Comparing an SLK-based and a name-based data linkage strategy: an investigation into the PIAC linkage

In 2005, the Institute was funded to create a linked aged care database to enable analysis of pathways through aged care services. The linkage strategy for the project involved using a Statistical Linkage Key (SLK) because of the lack of either a name or a common person identifier on the data sets being linked. This paper validates the results obtained using the SLK linkage strategy by comparing it directly with a name-based linkage strategy.