Indicator | Unit of analysis | What it measures | Advantages | Limitations |
---|---|---|---|---|
% HHs owning at least 1 ITN | Household | Measures what proportion of households has 1 (or more) ITNs | Demonstrates the basic ‘reach’ of ITN distribution activities | Does not indicate the extent to which individuals have the opportunity to use an ITN—as 1 ITN is nearly always insufficient to enable ITN use by all household members |
% HHs owning at least 1 ITN for 2 people | Household | Measures what proportion of households has enough ITNs to protect all individuals in the household assuming 2 persons use each ITN | Correlates with WHO and mass campaigns goals of providing 1 ITN for every 2 people; easy to communicate with a broader audience | Underestimates coverage by totally ignoring households that have ITNs to cover a significant portion, but not all, of the individuals in the household |
% population that used an ITN the night before the survey | People | Measures the level of ITN use of all age groups at the time of the survey | Provides an exact picture of what proportion of the population is individually protected by an ITN the night before the survey | Low ITN use often assumed to be a behavioural problem, but use is highly driven by ITN access, which is not accounted for by this indicator |
% population with access to an ITN within the households | People | Provides an estimate of the proportion of the total population that could have slept under an ITN. Assuming two people share one ITN | Accounts for ITNs in all households and precisely counts all individuals that could use an ITN. Can be directly compared with ITN use to identify specific behavioural gaps | Can be challenging to conceptualize |