Getting the numbers right
What makes routine maternal and neonatal health data to be 'good quality'? That depends on whom you ask - the people collecting and reporting these data across health system levels have different priorities and face varying constraints. Data are constructed by people, about people, and they both reflect and impact human interactions. This study analyses the power dynamics shaping how routine health data are collected and reported in labour wards …
Poverty and Wealth without a Ladder? An Appraisal of the Stages of Progress Method among Agro-Pastoralists in Ethiopia's Lower Omo Valley
Is it possible to measure wealth and poverty across settings while being faithful to local understandings? The stages of progress method (SoP) attempts to do this by building ladders of wealth in locally relevant terms and using these in comparisons across groups. This approach is potentially useful among pastoralist populations where monetary income and standard asset inventories may be misleading, and where people are discriminated against by t…
Data for whom? Experiences and perceptions of a perinatal eRegistry in two hospitals in Mtwara region, Tanzania
INTRODUCTION: Digital data systems have the potential to improve data quality and provide individual-level information to understand gaps in the quality of care. This study explored experiences and perceptions of a perinatal eRegistry in two hospitals in Mtwara region, Tanzania. Drawing from realist evaluation and systems thinking, we go beyond a descriptive account of stakeholders' experiences and provide insight into key structural drivers and …
“A beacon of hope
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for structurally informed mental health services that are sensitive to social inequalities and cultural differences. Community-level services and organisations are often referred to as having the potential to play a key role in providing such services to migrants, yet not many studies have documented how these types of services have been experienced during the pandemic. The objective of our case stud…
Evaluation study of the urban governance of the Covid-19 crisis in the city of Antwerp
Local governments are important to develop tailored strategies and organise a locally relevant crisis response in cities. They need expertise and agency, with enough flexibility to experiment. To harness promising practices and avoid repeating errors in future crises, it is crucial to develop a system that better evaluates and monitors local responses, before, during and after crises
Navigating spatial inequalities
The COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple lockdowns disrupted city life, while restrictions on physical distancing and urban activities highlighted the importance of our living environment and its links to our well-being. As part of the COVINFORM research project, this case study uses a micro-political lens to explore the specific spatial challenges which migrants faced in two of the more socially deprived neighbourhoods in Antwerp, Antwerpen-Noord …
Migrants as ‘vulnerable groups’ in the Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic affects different people unequally, and migrants are frequently among the groups considered particularly vulnerable. However, conceptualizations of 'vulnerability' are often ambiguous and poorly defined. Using critical discourse analysis methods, this article analyses the academic use of the term 'vulnerable' applied to migrants in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic across public health and social science disciplines. Our …
Getting the numbers right
What makes routine maternal and neonatal health data to be 'good quality'? That depends on whom you ask - the people collecting and reporting these data across health system levels have different priorities and face varying constraints. Data are constructed by people, about people, and they both reflect and impact human interactions. This study analyses the power dynamics shaping how routine health data are collected and reported in labour wards …
Navigating spatial inequalities
The COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple lockdowns disrupted city life, while restrictions on physical distancing and urban activities highlighted the importance of our living environment and its links to our well-being. As part of the COVINFORM research project, this case study uses a micro-political lens to explore the specific spatial challenges which migrants faced in two of the more socially deprived neighbourhoods in Antwerp, Antwerpen-Noord …
Migrants as ‘vulnerable groups’ in the Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic affects different people unequally, and migrants are frequently among the groups considered particularly vulnerable. However, conceptualizations of 'vulnerability' are often ambiguous and poorly defined. Using critical discourse analysis methods, this article analyses the academic use of the term 'vulnerable' applied to migrants in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic across public health and social science disciplines. Our …
Data for whom? Experiences and perceptions of a perinatal eRegistry in two hospitals in Mtwara region, Tanzania
INTRODUCTION: Digital data systems have the potential to improve data quality and provide individual-level information to understand gaps in the quality of care. This study explored experiences and perceptions of a perinatal eRegistry in two hospitals in Mtwara region, Tanzania. Drawing from realist evaluation and systems thinking, we go beyond a descriptive account of stakeholders' experiences and provide insight into key structural drivers and …
“A beacon of hope
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for structurally informed mental health services that are sensitive to social inequalities and cultural differences. Community-level services and organisations are often referred to as having the potential to play a key role in providing such services to migrants, yet not many studies have documented how these types of services have been experienced during the pandemic. The objective of our case stud…
Evaluation study of the urban governance of the Covid-19 crisis in the city of Antwerp
Local governments are important to develop tailored strategies and organise a locally relevant crisis response in cities. They need expertise and agency, with enough flexibility to experiment. To harness promising practices and avoid repeating errors in future crises, it is crucial to develop a system that better evaluates and monitors local responses, before, during and after crises
Navigating spatial inequalities
The COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple lockdowns disrupted city life, while restrictions on physical distancing and urban activities highlighted the importance of our living environment and its links to our well-being. As part of the COVINFORM research project, this case study uses a micro-political lens to explore the specific spatial challenges which migrants faced in two of the more socially deprived neighbourhoods in Antwerp, Antwerpen-Noord …
“We have theoretical knowledge, but these are not things we do regularly”
Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during antenatal care (ANC) is crucial for maternal and fetal health. It offers an opportunity for prevention, timely diagnosis, and treatment of cardiometabolic complications during pregnancy and over women’s and babies’ life course. We aimed to describe GDM screening service provision during ANC in two hospitals in Tanzania, focusing on gaps and opportunities for improving GDM screening services…
Getting the numbers right
What makes routine maternal and neonatal health data to be 'good quality'? That depends on whom you ask - the people collecting and reporting these data across health system levels have different priorities and face varying constraints. Data are constructed by people, about people, and they both reflect and impact human interactions. This study analyses the power dynamics shaping how routine health data are collected and reported in labour wards …
Poverty and Wealth without a Ladder? An Appraisal of the Stages of Progress Method among Agro-Pastoralists in Ethiopia's Lower Omo Valley
Is it possible to measure wealth and poverty across settings while being faithful to local understandings? The stages of progress method (SoP) attempts to do this by building ladders of wealth in locally relevant terms and using these in comparisons across groups. This approach is potentially useful among pastoralist populations where monetary income and standard asset inventories may be misleading, and where people are discriminated against by t…
Indicator menus
There is strong impetus for internationally standardized measurement for maternal and neonatal health (MNH) to facilitate global benchmarking and accountability. Recent funding cuts have sharpened debates about whose priorities should guide measurement and what role international-level actors should play. This qualitative study combined observations and 24 semi-structured interviews in 2023-2025 with experts across multilateral agencies, bilatera…
Beyond the Demographic and Health Survey
box At the start of 2025, the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) programme was paused due to the defunding of USAID, illustrating the fragility of the international data infrastructures on which many national health systems rely
The richness of urban health realities lost in measurement monocultures
box Standardised measurement approaches obscure urban diversity and marginalise locally relevant insights
Partial pictures
Measurement of contact coverage of maternal and newborn health services may overestimate the benefits of the care that is provided, because the quality of care is not captured. It is therefore important to better understand the opportunities and challenges of capturing elements of care quality in routine health information systems (RHIS). This study explored healthcare workers’ (HCWs), health sector managers’ and policymakers’ perspectives on the…
Economic growth (6 works) · Geography (5 works) · Global Maternal and Child Health (5 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Psychology (4 works) · Qualitative research (4 works) · Tanzania (4 works) · Economics (3 works)