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Yearb Med Inform 2017; 26(01): 235-240
DOI: 10.15265/IY-2017-034
Section 11: Public Health and Epidemiology Informatics
Surveys
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart

Health Data for Public Health: Towards New Ways of Combining Data Sources to Support Research Efforts in Europe

A. Burgun
1   Inserm, UMR 1138, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, AP-HP, Paris Descartes University, Paris, France
,
E. Bernal-Delgado
2   Institute for Health Sciences in Aragon (IACS), BridgeHealth Consortium, Zaragoza, Spain
,
W. Kuchinke
3   University of Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany
,
T. van Staa
4   Health eResearch Centre, Farr Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
,
J. Cunningham
4   Health eResearch Centre, Farr Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
,
E. Lettieri
5   Politecnico Milano, Milano, Italy
,
C. Mazzali
5   Politecnico Milano, Milano, Italy
,
D. Oksen
6   Public Health Institute, Inserm, AVIESAN, Paris, France
,
F. Estupiñan
2   Institute for Health Sciences in Aragon (IACS), BridgeHealth Consortium, Zaragoza, Spain
,
A. Barone
7   Lombardia Informatica, Milano, Italy
,
G. Chène
8   Inserm, UMR 1219, CIC1401-EC, Univ. Bordeaux, ISPED, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

18 August 2017

Publication Date:
11 September 2017 (online)

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Summary

Objectives: To present the European landscape regarding the re-use of health administrative data for research.

Methods: We present some collaborative projects and solutions that have been developed by Nordic countries, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the UK, to facilitate access to their health data for research purposes.

Results: Research in public health is transitioning from siloed systems to more accessible and re-usable data resources. Following the example of the Nordic countries, several European countries aim at facilitating the re-use of their health administrative databases for research purposes. However, the ecosystem is still a complex patchwork, with different rules, policies, and processes for data provision.

Conclusion: The challenges are such that with the abundance of health administrative data, only a European, overarching public health research infrastructure, is able to efficiently facilitate access to this data and accelerate research based on these highly valuable resources.

Keywords

Data sources - public health informatics - Europe - health administrative data - secondary use of health data
 

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