Jamieson E, Roberts J, Browne G
McMaster University's System-Linked Research Unit on Health and Social Service Utilization, Hamilton, Ont., Canada.
Methods Inf Med. 1995 Sep;34(4):371-7.
This study was designed to test the effectiveness of three computerized methods of record linkage, using minimal identifiers. The goal of the linkage was to determine the proportion of persons receiving Public Health Nursing Services (n = 5,749) who also receive income assistance from the region (n = 38,800) or the province (n = 16,741). The first linkage method was based on full agreement of a number of variables (deterministic matching) and the second was based on the likelihood of the match (probabilistic matching). The third method combined information from methods 1 and 2. Method 3 proved to be the most effective linkage technique, with a specificity of 0.98 and sensitivity of 0.94. The linkage showed that only 17% of the Public Health clientele received income assistance from the region or province, much lower than expected. Factors which have probably led to an underestimate are discussed.
本研究旨在使用最少的标识符测试三种计算机化记录链接方法的有效性。链接的目的是确定接受公共卫生护理服务的人群（n = 5749）中，同时接受该地区（n = 38800）或该省（n = 16741）收入援助的人群比例。第一种链接方法基于多个变量的完全匹配（确定性匹配），第二种基于匹配的可能性（概率性匹配）。第三种方法结合了方法1和方法2的信息。结果证明方法3是最有效的链接技术，特异性为0.98，敏感性为0.94。链接结果显示，只有17%的公共卫生服务对象接受了该地区或该省的收入援助，远低于预期。文中讨论了可能导致低估的因素。
