ScalentricCNA for Immunization Decision-Making

Module 6 ยท What counts as a "case"?

Every row is a "case"

By the end of this module you will be able to
  • Define what a 'case' is in a CNA study.
  • Choose an appropriate unit of analysis for a question.
  • Explain why mixing levels breaks the comparison.

In CNA, the thing you compare is called a case, and every case becomes one row in your data table. In immunization work, a case can sit at almost any level of the system:

  • A health facility, which is the most common choice for supervision studies.
  • An LGA, district, or state.
  • An outreach site, or even a whole country.
Keep the level consistent

Please don't mix facilities and districts in the same table. It's like comparing a single market stall to an entire shopping mall and wondering why the numbers look strange. Every case must sit at the same level, so pick one unit and stay loyal to it for the whole analysis.

Reflect

Think about the data your program already collects.

  • What would each row, each case, represent: a facility, an LGA, a district?
  • Are you ever tempted to mix levels in one table? What confusion could that cause?