Sampling at community level by using satellite imagery and geographical analysis

PROBLEM: Traditional random sampling at community level requires a list of every individual household that can be randomly selected in the study community. The longitudinal demographic surveillance systems often used as sampling frames are difficult to create in many resource-poor settings. APPROACH: We used Google Earth imagery and geographical analysis software to develop a sampling frame. Every household structure within the catchment area was digitized and assigned coordinates. A random sample was then generated from the list of households.