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Longitudinal record linkage in sub-Saharan Africa countries : recommendations for healthcare research

Mboya, Innocent B. LU orcid ; Teleka, Stanley LU ; Kagoye, Sophia ; Mosha, Neema R. and Safari, Wende C. (2024) In Discover Public Health 21(1).
Abstract

Background: The use of unique national personal identification numbers (PIN) for linkage of medical records across health facilities and population-based studies is limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. The disintegration of healthcare research with different participant identifiers creates methodological challenges in linking data from multiple sources to answer a diverse range of policy-relevant, clinical, administrative, and research questions. This commentary aims to provide recommendations for improved linkage of health services data in SSA for healthcare research. Main text: Linkage of health services data is a complex process that requires health system thinking, multisectoral collaboration between the public and private... (More)

Background: The use of unique national personal identification numbers (PIN) for linkage of medical records across health facilities and population-based studies is limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. The disintegration of healthcare research with different participant identifiers creates methodological challenges in linking data from multiple sources to answer a diverse range of policy-relevant, clinical, administrative, and research questions. This commentary aims to provide recommendations for improved linkage of health services data in SSA for healthcare research. Main text: Linkage of health services data is a complex process that requires health system thinking, multisectoral collaboration between the public and private sectors, and long-term investments. We recommend transitioning from paper-based healthcare data collection and storage systems, at health facility and population levels, to the use of electronic computer-assisted systems and a focus on improved data quality. SSA countries implementing this transition will benefit from additional technical and financial support. At the health-facility level, change from collecting aggregated to individual-level data. The use of PIN across multiple data sources is paramount, in addition to clear and transparent legal and ethical data protection and sharing guidelines, centralized data linkage by the governments, and partnerships with the private sector. Conclusion: High-quality linked data in SSA are scarce. SSA countries should prioritize establishing a robust foundation for high-quality data collection and future linkage.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Healthcare data, Longitudinal record linkage, Secondary data analysis, SSA
in
Discover Public Health
volume
21
issue
1
article number
12
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:105001692547
DOI
10.1186/s12982-024-00128-7
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
319e2d7e-a00a-4cfe-b6a6-ba9e0d6b9d9f
date added to LUP
2025-09-12 12:14:57
date last changed
2025-10-02 08:10:21
@misc{319e2d7e-a00a-4cfe-b6a6-ba9e0d6b9d9f,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: The use of unique national personal identification numbers (PIN) for linkage of medical records across health facilities and population-based studies is limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. The disintegration of healthcare research with different participant identifiers creates methodological challenges in linking data from multiple sources to answer a diverse range of policy-relevant, clinical, administrative, and research questions. This commentary aims to provide recommendations for improved linkage of health services data in SSA for healthcare research. Main text: Linkage of health services data is a complex process that requires health system thinking, multisectoral collaboration between the public and private sectors, and long-term investments. We recommend transitioning from paper-based healthcare data collection and storage systems, at health facility and population levels, to the use of electronic computer-assisted systems and a focus on improved data quality. SSA countries implementing this transition will benefit from additional technical and financial support. At the health-facility level, change from collecting aggregated to individual-level data. The use of PIN across multiple data sources is paramount, in addition to clear and transparent legal and ethical data protection and sharing guidelines, centralized data linkage by the governments, and partnerships with the private sector. Conclusion: High-quality linked data in SSA are scarce. SSA countries should prioritize establishing a robust foundation for high-quality data collection and future linkage.</p>}},
  author       = {{Mboya, Innocent B. and Teleka, Stanley and Kagoye, Sophia and Mosha, Neema R. and Safari, Wende C.}},
  keywords     = {{Healthcare data; Longitudinal record linkage; Secondary data analysis; SSA}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Discover Public Health}},
  title        = {{Longitudinal record linkage in sub-Saharan Africa countries : recommendations for healthcare research}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12982-024-00128-7}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12982-024-00128-7}},
  volume       = {{21}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}