CLSA data linkage with provincial health care registries offers “unparalleled” research potential
Health researchers in Canada will soon have an unparalleled opportunity to explore the intersection between aging and health care utilization, thanks to a collaboration between Health Data Research Network Canada and the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Beginning in 2024, researchers will be able to apply to access linked CLSA cohort data at provincial data centres in British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick, following the data access policies of the data centres and the CLSA.
The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging is a large, national, long-term study that follows approximately 50,000 individuals between the ages of 45 and 85 for at least 20 years. The CLSA collects information on the changing biological, medical, psychological, social, lifestyle and economic aspects of people’s lives — factors that researchers study to understand how, individually and in combination, they impact both maintaining health and in the development of disease and disability as people age.
“The deep and extensive data collected by CLSA are powerful on their own. Linkage, with consent, of that information with health care services data means it is possible to study how health and the need for care change over time, and what individual and social experiences help explain those changes.”
Dr. Kim McGrail, CEO and Scientific Director of HDRN Canada, called the collaboration an invaluable opportunity for researchers across the country. “The linkage of CLSA data through HDRN Canada provincial and territorial data centres opens so many new research possibilities,” she said. “The deep and extensive data collected by CLSA are powerful on their own. Linkage, with consent, of that information with health care services data means it is possible to study how health and the need for care change over time, and what individual and social experiences help explain those changes.”
To date, the collaboration has enabled linkage of CLSA data with administrative health data in three provinces. “We are working towards access in all provinces to ensure the research conducted using these data can be multi-regional and will be able to inform health care decision-making and evidence-based policy development at multiple levels of government,” said Dr. Parminder Raina, professor and scientific director of the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging at McMaster University and lead principal investigator of the CLSA.
To access the data, researchers will apply through HDRN Canada’s Data Access Support Hub (DASH), a one-stop shop for researchers seeking administrative data from more than one territory or province. DASH provides information on the availability of data assets, common algorithms and data access processes across Canada, and offers centralized data access request process and coordinated support. “CLSA data holdings at provincial data centres will be limited to alphanumeric data, including questionnaire data and select physical assessment data,” Dr. Raina said, noting that administrative health data holdings may differ from province to province.
To learn more about CLSA’s national dataset, linked data available and how HDRN Canada’s DASH can help researchers gain access, register for Accessing Linked CLSA data at HDRN Canada Data Centres, a free webinar taking place Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET.