IJPDS International Journal of Population Data Science

Researchers from the Canadian province of British Columbia have compiled and shared a valuable list of important considerations when using routinely collected health data for epidemiologic research.

Mountains of data are routinely collected every day as part of healthcare services delivery. Information about patient’s interactions with the healthcare system, such as visits to family physicians, hospital stays, and prescription medication dispensing, are recorded in structured databases. Although data collection is primarily for administrative purposes, such as physicians’ compensation and allocating healthcare resources, these health data can also be used for epidemiologic research. Routinely collected administrative health data can provide evidence to inform decision-making and, ultimately, support better public health outcomes, but the process is never simple.

Researchers face challenges that need addressing to ensure their conclusions are valid. Many such challenges stem from the researcher’s lack of control over the quality and consistency of data collection and, as the data is not being collected specifically for research use, a reduced level of understanding of the data being analysed.

In this study, published in the International Journal of Population Data Science (IJPDS), the authors organised numerous key considerations around four themes:

1. Know the data and their primary use
2. Understand classification and coding systems
3. Transform data into meaningful forms
4. Recognize the importance of validity when defining analytic variables

Specific examples include examining how artefacts such as changes to data coverage over time and place can impact apparent trends, the importance of applying validated identification algorithms when querying healthcare records to appropriately ascertain disease cases, and familiarising oneself with the standardised classification and coding systems relevant to their contexts.

This valuable resource will help to support other researchers who are experiencing data and methodological considerations, in making informed decisions when using routinely collected administrative health data for epidemiologic research.

Lead author and Senior Epidemiologist, Scott Emerson said, “We believe this work can help researchers in their efforts to meaningfully repurpose administrative health data for answering research questions.”

Although this is not an exhaustive list of all issues, the authors believe the considerations mentioned will provide ‘food for thought’ for people interested in using administrative health data for epidemiologic research.

 

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Scott Emerson, Senior Epidemiologist, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Emerson, S. D., McLinden, T., Sereda, P., Yonkman, A. M., Trigg, J., Peterson, S., Hogg, R. S., Salters, K. A., Lima, V. D. and Barrios, R. (2024) “Secondary use of routinely collected administrative health data for epidemiologic research: Asking reasonable questions of data collected for a different purpose”, International Journal of Population Data Science, 9(1). doi: 10.23889/ijpds.v9i1.2407.