Linking household survey and health facility data for effective coverage measures: a comparison of ecological and individual linking methods using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Ecological linking may be a feasible and valid approach for estimating quality-adjusted effective coverage when a census of providers is used. Adjusting for provider type and caseload may improve agreement with exact match results. There remain methodological questions to be addressed to develop guidance on using linking methods for estimating quality-adjusted effective coverage, including the effect of facility sampling and time displacement.