Browsing by Author "Claridge, Hugh"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Ethics and legal requirements for data linkage in 14 European countries for children with congenital anomaliesPublication . Claridge, Hugh; Tan, Joachim; Loane, Maria; Garne, Ester; Barisic, Ingeborg; Cavero-Carbonell, Clara; Matias Dias, Carlos; Gatt, Miriam; Jordan, Susan; Khoshnood, Babak; Kiuru-Kuhlefelt, Sonja; Klungsoyr, Kari; Mokoroa Carollo, Olatz; Nelen, Vera; Neville, Amanda J.; Pierini, Anna; Randrianaivo, Hanitra; Rissmann, Anke; Tucker, David; de Walle, Hermien; Wertelecki, Wladimir; Morris, Joan K.Introduction: Linking healthcare data sets can create valuable resources for research, particularly when investigating rare exposures or outcomes. However, across Europe, the permissions processes required to access data can be complex. This paper documents the processes required by the EUROlinkCAT study investigators to research the health and survival of children with congenital anomalies in Europe. Methods: Eighteen congenital anomaly registries in 14 countries provided information on all the permissions required to perform surveillance of congenital anomalies and to link their data on live births with available vital statistics and healthcare databases for research. Small number restrictions imposed by data providers were also documented. Results: The permissions requirements varied substantially, with certain registries able to conduct congenital anomaly surveillance as part of national or regional healthcare provision, while others were required to obtain ethics approvals or informed consent. Data linkage and analysis for research purposes added additional layers of complexity for registries, with some required to obtain several permissions, including ethics approvals to link the data. Restrictions relating to small numbers often resulted in a registry's data on specific congenital anomalies being unusable. Conclusion: The permissions required to obtain and link data on children with congenital anomalies varied greatly across Europe. The variation and complexity present a significant obstacle to the use of such data, especially in large data linkage projects. Furthermore, small number restrictions severely limited the research that could be performed for children with specific rare congenital anomalies.
- EUROlinkCAT protocol for a European population-based data linkage study investigating the survival, morbidity and education of children with congenital anomaliesPublication . Morris, Joan K; Garne, Ester; Loane, Maria; Barisic, Ingeborg; Densem, James; Latos-Bieleńska, Anna; Neville, Amanda; Pierini, Anna; Rankin, Judith; Rissmann, Anke; de Walle, Hermien; Tan, Joachim; Given, Joanne Emma; Claridge, Hugh; EUROlinkCAT ConsortiumIntroduction: Congenital anomalies (CAs) are a major cause of infant mortality, childhood morbidity and long-term disability. Over 130 000 children born in Europe every year will have a CA. This paper describes the EUROlinkCAT study, which is investigating the health and educational outcomes of children with CAs for the first 10 years of their lives. Methods and analysis: EUROCAT is a European network of population-based registries for the epidemiological surveillance of CAs. EUROlinkCAT is using the EUROCAT infrastructure to support 22 EUROCAT registries in 14 countries to link their data on births with CAs to mortality, hospital discharge, prescription and educational databases. Once linked, each registry transforms their case data into a common data model (CDM) format and they are then supplied with common STATA syntax scripts to analyse their data. The resulting aggregate tables and analysis results are submitted to a central results repository (CRR) and meta-analyses are performed to summarise the results across all registries. The CRR currently contains data on 155 594 children with a CA followed up to age 10 from a population of 6 million births from 1995 to 2014. Ethics: The CA registries have the required ethics permissions for routine surveillance and transmission of anonymised data to the EUROCAT central database. Each registry is responsible for applying for and obtaining additional ethics and other permissions required for their participation in EUROlinkCAT. Dissemination: The CDM and associated documentation, including linkage and standardisation procedures, will be available post-EUROlinkCAT thus facilitating future local, national and European-level analyses to improve healthcare. Recommendations to improve the accuracy of routinely collected data will be made.Findings will provide evidence to inform parents, health professionals, public health authorities and national treatment guidelines to optimise diagnosis, prevention and treatment for these children with a view to reducing health inequalities in Europe.